So Sick of Debt

A little while ago I mentioned that our health insurer was being taken over by a larger company, and if the takeover went ahead, it would result in a cash payout for us. Well, the deal is done - the policyholders have voted for it to go ahead and the Federal Court has given approval, meaning  the insurer (MBF) will be taken over by BUPA.

When I first posted about this, I didn’t understand why we got paid if the deal went ahead - after all, we would remain members and our policies would remain intact. This is it in a nutshell: MBF is a `mutual’ organisation,  so it is essentially owned by its members. When it is taken over, it is the members who divide up the takeover proceeds (in this case, $2.4 billion).

Some policyholders are disappointed because MBF was previously planning to list on the sharemarket, instead of being swallowed in a friendly takeover. In that scenario, each member would have automatically become a shareholder. That would have made me a first-time investor!

But I’m happy to receive the cash, which will probably be used to finish off the last of my debt. Why do I say that? These payments are set to be made in late June, by which time we should owe just under $2000 on our vehicle.

So YAY! An unplanned windfall is now definitely coming our way.

EDIT: Holy crap! I just realised June is next month. That means we will more than likely be consumer debt free by NEXT MONTH! This is so exciting!!