I have something big to share. I'm buying group health insurance for myself and my husband starting in August. This is a big deal to me for many reasons. 1) I can stop worrying 2) family can stop worrying 3) this has been a freelance goal of mine for a year 4) I can get pregnant and not worry about not being covered 5) I found coverage!
And finally, pride. Pride because I found a way to make it happen. Do I think the health care system is corrupt and needs serious changes? Yes! But what I want and what is are two different things right now. I am writing this to help out those who may be thinking about the self-employment route, but are worried about not having health insurance. Here is what I've discovered:
1) Having an LLC between two people automatically qualifies you for group health insurance. Getting an LLC is pretty inexpensive and easy to do. Our LLC is not our main source of income, this isn't an issue. Having group health insurace is guaranteed coverage at a group rate. Pre-existing conditions are not an issue here.
2) It's more affordable. But not cheap. When I had a full-time job it would cost about $600 a month to bring my husband on to my plan. And another $250 a month when we have a child. When I left my job I qualified for COBRA for only 18 months at $550, just for me. Our policy now with full-coverage for $800 a month. Ouch. Yes. But, I couldn't even get coverage as an individual. Another thing to consider is, is that this policy would be about $300 less when I'm no longer obese. How's that for incentive?
3) Making the decision to make it happen. I realized that I needed to double my income to comfortably afford health insurance. I came up with a plan that works for me. This didn't mean taking on hours upon hours of design work or killing myself to make more jewelry. It means that I have found a way to streamline my production and cutting back on excess (unpaid) work.
I have started writing freelance articles (improved writing skills!) that only adds about 15 hours to my already dedicated 10-12 per week. So by only working 25 hours a week I can afford all of my living expenses with room left over to pay down debt and save with some left over for fun stuff and travel.
This also leaves room for my creative projects, which is most important to me. It took a year to get to this point. Time organization and priorities can be tricky when you're your own boss, but not impossible. I decided to stop spinning my wheels and make it happen.
I’m really happy for you! I tend to take my benefits for granted because I don’t pay for them, but they are so important to healthy and happy living. Congrats!!
That’s great news. Nice to not stress about it.
Inspiring and Informative post! I am always struggling between enjoying the structure that j-o-b’s bring to my life (and my waistline) and doing what I really want (shifting over to completely self employed). As a “Renaissance Soul” what I want to work on and in involves a lot of different tasks that don’t pay super well and require a lot of self-discipline to be consistently constructive (and means a lot of time at home alone with my pantry beckoning). Insurance always seems like something I don’t want to think about. So thanks for thinking about it for us, and posting something so helpful!
How cool! You are so smart. I’ve toyed with the idea of self-employment, but the whole insurance thing scares the bejeezus out of me. Not to mention not being sure I can even make any money. For right now I’ll stay with my job that offers insurance, but I’ll be sure to return to your post if and when I make the plunge into being my own boss.
This is fantastic – good for you for being smart enough to wiggle things around and have a solid plan. I’m so happy for you
Oh how I would love to be my own boss. I’m jealous of your situation – you are much braver than me for having the courage to try and make it on your own. Congratulations!
So you have to pay $800 per month for health insurance? I’m so glad I’m Canadian!
So many people complain about having to pay an outrageous amount for health insurance but I think when you work for someone else – you are paying with your freedom. Grateful to finally meet someone like minded and that you are making it work. Encouraging.
As for me, I’m a long ways off from being self employed but I will get there and I’ll be happy when I have to start paying for my own insurance!
You pay an extra 300 for being overweight? I’m hoping that by the time I am working for myself I won’t have that problem anymore
Thanks for the great entry. I am impressed and will definitely be following you. I’m trying to find quality bloggers that I can learn from and weight loss plus entrepreneurship is definitely what I am most interested in.