October is the 3-year anniversary of my self-employment!! In October of 2017, I put in my 2-weeks at my 9-5 job with a couple of month’s worth of expenses saved up to pursue freelancing as a social media manager full-time. Looking back, I basically had no idea what I was doing (If you’re looking for more info on how I got started, click here!) but one of the things I was really smart about was setting myself up with an HSA account!
On top of now being responsible for creating my own income, I also became in charge of figuring out my own healthcare. At the time, I was 24 and couldn’t be covered by my parents’ health insurance plan because their healthcare provider only offered plans within California.
One of the smartest things I did at the time was register for an HSA account!
A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-exempt account to pay for your medical expenses, you can save what you don’t use for the future — even retirement!
- Note: you are required to also have an HSA-eligible plan which is usually a CDHP or HDHP; also, check the annual contribution limits to make sure you comply.
So basically what this allows you to do is put money aside into a savings account that you can ONLY spend on health-related expenses, such as:
- Doctor’s visits
- Prescriptions
- Dental exams
- Menstrual products (yes!!!! You can checkout at a drug store with your HSA card and can even use it at checkout on select health items on Amazon!)
- & more!
If you’re single, you can currently contribute up to $3,550 a year tax-free. Families can contribute up to $7,100. The money that you put in doesn’t get taxed, the money it earns (if you invest it) doesn’t get taxed, and the money you pull out of it after the age of 65 comes out tax free too! That’s a triple tax advantage!
Having this money set aside helps you manage unexpected health-related expenses! For example….
At the end of last year I had an unexpected visit to the ER (I was maybe there for an hour and they checked my vitals and did ONE ultrasound on my leg…and then they sent me home and said I was fine lol) and I got a bill a month later for $1,700. Thankfully, I had this saved up in my HSA account so it really didn’t feel like a big deal.
WEX strives to simplify benefits for both employer and employee. Their mission is to empower Americans to make more informed decisions about benefits that will truly benefit their financial and physical wellbeing.
While WEX has been a behind-the-scenes player for some time, in a time where healthcare costs and options are rising they have turned toward speaking directly to people to ensure that we get the answers we need and make the best decision for us.
For more information and to learn more about WEX and HSAs, you can go here.
This post is sponsored by WEX, but all opinions and words are my own.