Benefits of having a Flex Spending Account (& Use Your Money by March 15th!) #flexspending

Every family has health concerns and you want access to the best care available. Some consumers might not realize that different benefit plan options exist for them. One option is a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) – an employer-sponsored benefit add-on that allows employees to set aside pre-tax money for qualified health expenses.  You can contribute as little as you want up to $2500 per person and it comes right out of the paycheck each month.  It is pre-taxed so you save that little bit of what the taxes would cost.

An FSA lets you cover health care expenses not covered by traditional insurance plans. Before opting in to an FSA during open enrollment, you should first estimate how much you will contribute to the FSA.  I usually do $1000 per year for my family to cover our yearly out of pocket costs.  I use the FSA money towards our co-pays, contact lenses, prescriptions, and products.  It can be confusing to know which products exactly are covered but now there is a website that sells FSA items exclusively.

Many FSA plan years have a December 31 deadline, but some employers offer coverage extensions through a 2 ½ month grace period. For those with a grace period, one upcoming deadline is March 15.

Eligible Products with an FSA:

• Blood pressure monitors
• Breast Pumps and other baby care
• Hot and cold packs
• Sunscreen
• First aid kits
• Shoe inserts
• Contact lens solution

A great resource for those with FSAs is FSAstore.com – a site exclusively selling thousands of FSA-eligible products and answering FSA-related questions through an online Learning Center. For more information on FSAs, or help with figuring out how much to contribute and which FSA eligible expenses qualify, visit FSAstore.com.

Mom and More Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the FSA Store but my thoughts and opinions remain my own. Please see my Disclosure Policy.