Flexible Spending Plan

[mountanddo]

My attorney filed my Chapter 13 on Friday. She budgeted $480 for medical and dental expenses. Am I able to put this money into a flexible spending plan. It's coming up for renewal in January.

Also, If I put more in do I need to get trustee approval. I am thinking of putting in $2000 for medical and dental. I get both my medical and dental free but there are the extra expenses that I have to pay. Since I know I will have to spend this money I would much rather pay it monthly through my flex plan rather than trying to find the cash after. I haven't been to the doctor or gotten new eyeglasses for a few years so I'm planning on making the rounds now that I have insurance and am able to.

$145 - Dental Deductible
$500 - Medical Deductible, the other $500 will come from my personal wellness account that the company contributes.
$900 - Additional dental expenses
$200 - Eyeglasses
$255 - Prescriptions

[keepsmiling]

Haven't had new glasses in five or six years and can't see a bloody thing. Does your insurance actually cover glasses? If so, kudos!
Happy for you for the job/insurance. I know you've had a rough time; it's nice to know there can be a light ahead.
Sorry I can't answer your Q.
Please send some good luck my way

[mountanddo]

Haven't had new glasses in five or six years and can't see a bloody thing. Does your insurance actually cover glasses? If so, kudos!
Happy for you for the job/insurance. I know you've had a rough time; it's nice to know there can be a light ahead.
Sorry I can't answer your Q.
Please send some good luck my way

Yes! Good luck your way as well. It really has been a looooog 2 years. It is so nice to think that when I take Thursday and Friday off next week that I will actually get paid for them. I also get 17 PTO days a year as well. Just the insurance being free and the holiday and PTO time along with the 10% into a 403B makes things seem like I've gotten richer. Also, I just started this job so I am hoping that 3 years from now when my chapter 13 is done that I will have had a couple of raises. I've made a list of things that I need to do, dentist, glasses, etc. and will slowly work my way through them as I can. The car is another story but even if it breaks to the point that I have to junk it, I'm not homeless which was a real possibility a couple of months ago. Makes me appreciate what you can buy with a dollar that's for sure

[busby]

For what it's worth for anyone interested - I went to a local doctor for an eye exam but used that information to order glasses at http://www.eyebuydirect.com/ for both me and a friend during their buy-1-get-1-free promotion that comes around about every three-months and both pairs cost just over $40 which included shipping/handling and we're both very happy with the quality.

[mountanddo]

How do you know how they fit though? It looks like a great deal but eyeglasses are right there on your face. I'd hate to spend money on something online and have them not look right.

[LadyInTheRed]

My attorney filed my Chapter 13 on Friday. She budgeted $480 for medical and dental expenses. Am I able to put this money into a flexible spending plan. It's coming up for renewal in January.

Also, If I put more in do I need to get trustee approval.

Yes, you can put that into your flexible spending plan and you shouldn't need trustee approval to contribute more than that. As with anything you learn here, please confirm that with your attorney.

[karm43]

I believe you have to use it or lose it too. Pretty sure I would only put in it what your gonna use. So if you buy alot of meds etc great, but if you do not you lose that money.

[LadyInTheRed]

I believe you have to use it or lose it too. Pretty sure I would only put in it what your gonna use. So if you buy alot of meds etc great, but if you do not you lose that money.

That is definitely true. Whenever I get to the end of the year and see I have a balance, it's time to get new glasses!

[mountanddo]

I believe you have to use it or lose it too. Pretty sure I would only put in it what your gonna use. So if you buy alot of meds etc great, but if you do not you lose that money.

Yep, used to work in HR so I know how they work. Just wasn't sure if I could contribute more without trustee approval.

[karm43]

Gee maybe I should loo into this. Can you use it to cover deductables?

[LadyInTheRed]

Gee maybe I should loo into this. Can you use it to cover deductables?

Yes. It covers all out of pocket medical expenses. If your employer offers it, it really can save you quite a bit of money as long as you use everything you contribute. The contributions are made with pre-tax dollars.

[mountanddo]

Gee maybe I should loo into this. Can you use it to cover deductables?

Yes, deductibles are qualified medical expenses along with dental and vision expenses. The nice thing is that whatever you allocated to your flexible spending account you can access right away and not wait until the money is in there. So if you elect 2k and say have dental work on January 3rd that costs 2k that you have to cover you will get your money from your flex account right away. Of course if you over estimate you don't get it back at the end of the year (use it or lose it) so you have to be very careful about budgeting. I figure I could have 5k in dental work alone which is the maximum allowed in my company (each company sets their own maximum) however, realistically I can't afford that even if it did go into a flex account and it was deducted each month. So I will start with the 2k and get some stuff done this year and continue next year. It's nice to be able to even contemplate being able to do this. I've even managed to put $300 into my emergency fund so far. What a BIG difference 4 months can make! I got VERY lucky to have gotten this job. Someone ^^^ there is looking out for me.

[jange]

I have used the flexible spending for several years, pre & post bk. TT only questioned the amount of medical expense we claimed as we were high. It mostly goes to medicene and had my documents to prove it. It does save you money since it is pre tax money. You just can't use it for over the counter meds. I put $2600 in for 2011 and already used it all, upping to $3000 for next year.