Dumb Mistakes

I should post about things that I fuck up as a heads up to other people.

My MegaCorp employer has the "flexible spending account" thing where you can have money withheld to pay for certain things, I think.. like day care, and medical care. You have to elect your withholding in the fall before the next calendar year, and you're locked into it.

I knew that I wanted to get my eyes fixed this year. I've been thinking seriously about it for the last few years. I knew that I was going to have premium implants and I knew about how much it was going to cost. Thing is, I'm normally very healthy and use my medical insurance very little most years, so I've never put any money into the spending account. It's a use it or lose it deal I'm pretty sure. If I had been thinking ahead, I could have put 7 grand into that account to pay for my eye surgery, and it would be pre-tax dollars. So a rough estimate would be a savings of $1750 if I had done that.

Moral of the story.. if you know you're going to have an expensive procedure done, see if you can use pre-tax dollars through your employer's benefit program. Don't be an idiot like me. Maybe when I do my taxes for 2010 next year, there might be a way to get a deduction for it. Doubt it though.