These changes to our family’s health insurance will cost us thousands of dollars per year.

My husband had just changed jobs, and we knew this would bring about some changes. First of all, his current job is remote, so he doesn’t have to be dragged into the office every day.

Another thing that changed when my husband changed jobs was that he went from a no-deductible health insurance plan to a high-deductible plan. Of course, I know we’ve had the privilege of going without a deductible for many years. Because many people will have to give up their deductibles. part This is before the insurance company picks up the tab for treatment.

But still, going from a $0 deductible to the current $3,200 deductible wasn’t easy. So we had to make changes to deal with these changes.

Rework the budget to handle higher health care costs.

When my husband and I realized we were going to go from non-deductible health insurance to big insurance, we immediately sat down and started crunching the numbers. And we made some changes to our budget to account for the fact that we could potentially be spending more than $3,200 a year on medical expenses.

To be fair, it’s not like you’re paying $0 under your old plan. Every time I went to the doctor, I had to pay anywhere from $25 to $40, depending on whether I was a primary care provider or a specialist. And this does not include the cost of medications and supplies.

But these changes have left us spending hundreds of dollars more each month on medical bills. In most cases, that money had to come out of the travel and entertainment budget.

That said, we base our budget on a specific income we collectively earn. But as a freelance writer, your income is flexible. So some months I can earn more money, and then that money goes into a special savings account designated for travel and leisure.

The only benefit of a high deductible insurance plan

Signing up for a high-deductible health insurance plan isn’t much fun. This is especially true if your child gets injured or gets sick and has basically paid thousands of dollars in deductibles before the middle of the year (true story). . Come to think of it, there is One of the perks of having a high health insurance deductible is having access to a health savings account (HSA).

To qualify for an HSA in 2024, you’ll need a minimum individual deductible of $1,600 or a minimum family deductible of $3,200. Your plan must also have an out-of-pocket maximum of $8,050 for individual coverage and $16,100 for family coverage.

Our health plan meets these requirements, so you can contribute up to $8,300 to your HSA this year. And that’s on a pre-tax basis, so we can keep $8,300 of our income tax-free. (For individual coverage, the limit is $4,150, plus an additional $1,000 contribution for savers age 55 and older at both the individual and family levels.)

Now one thing we don’t The thing with our HSA is into it. It may seem counterintuitive that I just said that we are currently spending thousands of extra dollars per year on health care.

But that’s because HSA funds that aren’t withdrawn can be invested and grown tax-free. Therefore, I want to use my income to pay for my medical expenses and have my HSA grow in value over time.

My goal is to reserve an HSA for retirement. This is because older people tend to have increased healthcare costs. But at the same time, I know I have an HSA in case I need to access the money faster.

It hasn’t been easy to see health insurance premiums rising this much. But the silver lining is that high deductions give you access to a very useful savings tool that can help you take advantage of tax advantages in many ways.

WARNING: Our top-tier cashback cards now have a 0% introductory APR through 2025.

This credit card isn’t just good. This is a very good card that professionals use personally. Features a long 0% intro APR period, cash back rates of up to 5%, and no annual fee! Click here to read the full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.