Financial preparedness


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Today our insurance slapped us with their new policy of no longer accepting copay accumolator cards. Which means if we can't find a new insurance with better policies we have to come up with a good $12,000 each year to pay for our daughter's meds before insurance will pick up the tab. 

We're not destitute, but we're not rich. When you have a significant financial obligation, what are the best ways to make plans toward that? I don't know if training for significantly higher paying jobs will handle the immediate future. 

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Oof - good luck finding better insurance!

We're in the same boat - not destitute, not rich.  My job has some of the better insurance out there, but even so, we routinely pay over $10k/year in medical expenses.  Here's what we do:

Years ago, I made a complicated spreadsheet to compare different insurance options.  The high-cost, high coverage, was most expensive.  High-deductible/low insurance cost was least expensive. 

We make full use of the Health Savings Account.  That allows us to pay for our medical stuff with pre-tax dollars.  It comes out before the paycheck.  Additionally, we set aside more every month for medical.

I also use a "Limited Flexible Spending Account".   The FSA is the "use it or lose it" account, so I have to plan ahead.  And when you already have an HSA, it can only be used for dental & vision.

Our usual yearly experience: We pay most of our yearly medical bills the first 6 months of the year.  Then we finally hit the deductible and insurance kicks in, and things slow down until Sept or Oct.  By then, we've hit our out-of-pocket limit, and basically everything until the end of the year is free.   I'm still saving that extra monthly amount, so we can afford to pay down the big bills that start hitting in January-June.

 

 

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