Putting it into Practice

Books I've read or talks I've listened to on personal financial management always warn about changing lifestyles at the slightest increase in salary or benefits. I guess this is true... because as you get more purchasing power, the more you feel like you can get more of this and that, the more you want that "some more", the more you feel deprived of what you've been missing. Tsk.

I am guilty of being on that track. Extra money don't go to savings. They go to "extra expense", to small prizes that I think I deserve. Sigh. I have to kick the habit!

Now, I am put to the test. My new job entitles me to a super nice medical benefits plan, where they will pay for 80% of my hospital expenses when I give birth. And this means ANY hospital, ANY doctor. The 80% includes room, procedures, doctor's fees, tests, etc etc. They pay 90% for CS -- but knock on wood we are hoping for a normal delivery.

A HUGE part of me badly want to transfer to Asian Hospital. I heard that they have really nice hotel-like rooms , they have "birthing rooms" (private labor + delivery rooms where you don't have to be transferred from one room to another), a great nursery that they call the "huggery", great staff, good food, good ambience, good hospital room view. And if my plan pays 80% (plus Philhealth pa) , it will really be such a sweet deal. BUT, transferring to Asian will mean switching doctors and more gasoline expenses for checkups. Right now, our car is broken (the Aveo got flooded boohoo) so we have to rely on my dad to get around or hire a driver -- which can get expensive. We're also considering the distance from our Laguna house and the traffic that usually clogs up SLEX!

Right now, I go to Binan Doctors Hospital ( a small, family-owned private hospital in Binan, Laguna) with my OB since baby Sarie. Giving birth at BDH is more convenient and wayy cheaper. A rough computation of my canvassed costs for normal delivery less my medical plan 80% showed me that we could pay around 30K for Asian, but in BDH we'll probably only pay around 8-10K!

Hey, BDH took good care of me when I was hospitalized because of Baby Sarie. The facilities could be improved aesthetically, but everything was clean and functioned well.

The "maarte" side of me is really heartbroken to bid bye-bye to the posh hotel rooms at Asian, but we have to be more practical, to think of everyone's welfare , and not to be carried away with this so-called extra perk, which might have a lot of "hidden expenses". We have decided to stick to our basic plan and go with our current OB and hospital.

I've never experienced Asian before anyway so I shouldn't feel bad about what I'll miss. BDH is well within our range, medical plan or no medical plan. Probably better to save for baby's future than opting for a "lifestyle change" (read: luxury hospital) this early in the game!