Counting My Pennies » insurance

Slight underestimation

Megan — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:27:25 +0000

This year, for the first time, I set up a Flexible Spending Account for my medical expenses. I didn’t have a whole lot of time to play with, so I took a general look at my expenses from last year and just picked a number. I knew it would be low, but decided that a low number was better than way overestimating.

What I didn’t realize was just how low that number was going to be.

I’m going to be out of money in my FSA by the middle of the year. Possibly by the end of May, even.

What happened? Well, it’s not that I’ve been overly sick. Some of it is stocking up. The OTC allergy meds I take were on crazy sale,and won’t expire soon, so I bought a few boxes. I also discovered that my FSA will cover the expensive anti-aging/acne gel I use on my face. Awesome! And some of it was just poor estimating. I didn’t think about what I spend in certain areas.

But really, that’s okay. I still got the benefit of some pre-tax spending and I now have a better idea of what is and what isn’t covered. I’ve got all my receipts in a folder right now, so I’m going to be sure to continue that folder so I know what I really spend over the course of the year. In YNAB, I have been using a budget category called FSA Expenses, and I may continue using that category even after the FSA money has run out.

So, lesson learned. I’m definitely glad I tried the FSA and I was pleased at just how easy it was to use. My previous experiences with FSAs have involved debit cards for FSA expenses, whereas with this plan, they automatically reimburse doctors appointments and prescriptions (often before I get the bill from the doc), but I have to fax or mail in the paperwork for OTC stuff. I know a lot of people struggle with that, because it means paying up front and getting reimbursed, but the reimbursements are fast enough that if I put it on my credit card, I get the money deposited into my bank account before the credit card payment is due anyway.

Here’s looking forward to next year’s FSA! (Though I hear they’re getting phased out as part of the new healthcare bill. Better get my savings in while I still can!)

How’s your insurance coverage?

Megan — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:00:53 +0000

If you have a house, you probably have homeowners insurance, but for those of you who rent (or some condo owners), do you have renter’s insurance? Are you prepared if there is a fire, flood (broken water pipes, anyone), or theft?

Last week, my friend’s home was burglarized. We’re pretty sure that it was a planned job. They broke into her condo (getting through three separate locked doors), stole her gigantic flat screen tv, and while they were at it, grabbed her little 13 inch tv, her laptop, a backpack to put the smaller items in, and some bedding to cover the tv while they hauled it out of the building. Nothing else was touched. Her drawers hadn’t been rifled through, and the cash in her jewelry box was still there when she got home. They were in and out while she was gone, thankfully. She realized that her tv was probably visible from the street, making her a prime target.

She is, of course, having an alarm system installed this week.

But she’s lucky. She had insurance coverage, which will pay for the loss of these items. She even has her original receipts, something not all of us have access to. It made me re-think my loss-prevention plans. I have renter’s insurance. I have important papers inside a fire box squirreled away in a secret place in my apartment. But I’m not sure I have the original receipts for my television, for example. It’s a few years old, but would still be an expensive loss. My computer is easier – I ordered it online, so I can always go back into my account and pull up that receipt.

My friend is using this as a cautionary tale for herself and everyone she knows. Don’t be so complacent about your life and your safety. Have good insurance. Even if everything you own is junk – sure, that tv, couch, bed, and clothes aren’t worth much – but how much would it cost to replace it all? Close your blinds if you have an apartment visible from the street. Lock your windows (the investigators told her that her burglars came in through the door though). Maybe re-think sleeping with the windows open, depending on where you live. Just be aware of what’s around you and do what you can to stay safe.

May is not as short as I thought

Megan — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:00:06 +0000

I think I’m used to Memorial Day being the end of the month. Over the weekend, I was convinced that June started this week. I was thinking about what was left in my budget for the month and considering working on my Net Worth update. I even opened up the spreadsheet I use to start entering numbers.

Clearly, I was jumping the gun a little bit. May wasn’t over yet, not by a longshot.

May has not been the best spending month. I had to have some dental work done that wasn’t so great on my budget. I’m waiting to see what my insurance will reimburse, but it’s not much. I opted to not get full coverage dental, but my medical insurance will usually give me a little bit of money back for normal dental work. I usually have pretty good teeth, but this year, for whatever reason, I needed more cavities filled than I think I’ve had my entire life. I can’t explain it, but my dentist thinks maybe they’ve been there a while. This is the first time I’ve had x-rays done at this dentist, and he does have a more advanced setup than any other dentist I’ve seen, so it’s possible.

At first, I was kicking myself a bit at not signing up for dental insurance, but there’s nothing I can do about it, so I’m just sort of stuck. Had this been a normal year for me, the insurance would have cost me more than a normal cleaning. I can choose to enroll in dental insurance for next year, and that’s something I’m going to have to consider.

Do you opt into other insurance? Dental? Eye? Something else?

You’re careful with your spending but are you careful with your stuff?

Megan — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Yesterday at the gym, I overheard a woman comment that she never bothered to get a lock for her gym locker. After all, she took her purse with her while she worked out and who would want to steal her clothes? While she may be right, I am still surprised at her attitude. Our gym has had problems with people rifiling through lockers (admittedly only in the men’s locker room) and even if I’m not worried about someone stealing my clothes, I still don’t want anyone else going through them looking for something to steal. Besides, it’s cold outside! What happens if someone steals my clothes? What will I wear back to the office?

Of course, I always lock my locker, so unless someone goes into the locker room with a bolt cutter, I should be okay.

But that made me think about how perhaps I’m not protecting everything that I own. I’m good about taking my GPS out of my car when I park it in the lot, as a visible GPS is a big temptation for a potential thief. But I’m frequently guilty of leaving my iPod sitting out on my desk in the office. Never overnight or while I’m at lunch, but I could be in a 2 hour meeting and it would just be sitting right there in plain sight. Right now, my purse is in a cabinet above my desk, but the cabinet is not locked. It has a lock, I just never lock it.

Now, I work in a federal government office building, and so we’ve got pretty good security here. Everyone in the office is either an escorted visitor or an employee or contractor. So it’s not as though there are people just wandering through, and my cubicle isn’t on a major walkway, so it’s a bit more secluded, but it’s not like I have my own little hidey hole.

While I’ve never heard of anything being stolen in the office (aside from filched office supplies), I probably should be more careful about what I own. While that doesn’t mean locking everything away, I should probably at the very least slide my iPod into a drawer when I walk away from my desk.

I must also take a moment to plug renters insurance. If you own your home, you probably have homeowners insurance. But for those of you who rent – is your stuff insured? Sure, you might not think you own very much, but what happens if a pipe bursts and floods your apartment and destroys everything? Even if everything you own came from Goodwill, it will still take you a significant bit of money to replace it all. Also, does your insurance cover your big ticket items? Did you initially get insurance as a poor recent college graduate and now that you’re making money, you’ve bought a nice new tv and stereo system? You might want to make sure you have sufficient insurance.

I have car insurance and renters insurance through the same company (State Farm, and while I’ve never had to file a renters insurance claim, their car insurance procedures couldn’t be easier), so I get a discount on both. My renters insurance runs me about $100 a year, and even though I didn’t need to file a claim all last year, I still consider it among the best money I spend every year.

Do you protect your stuff? Or do you not think about it?