The difference between Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Health Savings Account (HSA), and Health Reimbursement Account (HRA), and when you should choose which.
Cost-Sharing Subsidy Under Obamacare ACA
In addition to the premium subsidy under the ACA, you may qualify for the cost-sharing subsidy if your income is low enough.
Credit Card Rental Car Insurance Coverage Gaps
I said I have a weak point for sob stories because I keep getting drawn to them. Someone on Twitter led me to this story on CreditCards.com: Don’t automatically refuse extra rental car insurance coverage Kim rented a car from Alamo. She paid with her Discover card. Kim damaged the rental car when she backed […]
Uninsured Motorist Coverage Is Not Expensive
A recent New York Times’ Your Money podcast had an interview with reporter Paul Sullivan about reviewing one’s insurance coverage. I was surprised to hear him saying uninsured motorist coverage in auto insurance is important but it’s expensive. I had to rewind and make sure I heard it right because that is not my experience. […]
Spending Other People’s Money
Someone bumped into my car in a parking lot but wasn’t decent enough to leave a note. The hood of my car was damaged. I went to two reputable body shops. One quoted $850; the other quoted $740. As body work goes, it’s a small job. Because the bill isn’t much more than my deductible, […]
Rental Car Insurance Options
By the time you read this, I’ll be on vacation in Ireland. I will rent a car and drive around the country. Naturally I don’t want to expose myself to losses resulting from a car accident while I drive a rental car in Ireland. I did some research in rental car insurance. I’m sharing this […]
How Much Should You Put Into Flexible Spending Account (FSA)?
My company is doing open enrollment again for next year (for more info on what to choose in open enrollment, see previous posts). I’m not going to make any changes except I have to re-enroll for flexible spending account (FSA). If you use flexible spending account, you should be familiar with the use-it-or-lose-it rule. If […]
My Flexible Spending Account Sent Me a Debit Card
As if I don’t have enough cards in my wallet, the vendor for my employer’s health care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) sent me a MasterCard debit card. I’m supposed to use it for items eligible for reimbursement from the FSA. The pitch from the FSA vendor is that I won’t have to file reimbursement claims […]
What To Do If Your Health Insurance Says Your Treatment Is Not Covered
Last Friday, I happened to pick up a copy of the Wall Street Journal somebody left on the train. There was an intriguing article on the front page — How U.S. Health System Can Fail Even the Insured. It’s a long story but the story line is familiar. A Mrs. Barbara Calder has a rare genetic illness but […]
Research Life Insurance Company Ratings
This is the final post in my mini-series on life insurance. The previous posts in this series are: How To Buy Life Insurance Life Insurance: What To Buy Life Insurance: How Much Should You Buy? When you buy life insurance, you want to make sure the company will still be there when your beneficiaries need the payout. Otherwise […]
Life Insurance: How Much Should You Buy
I ended my previous post on life insurance with the question “How much should you buy?” I will address it in this post. First you have to figure out how much income you need to replace for your beneficiaries. You don’t have to replace 100% of your gross income because if you died, you would […]
Life Insurance: What to Buy
My last post about life insurance was on how to buy life insurance. This time I’m going to talk about what to buy. Permanent versus Term The best approach on the permanent aka cash value versus term discussion is tuning out. Just buy term. Very few people have a permanent need for life insurance. The vast […]