Rising costs always causes the consumer to look for another solution
Posted By: sm on 2006-08-03
In Reply to: no, I don't fail to understand.... - casey
in the MT field, this includes offshore, EMR and SR, and people taking pay cuts. Once everyone around your wonderful doctors are getting the work done reasonably well for much less, they will take a second look too.
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Beware of ink replacement costs. The more inexpensive the printer, the more the ink costs.
s
Rising gas prices
I am currently paying $3.39 a gallon up here in NY. Heard it may go up to $6.00/gallon possibly before it lowers in price again.
Yes, Libra, with Cancer rising.
Well, falling rates of wage growth and rising inflation SM
probably have something to do with it. The rate of wage growth has been falling for the past several years, and rising prices are currently more than wiping out whatever "gain" most of us have the notion we've made.
Also, when Rush points out that he and others in the richest 1% pay more than 40% of the taxes, that's NOT good. That appalling division of wealth helps explain why with all the productivity gains in our wealthy country over the past several decades, most of us are seeing our incomes stagnate or even decrease over that time.
We have a general election coming up, by the way.
The consumer age is here.
I have watched bank tellers, cashiers, gas-pump attendants, farmers, pharmacists, butchers, telephone operators....you name it, lose their jobs due to technology and the need for mass production.
Everyone wants it now and they want it cheap, whether it's medical transcription or food.
Yes, it's depressing but I'm just as guilty as the next guy. I shop at Walmart and that has put a lot of little specialty stores out of business, but what can ya do?
It's just a sign of the times I'm afraid.
consumer credit
i don't know about them, but CAmbridge is a good one. They pay the creditors on time and are always in follow up with you. They do, however, charge a fee but it's not too great of one.
Consumer Credit
I talked with them and there was a HIGH fee for them handling my payments. Too high for me. I talked to the credit cards directly and worked with them. I think my payment to CC would have been about $70 a month. Also through them, the interest rate was lower, but the payment was higher as they do a percentage of the balance. But now that the credit cards are doing higher minimums, more people are going to be in this situation. I did go throught Trinity Credit Counseling and my fee to them was only $25. So you need to check around.
Just my two cents worth.
RE: Consumer Credit Corp.
Are they the same as Consumer Credit Counseling Services? You might want to check with this service in your city. I used CCCS many years ago, and they were very helpful. They were very strict with budgeting, but they explained everything before I agreed to their requirements. I also attended classes when I could. They also have a toll-free number: 1-866-331-2227. Hope this helps.
We are the largest consumer of goods. nm.
With all of the outsourcing, a lot of products are being made outside of the U.S. All countries are helping in the problems with our environment.
I'll never buy another car without using Consumer's Guide!
Dept of Consumer Advocacy........nm
Consumer Credit Corp. ? Anyone have any info? (sm)
I seem to have some high balances on a couple of credit cards and am curious as to whether their claim for negotiating a lower interest rate is valid. It would certainly help me pay these off quickly.
They claim they negotiate these lower rates, set you a payment schedule, disperse the money as agreed upon to the creditors and there is no charge to you. I am sorry, but I am a bit dubious. Their web site shows BBB logo on the bottom, that does make me feel a little better about it.
Any input appreciated. Am NOT looking for a free ride, just checking out my options so please no flaming.
Avast also recommended by Consumer Reports.
x
yes! i used Consumer's magazine to make my choice,
and love mine - Eureka the Boss, SmartVac (an upright) -- less than $150 at Walmart -- very quiet, picks up very well. Only drawback i see is the cord is not retractable. If upright is not your style, or you want particular features, i'd still suggest using Consumer Reports suggestions. Neighbor just bought a Kirby for $800 -- bet this one would outclean that. Its even advertized as outcleaning a Dyson by 60%.
Consumer Reports June 2005 covers this.....sm
type of information if you'll go to your local library they usually have a copy available there. Happy researching!
Forgot to add my accounts say "Closed at request of consumer."
x
I blew a big wad on my last one - Hoover WindTunnel - because Consumer Reports (sm)
gave it great marks about three years ago. The self-propelling feature was nice, but it kept breaking down so now I'm back to my K-Mart Bissell. So much for Consumer Reports.
Get the April 2006 Consumer Reports magazine...sm
It gives you a rundown on all vehicles as well as which ones have held up well and which ones haven't over the years. It's in the stores now or your local library should have a copy you can look at for free. :o)
Contact your state Consumer Affairs. They will guide you.
nm
No but I think Consumer Reports and other industry specific testing
Honda recently made the announcement they're going to pull production on the Accord hybrid due to lack of demand. You'd probably be better off getting a vehicle that uses ethanol, which many of the new ones do already, if you have stations that have ethanol pumps. Ethanol is selling for cheaper than gasoline apparently.
From experience as an insurance biller and a consumer with 2 policies.
I think it is always beneficial to have two insurances. I think if it doesnt cost you anymore to have it for him...then do it. Most insurance companies have what they call a "coordination of benefits" and the second insurance usually does pick up what the first doesnt. Say for instance though, with your primary insurance has a $25 copay so they pay for everything but that. That is in turn will go onto your secondary and typically the secondary will pick that up, depending upon their "COB" (coordination of benefits) policy. It may not benefit you a lot if the second has a high deductible until something major, god forbid that.. but I had that happen with my child. One hospital visit and your deductible is met on both as well as your stop loss so basically your covered 100%. Again, it really depends on your insurance and how they do their COB so you may still have a small amount of a copay or percentage but if it costs you no more to haveh him on it, then do it. Trust me, you will be glad you glad, especially in cases of large medical bills. Anymore questions, let me know.
Consumer Reports did not give the best rating to Dyson....
which surprised me. The top were Sears, which also surprised me. I just recently got the Sears bagless with HEPA filter for about $300 and I am EXTREMELY pleased with it. I could check on the model # if interested.
Walmart is trying to save the consumer MONEY. It's not all about corporate greed.
Rubbermaid products are advertised. So the costs of doing business with Rubbermaid factor in advertising costs. Now I don't care what brand name of plastic container I buy if the quality is equal. So I buy Rubbermaid's competitor (I forget the name) cheaper because they don't advertise. I also think there are a lot of big executives at Rubbermaid who take a bigger profit each year which once again factors in the price of Rubbermaid.
With the economy as it is, gas prices soaring, interest rates up, taxes up, our pay going down (MQMT), I don't care to subsidize Rubbermaid's advertising budget or their CEOs salary. And I go to Walmart and buy the plastic container that is cheaper because they don't advertise.
Check consumer reports ratings on the size SUV you want. I went with Subaru Forester..but sm
Its just me..no kids to haul around. The Ford Escape is in your range..but check the repair record. They were brand new the year I was looking..take into consideration tires..Escape uses truck tires which are more expensive than car tires. Have fun shopping!!
You might want to check out Consumer Reports 1/08 magazine, had article about ins and suggested visi
x
Most recent Consumer Reports magazine did an article about this. Most effective was hormone replac
.
costs
I also agree that the cost of vet care has gone way up in the last 10 years, having animal companions is expensive. I think as more and more people are coming to realize their companions are senient beings they are willing to do whatever is necessary for optimum care just as you would do for a human. That being said, it is extremely expensive and where I used to have 5 cats and 2 dogs, I now have 3 cats and 1 dog due to losing some to old age and illness. Although I would love to have more, I know I cannot afford it if one of them gets sick.
Can you tell us how much this costs?
Have the Martel catalogue but oddly it does not give price. Am hoping it is under $50.
Rx costs
I get 2 of my meds from Canada. Can you get yours that way and save $? Just do a search for cheap drugs or Canadian drugs.
MT Costs
I have been a working MT for 2+ years and I am still buying things. I have a full library of books but there are only a few I use all the time. Still there are days when I find I need the others. I believe I have around 16 total. The Book Of Style is an important one. I would recommend that for sure along with any other specialty books for the type of account you plan on typing. I had my computer prior to training but with books, the MT course, pedals, software (spell checker, expander) I spent over $2,500. This doesn't include a desk, chair or the other things you'll need. I would suggest you buy some 3-ring binders to keep samples in for each account you type. I have a binder for every doctor/client. Every doctor you come to learn to type will have his/her own rules. The binders are my Bibles. At first I went through a ton of legal pads. I always keep one at my desk to jot things down. Now I only need one on occasion. It will be a learning experience and slow going at first, but hang in there. Like some other MTs mentioned, it is not as easy as it sounds, but I do enjoy it. Welcome to the club!
It costs more than $10 believe me.
They take a percentage of what is sent to you - it's not a flat rate fee. The more you make the more they take.
My costs have actually gone down
This year my property taxes will go from over $2,300 to $800 a year, that is because I have turned that magical number of 65. That is good and yet if I were to die, then the taxes would go right back up for hubby as he is 10 years younger and has not gotten there yet. He better treat me right!
Solution........sm
I live in Florida and have Adelphia cable which is lightening fast, WHEN it's working. I was losing connection while working at least two or three times a month, which you obviously know, can be a nightmare, especially when it's down for hours at a time. I have the solution. I got BellSouth Fast Access DSL as a backup. It works through my telephone line. It costs me about $50 a month, but it is soooo worth it. Now when my cable goes down, I just swith over to DSL and I'm back to work in a snap ! 
I have the solution..
Lets all move to India and only work for companies THERE that offshore!!! 
a solution
There is probably a quicker way, but here is how I do it:
1. Go to google.com, highlight, right click and copy everything in the address bar. Minimize explorer.
2. Right click on desktop and select new > shortcut. A window will open. Paste (control-V)the Google info in the "location of the item" field, click next, name it, click on finish.
3. You will then have a new icon on your desktop which is clickable to google. Drag that icon down onto the toolbar next to the start button.
There is a solution that they don't tell you about. SBC/ATT have
a business plan that is called Complete Business Solution that is unlimited local, local toll and long distance. It is $59.99 in my area for this and they switched my residential line to a business line for $12. This is less than I was paying for my residential line and there is no limit on the unlimited calls, length, etc as long as you are not a telemarketing center. My boss (who has been slammed here too often for me to say her name without causing flames) researched this and let me know because I got the .19 per minute letter from SBC. No problems since and it was over a year ago!
Possible solution?
Okay, ethics is questionable here, but at times you need to fight fire with fire. At one MTSO all of the formats were templated. They charged the client, but didn't pay us. So...Many MTs would delete the template as soon as it popped in and put in a matching one of their own. They got the lines, the client got the template, and no one was ever the wiser (so far).
Would something like that work for you? It might be dodgy, but if they are going to play this game you could conceivably play right back. I know I'm going to get flamed, but MTSOs are looking for every opportunity to take food out of the mouths of our children, and at some point we need to say NO.
Got a solution...Buy a new/used one from me;) s/m
I have a couple of extras I'm getting ready to list on Ebay. Would you like to make me an offer? Just send me an email. Thanks.
Here's one solution
Send all the ESL dictations over there! It seems really wrong to me that I'm sitting here typing ESL for residents with heavy Indian accents and they're sitting over there typing american doctors, and we're all struggling to understand! Seems like everyone would be happier if those docs could dictate in their native language, those overseas MTs could type it in that same language, and then they could run it through translation software to come up with a report in English. I know a lot of american patients don't wamt a doctor treat them that they can barely understand, and I often wonder why so many ESL folks want to practice here, dictate here and have americans type the dictation! Why don't they sent THAT work oversease, and quit driving the rest of us nuts!
My solution
Recently I changed my working schedule in that I work three-hour stretches. It has definitely made a difference in my productivity, as well as decreasing the total time per day I spend transcribing (I'm an IC). This works for me, although the downside is that for anyone, three hours without a break is a long time to transcribe. I would recommend working up to what would be the longest time you could tolerate.
Somewhat of a Solution
Actually, I was able to copy the whole contents of the document and paste it into a new document, and the marks disappeared. Just in case anyone was curious.
Here is a solution.
If you have access to the folder containing those files. Right click on that folder, go to properties ...
and set it Owner can 'read', 'write' and 'execute'. In Unix/FTP terms it's known as chmod 777 permission. Try googling chmod 777.
BTW, which FTP client you are using? CuteFTP? or WS_FTP?. Sometime, you need to set options within the FTP client program as well.
no solution here yet either
I have been at this for over 7 years now and still have not found a solution to this problem. My situation is not nearly as bad as yours, but I have always said that my husband's mouth was connected to my pedal. I press play and he starts talking LOL
Me too and solution
I use Escription as well and I think you're referring to something that reads ProcMon or something? Well I disabled the darn thing and nobody said anything. Didn't realize it was a monitoring tool but IMO unless you are going to provide me with a computer then you have no business montioring me especially without telling me.
So here are some instructions. Go to Control Panel. Click on Administrative Tools. Click on Services. Find EditScript Process Monitor (assuming this is what the process is you have that I have). Double click on it. Under the General tab there is a drop down menu that says Startup type. Choose Disabled. Click Apply then OK.
Make sure this is the same exact thing you are seeing. NEVER change any process that you do not know what it is. This is something that is best left to someone in the IT field. It so happens my husband was a Senior Network Engineer (he's since moved on to development) and these instructions come from him. But be very careful as you could turn off something important!
RIGHT HERE is the solution sm
We could mount a campaign to make outsourcing of medical transcription illegal, or at the very least tax the crap out of it until it is not practical. Write your representatives, write to the political talk shows, write to Oprah, write to news magazine programs, write the New York Post. Get on the phone and talk to people who can make a difference!!!!
The end result? There are NOT enough highly qualified MTs to do the work that needs to be done. So, supply and demand will work FOR us. Benefits and wages will have to go up so that companies can attract the best, most productive MTs and keep them. Gone will be days when we work for such a pittance. We will be in demand.
Well, for both of you I have a solution
that is going to sound reeaally strange. I got the suggestion from my chiropractor when I complained of sore lower back and sore hiney. He suggested that I buy one of those large (about 24" round) inflatable pilates exercise balls and sit on that. He had one in his physical therapy department and I gave it a test sit. Felt pretty good.
STOP LAUGHING, I KNOW HOW WEIRD THIS IDEA SOUNDS and the visual image is a scream. Yes, yes, I know. You think that would be a totally unworkable situation and so did I. But I was ready to try just about anything and this $20 idea seemed affordable, so I went for it. The theory is that you learn to hold yourself straight by strengthening your core muscles instead of leaning against a chair back. And the seat is very yielding under your butt. I initially had a problem with my ball/chair rolling away every time I stood, but I solved that by getting a giant heavy plastic flower pot saucer to set the ball in. Voila! Looked weird, worked well.
Takes some getting used to, but I eventually did. My back was more tired than ever for about a week, but my bum was in heaven. Then I got the hang of it and it was great. I sort of got away from the system when I broke my arm and the cast was throwing my balance way off so that I had trouble with my..uh... mount and dismount. After tipping over a couple of times, I deflated the ball and stored it, rolled in a regular chair so I could one-handed hunt and peck for e-mails and internet.
Been back transcribing for over a year, but never got back 'on the ball.' Now that I mention it, though, I think I'll reinflate that sucker and try it again. I SAID QUIT LAUGHING, BOTH OF YOU!
best solution to this
Better Business Bureau, file complaint under misleading advertising. Bring the complaint here and ask everyone who views it to make a complaint to the BBB. It would shut them down. I filed one on Transcription for Dummies website www.transcriptionfor dummies.com!
no solution for me,
other than positioning in the shade, with sun not shining on the screen. Its so nice to be out there working in the fresh air, but much less convenient for me (even with the minimal items packed along, and the various concerns, animals knocking something over, dust, wind, bugs...)
Yes, and that same jug of water costs how much after it's
been paid for with tax dollars, hauled in on trucks, and handed out by National Guardsmen and FEMA workers who are being paid and are away from their own families? That little jug of water costs more to the taxpayers than Perrier.
My son did too. It costs a lot and unless you're
a real people person who can SELL, you won't make any money and you'll spend a bundle. TURN AND RUN, don't walk away unless you're ready to LIVE IT! IT has to be all you think, talk, eat, use, buy, etc....and you won't make a bunch if you don't get people to sign up.
I cut my costs a year ago...
I have noticed very little difference. I get the same speed and the only things that inhibit that are the usual things such as when the ISP is doing an update etc. Everyone I know with different DSL companies have said the same. You can always go back up to the higher speed if it doesn't work well in your case. To me it was worth saving the extra $20/month
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