Employee Benefits

Do you have kids? Do you have an FSA?

Lauren Zangardi Haynes
Fee-Only CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Practitioner Lauren Zangardi Haynes

Holy cow, medical expenses can eat you alive when you have kids! A lot of people feel nervous about using the flexible spending account that their employer offers. I love flexible spending accounts as a way to save for your ongoing medical expenses with pre-tax dollars. They work really well if you have certain medical expenses you always need - such as contact lenses or a monthly prescription. Or if you have kids who always seem to need random medical care...

While these aren't designed as long-term savings vehicles some employers do allow you to roll-over a small amount of money from one plan year to the next. Read your benefit booklet- or have your financial planner do it- and see what the rules are for your FSA.

And if you don't have an FSA offered at work - ask for one! Your employer may not know that this a benefit employees want.

Check out this short video from Words on Wealth about FSAs to learn more!

OK, this is great and all, but what if you have High-Deductible Savings Plan and are offered an HSA (Healthcare Savings Account) to pair with it?

I've got you covered - "Can an HSA or FSA save you money?"

*You can not use an HSA if your spouse funds an FSA.*

Another employee benefit that a lot of parents skip over but could benefit from - DC FSAs (Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts). Seriously, how often have your cursed the cost of childcare? Or thought that you worked all summer to literally pay for summer camps so you could work in the first place? An overlooked employee benefit: DC FSAs.

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