Windfall

Remember when you were little and played the game Payday? There were those cards that said "Windfall" and you automatically received more money? Well, I had one of those over the weekend. Here's how 10 minutes on the phone saved me almost $470.00.

SAVINGS #1:
First of all, I had a bill from Mercy Hospital in Iowa City for $270.80 in bloodwork. After my insurance paid their part (yes, I actually made it to my co-pay for approximately 1 month, before my insurance started over - boo! hiss!). Anyway, after insurance paid their part, I called Mercy to adjust my bill to include the employee discount. It turned out that after my discount, the bill was less than $10.00 and they don't bill less than $10.00, so billing told me to just get rid of the bill, because they would just write it off.

TOTAL SAVINGS: $270.80
BONUS: I worked at the hospital while having my 3 hour glucose tolerance test done, so I actually got paid to be there on top of it.


SAVINGS #2:
Our grill "exploded" or so you could say. A mere 2 years old, maaaaaybe, and the lid had pretty much blown out the side, while the burners burned huge pires, straight into the air. Now what? That thing was around $200+ dollars. So, our only hope seemed like buying another new grill. Until..........I tried to call the number on the grill which, of course was no longer in service, so I did some research on the internet using the email address and company name on the side of the grill. It turns out that the Perfect Flame, Model SLG2007A was recalled. So with one quick phone call, I was able to get a new replacement lid and burners free of charge.

TOTAL SAVINGS: $200+
BONUS: We don't have to replace the new grill, and we can eat steak again.