there are ways to afford it
Posted By: AngieSAa on 2008-05-27
In Reply to: agree there are many pros .. I just don't - seem to be able to produce as much
I had the offices to pay for some of it, such as their own recorders. But if it works for you on tape - you have advantages too like the personal contact on pick up/delivery that breeds loyalty. Being on tape makes them harder accounts for people to take from you too.
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Wish I could afford...
...to do that! I am SO SO SICK OF MQ!!! They are driving me crazy! I am on my 3rd MT Supervisor in three months and still have not heard one word from the latest one. They just don't care about us at all. I understand that's the nature of the biz, but my God, would it kill you just to drop an email and introduce yourself???
Wish I could afford...
my TC? sorry, what's that?
If you can afford it, go for it. sm
Just remember, if you work as an IC you may have a "nonconforming" loan which may give you a little higher interest rate. If you can document your income with pay stubs and W2s as well as income tax forms, you may be "conforming" and be able to get the lowest interest rate possible.
If your credit scores are high enough, you can always do 100% finance with an 80/20 loan which will eliminate PMI monthly payment. Your credit scores need to be 685 or higher for 100% finance.
Shop around for the best interest rate, but DO NOT let everyone pull your credit. Have one loan officer pull your credit report and ask him what your scores are. When you shop to the next loan officer, tell them do not pull your credit report, but here are my scores. Just give them your scores and ask what is the best interest rate they can give you. The more people who pull your credit report, the lower the score goes. It drops 2 or 3 points each time it is pulled by mortgage loan officers.
Also, you can buy down to a lower rate. So, if they quote you 5.75%, you can buy that down probably to 5.3% for 0.375% of the total mortgage you are borrowing (which in reality is 0.375 of 1 point).
I hope this advice helps - good luck. I say go for it! No better feeling than to own your own home.
I bought a new house last year and we just refinanced and closed on Friday. That is why all of this information is so fresh in my mind. Also, my sister is a mortgage loan officer, so she helped me a lot and explained how things work.
Always ask what your closing costs will be - different mortgage brokers charge differently. One may be $4000 and another may be $8000. That is a huge difference. Some want more profit, others are reasonable.
Best of luck to you. 
Here is the best if you can afford it.
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Which can you afford more?
The emergency room bill....or the loss of your DH?
I'm not trying to be harsh, but money concerns should not keep you from getting medical help when it is needed and warranted.
It really sounds like some kind of allergic reaction. But it may also be something harmless. I agree with the other poster about calling your MD. You cannot fool around with stuff like this.
Me too! I can't afford NOT to be an MT!
Can't afford not to
I don't know how you've figured all this out. I have spent HOURS researching all this becuase when I started with learning MT, I barely knew how to turn a computer on, so I was completely in the dark. The only thing I've been able to conclude for sure is that you will pretty much get different information every time you go to a different site. I have tried soooo many different things and to be honest, I really haven't found any one thing to be much better than another, even the things I've started paying for.
I will definitly make a block of time very soon (tomorrow?) and try your group of programs and ideas and hopefully it will help.
Sure do appreciate all your time and thought into your post(s), btw.
Whether you can afford or not SM
you are going to have to see an accountant and/or a lawyer. We cannot teach you how to be an IC or how to set up a company. That is a job for a professional and I would never give advice on either (or take advice) on a message board.
unfortunately I can't afford $99 fee
.
I need a workout! Can't afford a PT
Could not walk for a week afterwards! BOY, what a workout! My thighs hurt so bad I couldn't even walk down stairs, and I considered myself in shape before I took the class! HA! Hang in there, it will get better, and the results will be amazing!
Like ER-MT, I cannot afford to not work
I have four sources for work now:
1. Local account I provide services for another MT who has the account.
2. A small local office that is my own account (2-3 tapes a month that are not usually full)
3. A midsized national MTSO in another state.
4. A small MTSO in another state.
The trick is not having everyone bombard you all at once.
If they can't afford books
It would take the same amount of time (actually less) to run a phrase through Google or one of the NUMEROUS online medical dictionaries than it would to post it on the Word Board. I, too, can tell on the Word Board which ones are a lack of knowledge in general, and it's kind of frightening those people are typing our reports.
I've seen helpful posters provide links to specialty websites, internet medical dictionaries, pharmaceutical site, etc., to try to help out but judging by some of the repetitive posters, I can't help but wonder if they ever even use the links the MTs have been kind enough to take the trouble to provide for them.
We all have times when we need help (or just a brief brain freeze where we cannot recall a word which I do once in awhile), but many of these posts (i.e., 'what is symphisis pubes?') make you wonder how much exposure to medical terminology a lot of these posters have even had.
Scary, actually.
How do you think they afford their mansions and
expensive vacations? Greed.
I'd love a vacation, but cannot afford it
Hi everyone,
thanks for your posts on this subject. I really cannot afford to take a vacation or even a day off. No one is around to pick up the work that will pile up if I take off and if I take off I don't get paid and since I just went through bankruptcy I really need all the money I can get, but it is nice to dream of the day I can take a vacation and not worry about the day without pay.
You also couldn't afford a breakdown - sm plz
I am a walking burnout factory... it is so necessary to not be the "yes girl"... take a break at least ONE holiday, ONE weekend and spend it on YOU... You cannot afford a mental meltdown, which will happen at this rate. Take care of you, and the job will continue to flow... everyone needs a break.... as short as it may be, it can still be refreshing if you use a day wisely... just my opinion
If you can afford to make the switch
then I would go for it. You will not make $15 an hour with most of the companies out there initially. Research the companies. I would try it PT before quiting my job and going FT with a national. Good luck!
We can't all afford the luxury of "Finding another job"
It isn't nearly as easy to up and quit a job as you make it sound. What about health coverage? Most of us have children or medical conditions and need our insurance coverage. When you start a new job, you have to wait usually 90 days before health care will kick in and, in some cases, if you have a pre-existing condition, they won't cover you. That is why a lot of us stay. MQ is very closed in the communication department, so this is our only means of communicating with each other. And it doesn't help to get bashed by our fellow MTs. We could use a little patience and little sympathy from our brother and sister MTs. So you have to scroll down past our remarks, you could be in our shoes and that is much worse. So next time you want to bash MQers, think about if the shoe was on the other foot.
Life is too short . . . if you can afford it,
xx
Law doesn't matter if she can't afford to take
him to court to fight it. He can do as he pleases and the burden will be on her to go after him and make him adhere to the court order.
Been there, done that. It's an expensive, exhaustive process and, in the long run, she will probably lose out if she runs out of money.
It's sad, pathetic, unfair, immoral, but true.
If you can't afford to work for a company and eat, it's IC all the way. (nm)
x
Been there - could not even afford a loaf of bread once sm
I mean really had not a penny for 2 weeks. We just emptied the cabinets and whatever was in there, we made do. Personally, I know what a terrible feeling that is, downright awful! Remember there is always light at the end of the tunnel. If you have anyone close to you who can help you out - that is one thing, but if not - you will have to make do with what you have.
Try the really cheap stores - the ones where usually you wouldn't even look at before. They have great deals, like Aldi, or the dollar stores, the outlet stores like Wonder, Hostess, etc.
I have to say that experience has humbled me and my family significantly.
Good luck - things will work out. Sometimes, we get wake up calls, and this might be yours. I think I have had quite a few already.
I can't afford to live in a house, just an apt. where I
:D
What? I am a low income MT, can't afford to travel anywhere.
 I can't even afford to drive out of the state...gotta fix my motorcycle.
I am not taking all this too seriously but I think your post is a little inflammatory.
Nobody expects tourists to speak whatever the native language is. I think it is reasonable for local medical professionals living and working here to be able to speak easily recognizable English since the accuracy and quality of the medical record depends on it, not to mention turnaround time. My time is valuable too. Forcing me to relisten over and over just to decipher simple phrases is not fair. And that applies to the native speakers too (who tend to rattle everything off too stinking fast and IMO just as bad or worse than ESL).
Why take early retirement if you cant afford it?
x
Or smart enough to not retire if you cant afford
x
Any EditScript Users cannot afford
To upgrade. Just received notification that all must upgrade to Windows XP and Word 2003 or 2007. Anyone finding this difficult at this time of the year with no work? At the moment, I am blaming Bill Gates. Anyone want to vent?
Okay...do you work? How can you afford your internet? nm
x
I believe there are many ways
we have benefited from others coming to America. We have a specialist at our Children's Hospital, that is world renowned for rebuidling throats and trachea's for kids after haveing had a trach tube...guess he should have stayed in Africa, in your way of thinking?
That goes both ways, though.
I don't know how many times I set aside an entire day because the company told me there would be work only to sit there all day long checking in every 15-30 minutes for nothing. There are days when I make $5 and days when I make $200. If I don't have work within an hour or two of my shift starting, I turn off the computer and leave for the day. I'm not going to be on call for free just because the companies decided to call us ICs for their own tax break purposes. The same goes for the cherry picked leftovers. I'm not working for $7 an hour while someone else is cranking out the lines by taking all the good reports and dictators.
Sometimes you can have it both ways.
I used to work for a Jewish lawyer and received Jewish holidays off (paid), along with all other paid holidays (including Christmas.)
The difference is that Christmas is a FEDERAL holiday, in fact, the ONLY religious FEDERAL holiday where most people are paid regardless of their religious beliefs. So people of other religious beliefs celebrate the *secular* Christmas, which is supposed to mean happiness, charity, gift-giving and especially tolerance. Your post gives me the impression that you want to investigate and judge every American's religious beliefs and deprive them of the holiday if their beliefs don't match yours. This is a pretty scary thought, especially because of the recently discovered practice of the government's illegal wire-tapping and spying of Americans under the guise of terrorism.
So maybe this issue isn't really about Christmas at all. Maybe it's just about personal freedom, and personally, I find what's happening in this country to Americans almost as terrifying as the terrorists themselves.
I don't think we can have it both ways.
I didn't see Frontline but have read and discussed the WalMart issue in depth over the years.
As I understand it, what separates WalMart from other large department and grocery stores is their business practices. WalMart dictates the price they're going to pay manufacturers for the goods going on the WalMart shelf. If the manufacturer doesn't cut his price to meet WalMart's demands, the store will just move on and stock a different company's brand. (So maybe Bounty cut a deal to get their product distributed thru WalMart but Marcal paper towels couldn't, for example.) The manufacturer is then faced with having to trim his margins while producing more to meet the higher distribution of having WalMart's business. Some companies are much more able and willing to do that than others.
But there is a mentality there that I just personally have a problem with.
To me it's like the hospital telling the MTSO that they're only going to pay 10 cents a line, period. The MTSO will have to slash her profits and likely the rates she's giving to her ICs or employees in order to keep the work coming in. OR, the MTSO may decide it makes more sense for her to get ICs that are willing to work at a much lesser rate (like those in India) so she can keep her business profits steady. This forces the MTSO's hand in a way that I feel is unjust, as her options are quite limited. No business owner or worker wants to go backward income-wise as the years pass, but this is the kind of thing that WalMart is doing to business people. It sounds to me like many hospitals and physician practices do business the WalMart way, and I think we need to walk the talk. If you shop at WalMart to save a few cents, do so knowing that you're supporting a company policy in the process. I do shop there on occassion, I admit, but I keep it to a minimum because I don't want to contribute to WalMart's success.
Good opportunity, while I have the soapbox, is to share something that has been on my mind for years as this offshoring issue has snowballed. I think the saddest outcome of all this is the illwill that has been fostered among so many us. Some of us get on a high horse about where we shop and don't shop, others resent that they have to run from to store to store, cutting coupons, just to get by every month and they last thing they want is to be preached at. Often there seems that there's not enough compassion or understanding, and to me, this devisiveness among people is just a horrible outcome as the loss of American jobs.
I also cringe when I read posts that just reek of bigotry toward Indians, Pakistanis, Canadians, etc. who wind up with work because a company thousounds of miles away made a business decision. Everyday working people, whether they're in Bangalore, Ontario, or Erie PA, do what's best for themselves and their families. I hope that no matter where we each stand on this complex issue that we don't allow ourselves to become mean-spirited and bitter people over it.
My DH is nothing like my dad, wish he was in a few ways though - sm
but for the most part I have a pretty good guy, just needs to learn to let the little stuff roll off his back. Both my dad and I are Scorpios and born 1 day apart so we are a bit alike, so I kind of went for the opposite of me which at times can drive you nuts but we have the same fundamental values and goals and that is important.
oh there's ways to get out of it....nm
2 ways
If you can go into Control I, that will show you the number of jobs (not the job numbers), but I don't write mine down with that function, I check frequently and would know if I missed a job.
on the other hand, if you have to go to the Dictaphone site, write down every job #, not that it does you any good because you have a lump dictation #, but if you do 40 reports (that you have written down) you should have at least 1000 lines and if it shows (as commonly does) 700 to 800 lines, then something is wrong, but how you prove it beats me.
Two ways. SM
1. Alt insert to add a shortcut. type in the keyword. Go to the text to type box. Hit Ctrl-K. (The next keys you hit will be assigned the shortcut). Hit Ctrl-B (for bold). Then type the text you want bolded. Do it again to turn off bold - hit Ctrl-K, then Ctrl-B.
2. After you name the macro and go to the text to type box, click on "Record" on the right side of the box. Then type your shortcut exactly like you want it, using Ctrl-B as in Word to start and stop the bold function. When finished, click "stop" on the recorder box. It will close and the shortcut will be saved.
You can do this with any Word function - italics, etc.
There are a few ways to do this. sm
Under Settings, Incoming you can specify the location where you want the files to be loaded from. Hit Add and chose either the folder on your computer or the FTP location. Check the file types you want and how you want them to load (manually or automatically). If you choose automatically, you can specific how often you want the program to check for new files. If you choose manually, you can use the Load Now button in the toolbar. This method will only load file types ES provides for selection(.dct, .wav, .mp3, and .aif file types). This will not work if you're working with .dss files (and is very frustrating to me).
The alternative method is to click on the Load button in the toolbar and go to the folder where you files are located. Hold down the Shift key, click on the first file, then scroll to the last file and click on it, while still holding down the Shift key. This will select all the files. Hit load.
Are you going to be looking for ways
If DH could "claim the income and I could be his "employee"? Really! You just want to type unlimited, have the money go to DH and then he just pay you the limit of $900. And you dont see how this is wrong? I would not want to hire you, would be afraid you would always be looking for way to cheat me, too.
two ways
I work part time and in one of my jobs we use VPN which is easy and fine.
On the other we use DocShuttle which is also very easy. These are both pretty small operations.
There are ways
without having to depend on the employer to give you a raise - we all know that's getting harder, if not impossible. But someone asked about actual salaries below, so here's mine - I get 1.10/report for radiology, employee status, transcribe about 140 reports per day, work Monday-Friday and cover on Sunday afternoons for about 80-100 jobs on the understanding that I get to it when I get to it! (I do this so that they don't have to hire another person to cover this, thus possibly having us run out of work during the week.) So this comes to $3400-3500 a month.
When I first started on the account, though, I despaired of ever producing enough to pay my mortgage and car payment - UNTIL one day I kept careful track of how much was actually nose-to-the-grindstone transcribing and how much was getting up and down for snacks, coffee, water, restroom, laundry, meals, and other countless distractions. I was quite shocked!
So I made it a point to sit down and type for 1 hour. Then I signed off, went and did whatever I needed - a 3 to 5 minute break that could include a quick phone call, restroom, water, etc, etc. Then I sat down for another hour and repeated throughout the day. My productivity zoomed! In addition to the obvious reason of only allowing one distraction an hour, that 3 to 5 minute break also cleared my head, was guilt-free, and made me ready for another hour of productive transcribing.
The other point that I wanted to make was that I make it a point to actively think about what repetitive motions I make, like between every job or shortcuts within the job, that could be done faster or more easily.
For instance, since I work off a C-phone and have to log the job #, physician ID, etc, I have an Excel spreadsheet that I set up with columns for Doctor, Patient ID, Job #, and Time (in the order that the "voice" reads them - those of you who do this know what I mean). At the top is a freeze pane that has today's date, today's job count, today's money made (job count multiplied by rate of pay), and then total made for the pay period (a running total). Then, although it seems so obvious now, I discovered ALT+tab so that I didn't have to lift my hand from the keyboard to go from the job log to the platform - back and forth with minimal motion.
Little time-savers like that really add up when you're talking 140 reports a day.
And there there is your Expander program. I still add to mine on a daily basis. I have 1 or 2 doctors (bless their pea-picking hearts) that say the same thing over and over, and those are the ones I build normals for. The others aren't worth it - too much editing. But I do make shortcuts for their favorite phrases (for instance, *no fracture, dislocation, or subluxation*, and another one for *no fracture, subluxation, or dislocation*). Any words that aren't caught by autocorrect and which I continually misspell gets either an abbreviation or a spelling correction.
So anyway, even if your boss doesn't cooperate and give you a raise, keep an eye out for more productive, faster ways to maximize each keystroke, each hand movement, each report, and you may find your income growing (my own personal estimate is by about 40%).
Two ways
I copied this from the Instant Text MS Word board. The link no longer works there so I think it's okay to copy it here.
Adding "-year-old" and "cc:" in AutoCorrect
The method for adding "-year-old" depends on your version of Word.
In Word 97, enter -year-old in the With box, enter yo (or whatever short form you choose) in the Replace box. Type 4yo to expand to 4-year-old.
In Word 2000/2002/2003, enter -year-old in the With box and precede your short form in the Replace box with a punctuation mark, such as a semicolon. Type 4;yo to expand. The punctuation mark backs up and replaces the default space AutoCorrect inserts in later versions of Word.
To keep Word from capitalizing cc:
Put cc: in the With box and type ;c (semicolon c) in the Replace box as your short form. The punctuation mark backs up and replaces the space (or letter) with the first letter of your expansion. In this case, it also tricks Word into not capitalizing the first letter of a sentence when you have that option turned on.
A punctuation mark after the Replace entry eliminates the space at the end of the expansion.
You can use other punctuation marks, however, the semicolon keeps your fingers on the home row keys.
This method also works for symbols (such as the degree sign).
you must be new it these parts. search the archives. besides that we can't afford to QA QA.
We're on production. You?
Can't even afford a vacation on the mainland! Hawaii?!! No could do. nm
s
I don't know many people that could afford the $100-200/ticket price...sm
I wanted to see him until I saw the prices.... then of course TicketMaster throws in all of the "courtesy" fees that tack on another $10-15.
Wait a minute, I guess I CAN afford one. When we first
bought one at my inhouse job (this was a while ago) they were right around $120.00. I just did a Goggle and you can get them for like $30 now.
No, both my brothers saved up and bought what they could afford ($500) , I was not
so a car wasn't even in my horizon....but 2 of my friend had parents who had gotten them USED older cars so I got around okay (I had to find my own transportation everywhere). My dad did eventually get me a car though after I wreaked the one I was borrowing from him (brakes failed- 1960 Corvair)-- the car/wagon (1985 used) was $6000 (this is in 1987) and was my graduation gift from college. --- I used it for 2 years, put way to much money into it for repairs, and then sold it and bought with my own money a 1987 Blazer for $11K. I paid my own insurance once out of college, but my parents paid for it up until then though I did work 3 jobs while in school but that money was for books, etc, food, etc. Parents covered tuition, I did the rest. We will probably buy a used car for them to USE from time to time when the time comes as we are in the boonies and it would simplify things, but it certainly would not be THEIR car.
Can you afford to work for India wages (sm)
Don't even listen to people trying to sell you a class, study for something with a future.
I did formal training and MT was pretty good for a while, but now I wouldn't recommend this career to my worst enemy!
You can get it by COBRA, that is what they told me, couldn't afford it. nm
nm
shopping, beachin' it?? who can afford to do those on our salaries, LOL!! nm
;
Sleeping......no two ways about it! NM
:)
Have heard it both ways! - nm
x
Loyalty goes both ways
How loyal is the company to you if they pay you peanuts, and how hard would they cry if they decided to "down size" and let you go?
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