Day 143: Financial Anxiety

It’s Annual Enrollment time again, and this year I find myself experiencing high anxiety at the thought of making decisions that will impact us for an entire year.


Our company offers a Health Savings Choice Plan, in addition to the traditional PPO plan that we have had for the entire five years that I have worked here. The health savings plan includes a $35 biweekly premium, $2700 deductible, and $900 company matching, dollar for dollar into an HSA. The PPO has a $154 biweekly premium, $1000 deductible, and no company matching or HSA. Looking at what we have paid over the past several years, I don’t believe that we would ever even touch that $2700 deductible.

With preventative care 100% covered with no copay or deductible, the HSCP sounds like a great option. But what happens if we’re hit with a catastrophic medical issue? What if we don’t have a $2700 deductible if one of us has to be admitted to the hospital? What if I start contributing to an HSA in January, only to have one of our children break an arm in February? Or worse? There’s also the fact that HSA contributions only come out of the second pay of the month, so even if I wanted to put the difference between premium ($119/paycheck or $257.83 per month), we would be taking a HUGE hit every second paycheck. Do we have the self control to budget the extra $119 so that the money lasts us all month? My other thought was contributing $119 per month to the HSA and then $119 to a savings account on the first pay of the month. We’re still saving the same amount for health expenses, but the first $119 would be in a savings account that could act as both an emergency fund AND a health savings account. It wouldn’t have the same tax benefits as an HSA, but we would still be saving the money, gaining (minimal) interest, and we’d have it available if we had a catastrophic emergency.

Since I’m in the “planning for next year” mindset, I’m also considering increasing my exemptions, claiming married status, and putting the difference into a savings account. Based on this years tax rates, I would have saved $2568.80 in a savings account, accruing interest. That’s still less than our projected $3700 tax return, so we still wouldn’t have had to pay at the end of the year, but we would have been earning interest on that money (although again, it’s minimal). Although I know it makes good financial sense, I’m still suffering some severe anxiety at the thought of not receiving a massive tax return in 2012; although, if the Bush tax cuts expire, I won’t be receiving a massive tax return in 2012 anyway.

I know I can change the tax exemptions later in the year if it isn’t working out for us, if I find that we’re not saving like we’re supposed to be, but the annual enrollment terrifies me. If I decide that I don’t want to pay a $2700 deductible, I’m out of luck until 2012.

My husband told me he trusts me to make the right financial decisions, but it’s moments like right now that I’m not sure what the right financial decisions are.