I haven't been able to find this mentioned here, but these systems are already in place. There are insurance companies that offer high deductible plans, often linked with HSA accounts. These plans are supposed to be cheaper because you kick in more of the cost of health care and its supposed to make you "price shop" for services. These plans send monthly statements that not only list how much you have spent out of pocket to date, but itemize that list. So you can see what was spent, where and when how much of a "discount" you got from the MSRP. This whole "Our computers can't handle this type of detail" baloney is just because they want to delay spending the money to upgrade their systems, the software and tech are already available. Everyone would do well if they kept in mind that there are only two types of statements that come out of insurance companies: Lies and Damn Lies.
I think that I agree with many of the poster here in stating that Communication is the biggest key to success in Marriage. My wife and I both have advanced degrees in engineering fields, and we're pretty analytical about stuff, however when we were in the pre-marriage phase someone mentioned to us some things that we needed to talk about. Number one on the list? MONEY, believe it or not. So many people have trouble with their marriage because they disagree on how to keep a budget (or in extreme cases if they NEED a budget). The other biggies: kids, discipline and.... sex. It hard and weird to talk about these things, but you really have to, explicity, in great detail and using very simple words. The best communication tool I've ever found directs the conversation like this:
person a: I feel/believe that (insert simple one topic statement here)
person b: So you feel that (repeat statement as you understand it), is that correct?
person a: Yes/no ( if no, repeat/rephrase statement)
Person b: OK I understand, is there anything else?
repeat with both parties until the issue(s) are all stated. THEN work on resolution. It sounds stupid, but it works. This stuff is covered in any pre-cana course if one is going to be married in a church.
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I haven't been able to find this mentioned here, but these systems are already in place. There are insurance companies that offer high deductible plans, often linked with HSA accounts. These plans are supposed to be cheaper because you kick in more of the cost of health care and its supposed to make you "price shop" for services. These plans send monthly statements that not only list how much you have spent out of pocket to date, but itemize that list. So you can see what was spent, where and when how much of a "discount" you got from the MSRP. This whole "Our computers can't handle this type of detail" baloney is just because they want to delay spending the money to upgrade their systems, the software and tech are already available. Everyone would do well if they kept in mind that there are only two types of statements that come out of insurance companies: Lies and Damn Lies.
person a: I feel/believe that (insert simple one topic statement here)
person b: So you feel that (repeat statement as you understand it), is that correct?
person a: Yes/no ( if no, repeat/rephrase statement)
Person b: OK I understand, is there anything else?
repeat with both parties until the issue(s) are all stated. THEN work on resolution. It sounds stupid, but it works. This stuff is covered in any pre-cana course if one is going to be married in a church.