Medical Expenses and Tax Deductions....All the Fun Stuff

When we set up our Flexible Spending Account this year with our health insurance we put aside an average of the medical expenses we have had for the past few years. In each of the past three years I have either had a child or our son has been hospitalized, thus increasing our expenses. While I knew we wouldn't be having a child this year I did figure on our son being hospitalized for more than a day or two just in case.

Fast forward to December 15, 2009. While our son was kept over night they never actually admitted him which meant we got away with just a co-pay instead of the hospital bills. I've been healthier this year as has the rest of the family. All of this is great news, except now we have more than half of the money we set aside currently unspent.

Since I predicted some of this I started having some dental work done that I've put off for the past year (I need crown on two teeth). Two months ago I had the first crown done. The crown prep was fine, the temporary was incredibly comfortable and I've had no problems with the permanent crown. Then two weeks ago I had the crown prep done for the second crown. It was a little achy at first, which I expected but then the pain wouldn't go away. Add to that the fact I can't chew AT ALL on that entire side of my mouth and now I'm a bit concerned. I kept telling myself to give it a couple more days to see, but it's at the point where it throbs and aches so badly that it's keeping me up at night, the pain has radiated into my jaw and behind my ear and is causing (I think) horrible headaches.

So, I've told myself that I HAVE to call today. I have to have it looked at. (I won't get my permanent crown until 12/28). Yet, here I sit hesitating. I think I dread the possibility of a root canal. The only consolation is I have plenty of money left in our FSA account to pay for it, something that wouldn't have been likely a year ago.

I bet December is a big month for dentists and maybe optometrists too. People having dental work they've put off done or getting contacts and eye glasses just to meet the end of year deadline for tax deductible expenses. While that's usually not the case for us, this year it seems to be, in part due to the overestimation of our medical expenses and the surplus of cash we have to spend on medical treatment/supplies.

How about you? Do you make the rounds with your doctors in December?

All I Want For Christmas........Is Teeth

This is the first year that we set aside pre-tax dollars into a flexible spending account for medical expenses. We reviewed our medical expenses for the past couple of years and basically decided to set aside half of what we've preciously needed because a)if we don't use it we lose it and b)Two of the last four years I have had babies, and one of those years one of those babies was hospitalized. So, needless to say our medical expenses have been substantial the past four years.

Thankfully, this year has not been so tough on the pocket book. There will be no new baby, hopefully no hospitalization, and as a whole we have been pretty healthy....or healthy enough to not need extensive medical care. Just a few days ago I mentioned to my husband that come December 31 we may be scrambling to try to find ways to spend the remaining money. We started talking about the designer glasses we'd pick out since we buy our glasses at a shop that doesn't take insurance and every frame is $40. Stylin'.

Well, fret no more. After my trip to the dentist today we will be lucky to have any money left over. Long story short, four fillings that I have had for years need to be pulled out and each of those four teeth need to have a new filling put in. Apparently, there is decay underneath the filling and the fillings are leaking....the dentist used a nifty little gadget to determine that, which was slightly reminiscent of HazMat determining the presence of chemicals. In addition to that piece of handiwork there are also two teeth that will require crowns. One tooth I knew was a possibility for two years. My previous dentist has been trying to baby it along. It can be babied no more.

When all is said and done there is 2,000 dollars worth of work that needs to be done to my mouth. Insurance will cover just under half of it, which means I am looking at 1,200 big ones just so I can have teeth and not be reduced to straw feedings.

Obviously, there are a lot of other things I would like to spend that money on, but on the other hand since it will be coming out of the flexible spending account it is unlikely that we will have to worry come December 31 what to spend any remaining money on....because there won't be any remaining money.

Keep on Truckin'

It is easy sometimes to take for granted the things we have been blessed with. I know that I am often guilty of this. It saddens me to think how many hours a week my husband has to work and how much he misses out on with our kids, yet because he works that much we can afford to pay our bills. While he works close to eighty hours a week there are others (and some in our immediate circle) who don't have jobs at all. When I think about their uncertain future it makes me so much more grateful that my husband is employed. I oftentimes think it would be easier if we had more disposable income (who doesn't?) to blow on luxuries and non-necessities and then I think about those who can't afford food to feed their families or those who are losing their homes. It is hard to not see my husband as often as I would like and I wish he and I had time to go out alone and spend more time together, yet then I think about a couple of friends of mine who are currently going through divorces and will be starting their lives over as single women. It makes me thankful for the time, however little it may be, that I do have with him.

Times seems to be rough for a lot of people right now. The economic struggles seem to permeate into the personal lives of those battling hardship. How can it not? As tough as things sometimes get I always try to remind myself to be thankful for what we have. We have food, clothing, and shelter. We have our health and our love for one another. Nobody is putting his/her life on the line fighting a war as many of our American men and women are doing on a daily basis. For all of those things I am thankful.

When I look around and see friends or people I know losing their homes, the lives they knew, their marriages, and their self-esteem it is disheartening and discouraging. However, it makes me that much more intent on making what I have and what my family has work. Everything is cyclical and what goes down must come up and while things are far from ideal we keep plugging away, holding on, working together. And that has to count for something.

Mark of the Beast

I paid off a credit card today. Our remaining balance was $6.66. I hope that is not a sign of impending doom.