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If you have access to an HSA, be sure to max it out!
For some people that may make sense, but I have not been maxing mine right now. I just put in a little bit in addition to what my employer adds. Remember, this money is tied to medical-related expenses only so you do not benefit by stockpiling tons of money that you cannot access except for medical purposes. For example, if my maximum out of pocket per year is $4000, there is no need for me to stockpile $20,000 into an HSA that I cannot access without penalty if I wanted it for something non-medical related.
i had an hsa but when the insurance rates sky rocketed at renewal the hsa was a poor option compared to other conventional options.
now that i no longer have the hsa i am so glad i maxed it out every year and saved up a bundle..
now i have the best of both worlds , i have regular insurance and can pay my co-pays and out of pockets with it.
i also have money we use for dental ,eyeglasses ,etc and save aboutr 33% by using the money stockpiled in the hsa.
some dental implants saw us saving thousands because we got to use the hsa money that we saved.
mathjak, why did your insurance rates skyrocket and why do you think hsa's are a poor option. I started to build my hsa up and planned on continuing but wonder why you would say this.
mathjak, why did your insurance rates skyrocket and why do you think hsa's are a poor option. I started to build my hsa up and planned on continuing but wonder why you would say this.
How do you save 33% using hsa money?
I'm guessing maybe it was an employer thing? Our HSA plans are the cheapest through my employer.
mathjak, why did your insurance rates skyrocket and why do you think hsa's are a poor option. I started to build my hsa up and planned on continuing but wonder why you would say this.
How do you save 33% using hsa money?
Business rates are based on the group experience and our group had some high medical expenses so they wanted a 40% increase in our hsa rates.
we turned to the plans on the small business exchange . we had a whole bunch of options.
the hsa rates and out of pockets at this point were no longer competitive with say a gold plan.
for only 500 bucks a year more we have a 250/500 deductible and 1500/3k out of pocket max compared to the has which was 500 bucks less but had 5k/10k deductables
as well as co-pays all over .
as far as saving 33%? we got to use the pretax dollars for medical ,dental and eye glasses from the hsa so it was like saving 33% or so in our marginal bracket since we live in nyc and paid with pretax dollars.
Time keeps moving by, and this thread is still around. Well no surprise, I keep getting older, I am 31 years old now, my combined 401k and IRA balance is now close to $190K. Despite not taking a salary for about 15 months (started my own company, but that didn't work out), my retirement savings went up a lot, with the stock market basically. I started a new job in August at a company with very generous retirement benefits, so far I have about $18k in the new 401k.
To follow up, just turned 32 today, on Sunday my total retirement accounts were around $205K.
So I guess the history is roughly this:
28: $60K
30: $110K
32: $205K
I guess it is not bad considering I did try to start my own company for a while there and couldn't save any money for a while. I got my first permanent full-time job at 25. I really wonder what I should be aiming for though. How long are people going to live 40/50/60 years from now?
To follow up, just turned 32 today, on Sunday my total retirement accounts were around $205K.
So I guess the history is roughly this:
28: $60K
30: $110K
32: $205K
I guess it is not bad considering I did try to start my own company for a while there and couldn't save any money for a while. I got my first permanent full-time job at 25. I really wonder what I should be aiming for though. How long are people going to live 40/50/60 years from now?
You know what'll happen with you? In a few years your job situation will improve. A few years after that you'll meet someone that you want to settle down with. Then you'll look start researching school districts...
And eventually you'll be in your mid 40's and have a decent nest egg and your kids will be teenagers and act up in the way they do ...
And your kids will graduate and will struggle to get jobs and what they get at first will suck but they'll save some and gripe about their roommates and their small apartments and FICA and how their parents screwed things up and say that THEY'LL make it...
A good summary, and indeed most lives develop along such lines. The nth generation will pretty much repeat what the (n-1)th generation did. Presently the most incomprehensible life-changes, will eventually become inevitable.
But exceptions abound. Some people never "settle down". Some do, only to divorce. Some never have kids. The 401K is a regimented investment. We hopefully remain with one employer, contribute a portion of our earnings, receive an employee-match, invest in what's available (and hopefully don't alternate too much between the various options). Other things in life are less regimented. 401Ks endure, while our personal lives founder and recover and founder again.
While I'm loathe to discuss personal financial information, I would mention that growth in the 401K plan - despite the horrendous bear markets of 2000-2003 and 2007-2009 - has been a comparatively steady source of personal satisfaction and of watching the pace of life move forward. The present time, if it lasts, is an especially good time for watching the compounding of annual gains in the market, plus contributions and matching. Let us hope that we're not on the threshold of another bear market.
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