Insurance - - The Finance Gourmet

Procedure for Using HSA Account To Pay Medical Expenses

September 27, 2025August 23, 2025 by Finance Gourmet

I’ve written a bit lately about Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs, how HSAs work with state taxes, and the difference between Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts. But, the one question I keep getting is how exactly to use a HSA account. The Health Savings Account Theory The idea behind a Health Savings Account, or HSA, is a little bit like a 401k account, or even a 529 college savings plan account. You save money for future expenses like college or retirement, but in the case of an HSA, you are saving for medical expenses. Like with a 401k plan, or an IRA, you get a tax deduction benefit for making contributions. Also, like the other accounts, your money grows inside the account tax free. And, finally, like a Roth IRA, or a 529, you withdrawals for approved expenses are also tax free. So, theoretically, assuming the world around you proceeded in an orderly and predictable manner, and your budget contained plenty of room for all appropriate spending and savings, then you would contribute regularly to your HSA account, and invest that money, so it could grow over time, into a big reserve that is available to you when you …

Is Amazon Stride Flex Worth It

January 16, 2023 by Finance Gourmet

Health Insurance through Amazon Stride Flex sounds tempting, but is Amazon’s Flex health insurance worth it? What Is Stride Amazon Flex Health Insurance? Amazon contracts with drivers from several different platforms. The most public way to drive for Amazon is via the company’s Amazon Flex program. Amazon Flex drivers select a block of time they want to work making deliveries for Amazon. Since drivers get to choose the time, manner, and place of their paid efforts, all Flex drivers are independent contractors, meaning they do not get access to Amazon’s health plan. Amazon Flex health insurance is offered through an Amazon corporate partner called Stride. How Can Amazon Offer Health Insurance to Its Flex Drivers? The Stride Amazon Flex health insurance for drivers is really an interface to your state’s health insurance website, or the federal Marketplace for health plans. Republicans have made it their mission to tear down and reduce these so-called Obamacare health insurance plans, so don’t get too excited. The Stride by Amazon Flex platform asks the same questions as any of the healthcare marketplaces. You name, your age, what doctors you want to use, what prescriptions you take and want coverage for, and what conditions you …

Health Care Portal Open 2023 But Hurry

January 16, 2023December 18, 2022 by Finance Gourmet

The Federal health care portal, HealthCare.gov, has been reopened for 2023. This means that people who live in the 36 states that use HealthCare.gov as their health care insurance portal have until January, 16th to enroll in a health care plan. Health Care and Financial Independence Achieving financial independence without health insurance is luck. There are too many ways a person may need health care, from accidents to illness. Yours truly spent 47 years basically never seeing a doctor save once or twice every two or three years. My last stretch before being diagnosed with cancer, it had been four years since I had seen a doctor or used health care in any way. Then, bam, an unexpected diagnosis and treatment that costs thousands of dollars per dose, a hospital stay of two weeks, and more. My high-deductible health plan (HDHP) with Health Savings Account saved my $200,000 of liquid assets by having a legally required out-of-pocket maximum. I never had time to worry about deductibles and copays. By the time the first bill hit my house, I had crushed the $7,000 out-of-pocket family maximum, which ironically, had the function of making my family’s health carefree for the rest of …

Understanding How Beneficiaries Work

July 18, 2017July 18, 2017 by Finance Gourmet

As a financial advisor, I used to review client’s paperwork when they came in for an appointment. Among many other things, I always made sure to go over was to review beneficiaries of my client’s accounts. Or, more to the point, I TRIED to review the beneficiaries on my client’s accounts. All too often, they had no idea who the beneficiaries were, or how to find out. Even worse, they often just decided to assume that they knew the beneficiaries on their accounts. Out of date beneficiaries is one of the most common financial problems people have when they start financial planning. What Are Beneficiaries When someone dies, there are a series of laws that determine exactly how your assets get dispersed among the living. These laws are long and complex. They are collectively referred to as estate law, and it is complicated enough to be an entire specialty for attorneys. The primary instrument for distributing your assets as you see fit, rather than as how the law dictates, is your will. However, there are several kinds of accounts that do not fall under this process, unless you do not properly designate your beneficiaries. In this context, a beneficiary is the …

Should I Invest Money in My HSA Account?

December 13, 2016 by Finance Gourmet

A Health Savings Account, or HSA, is a tax-advantaged way to save money for health care costs. An HSA account is different from a Flexible Savings Account, or FSA, that many people are more familiar with. For most people with qualifying health insurance plans, an HSA is better than an FSA. HSA Investing One of the advantages of a Health Savings Account is that the money does not have to be spent in a single year. Instead, those funds can be left in an HSA for years. In fact, that money can be invested, just like with a 401k plan, or a 529 plan, in order to grow for future medical costs. But, does it make sense for YOU to invest money in your Health Savings Account? Money that is invested in an HSA grows tax-differed, just like in an IRA or 401k. That many can also be withdrawn tax-free, if and only if, it is used to pay for medical expenses. There are several factors that determine whether it is a good idea to invest your HSA funds, or whether you are better off leaving them in the cash, or money market account. How You Use Your HSA Determines …

When Do I Need Umbrella Insurance?

October 17, 2016 by Finance Gourmet

What is umbrella insurance exactly? I overheard someone saying that umbrella insurance covers everything. That isn’t entirely true. What umbrella insurance covers is personal liability. It does cover most all personal liability, so I suppose in a way it covers, “everything.” Liability Insurance Most people already have some liability insurance. Your car insurance, for example, has liability insurance for anything you become liable for while driving a car. Most auto insurance coverage is specified by three numbers like 100/300/100. The first number is your liability coverage limit per person per accident. The second number is the total liability coverage per accident for all persons. The third number is the liability limit for property damage for each accident. Of course, this liability coverage only involves things that happen while you are operating a covered vehicle. Homeowners typically have some liability coverage through their homeowners insurance policy. This liability covers a lot more ground (but NOT when you are driving a car). Anything that happens on your property is covered. So, if someone trips and hurts themselves on your driveway, that liability would be covered. This coverage is also limited to a specific dollar amount depending upon your policy. An amount like …

Health Savings Accounts State Taxes

July 6, 2016 by Finance Gourmet

We’ve discussed before how much of a benefit a Health Savings Account, or HSA, can be for saving money on your taxes. Contributions to an HSA are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes, or in the case of pre-tax contributions, they are simply not part of your income for federal income tax purposes. In addition, all interest, or capital gains earned within an HSA are tax-free, assuming all withdrawals are made to pay qualified medical expenses.But, what about state taxes on Health Savings Accounts? State Taxes on HSA Accounts The Federal Government can’t force states to do things, although there are ways around that, such as make your drinking age 21, or you get less federal highway funds. So, the various states don’t necessarily have to go along with the Feds when it comes to what is and is not tax deductible. In some states, however, that just happens by default. For example, in Colorado, the state income tax form is based upon the taxable income that you calculate for your federal income taxes. In other words, if you deducted it on your U.S. income taxes, it is already deducted when you start doing your state income taxes. That …

Which Is Better HSA or FSA?

May 11, 2016 by Finance Gourmet

Which is better a flexible spending account or a health savings account? The answer to which is better between a health savings account or flexible spending account depends, unfortunately, on the specifics in which they are setup. However, it is relatively simple to determine which is better an FSA or an HSA. First, you’ll want to understand what an FSA vs an HSA looks like. When FSA Is Better Than HSA An flexible spending account, or FSA has many advantages over paying for medical expenses out of your own pocket. However, it has only one real advantage over a health savings account, or HSA. The only eligibility requirement for having and using an FSA is that your employer offers one. It doesn’t matter what kind of health insurance plan you choose, or whether that plan has a high deductible. In order to have an HSA, you must have a qualifying high-deductible health insurance plan. The reality is that the deductibles aren’t necessarily that high, and in fact, may be close to the deductibles on other health plans. But, if you don’t qualify for an HSA, then a FSA is better than an HSA. The only other advantage of an FSA …

What Obamacare Deadline Really Means for Your Money

March 18, 2014 by Finance Gourmet

If you’re here to complain, debate, inflame, or otherwise argue about whether or not Obamacare is a good or bad thing, let me stop you right there. This is a personal fiance website, not a political forum. Go debate the merits of policy somewhere else. This article is about the finances of Obamacare and the upcoming March 31 deadline. If you have a comment about that, or something I missed, let’s hear it. If you want to say how good or bad this law is, don’t bother, I won’t approve it. Obamacare Deadline March 31 Alright, with that out of the way, let’s jump right in. The law popularly known as Obamacare is actually called the Affordable Care Act. This is strange, because Congress usually goes out of its way to come up with an acronym for every big law it passes. However, this law states that you must be covered by health insurance by March 31. So, now what? First off, if you have health insurance that you get through your or your spouse’s company, stop reading and go have a latte. Nothing in this law pertains to you or your current situation. Second, if you already have health …

How Much Should Your Home Be Insured For?

February 14, 2014February 11, 2014 by Finance Gourmet

Homeowners insurance sounds like it should be simple. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. A lot of that comes from common misunderstandings, but the truth is that homeowners insurance is so much more than just something that pays you when you house burns down. Once you have the right home insurance deductible amount figured out, you need to figure out how much of your house’s value needs insured. Home Replacement Value Many people mistakenly assume that the amount of homeowners insurance they need is equivalent to the market value of their home plus the value of the contents. This is a good thought but not how it actually works. In most cases, no matter what happens to your home, whether it’s a fire, a falling airplane, or an errant bulldozer, the land beneath your house is seldom destroyed along with the home. That means that there is no point in insuring the value of the land your home sits on. Additionally, the foundation of the home survives most events intact. This can actually make your home insurance cost more or less than a similar value house located elsewhere. In popular locations where land values are high, a $500,000 home may be …