Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account Participants: Be Aware of Changes For 2011

We were surprised recently with an article in our newspaper about future changes for Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) scheduled for 2011.

For a variety of reasons, my husband and I chose a high deductible health insurance plan when I left my corporate job with insurance benefits and we needed to purchase individual health insurance. To coincide with our high deductible health insurance plan, we opened up a health savings account.

For those of you not familiar with Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), they are accounts that allow Americans to pay for medical expenses with pretax dollars.

An HSA can be opened with a high-deductible insurance policy. The account holder can deposit pre-tax money into the account up to the yearly maximum of $6150 for a family and $3050 for an individual. This money can be used at any time for qualified medical expenses. Any money not used by the end of the year can continue to stay in the account and there are penalties and taxes if the money is withdrawn for non-medical uses.

With a FSA, an employer offers employees the ability to set aside pre-tax income into their account to be used for qualified medical expenses, but the money in the account must be used by the end of the year.

Welcome 2011

In years past, participants in these plans could use these accounts to purchase over-the-counter medicines, but that will no longer be the case for 2011. Things like cough, cold and flu remedies, pain relievers, allergy and sinus relievers, antibiotic products, baby rash creams are just a few examples of products that could be purchased in the past with these spending/savings accounts. But in 2011, if you want to purchase these products and use your spending/savings accounts, you will need a prescription from your doctor.

Some over the counter products can continue to be purchased without a prescription from your doctor, such as bandages, contact lens supplies, denture adhesives, first aid supplies, just to name a few.

I feel very fortunate that we don’t use too many over-the-counter remedies. But in the past, if I needed something like diaper cream, I purchased the product using our health savings account. I’m not so sure I will be calling my doctor requesting a prescription AND driving to her office to pick up the prescription for a $5 item. For me, the time involved just won’t make it worth purchasing the item with pre-tax money.

It remains to be seen how medical practitioners will deal with the request from their patients with these accounts. The article made it sound like a lot of doctors are not aware of this change and what could be an onslaught of phone calls.

It also suggested that many account holders are not aware yet of this change. And quite frankly, if I hadn't read the article in the newspaper we would not have known about it. We have yet to receive anything from the bank of our health savings account.

And what about the pharmacies? I used to be able to purchase an over-the-counter product anywhere it was sold and use my HSA. With a prescription, does that mean I can only get those items at a pharmacy after showing my script to a pharmacist? Does this all sound time-consuming to you too?

Between now and December 31, 2010, if you have the funds in your spending/savings accounts, you might want to stock up on the over-to-counter products that you use regularly. This will save yourself the aggravation of asking your doctor for a prescription and you will still be able to use your tax-advantage account. In 2011, you will have to ask yourself if it will be worth your time to seek a prescription from your doctor for a simple over-the-counter remedy just so that you can use your spending/savings account.

Hopefully some more information will be coming soon from our employers or banks. When I find an official list from the IRS, I will publish the link for you.

Do you have a flexible spending account or health savings account? Did you know about this change?

Disclaimer: I am not a financial or insurance professional. If you have questions and concerns about your Flexible Spending Account or Health Savings Account, contact your employer or administrator of your account.

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Freeze Your Garden Produce Now and You'll Be Thanking Yourself Later

The summer harvest is underway and I am starting to get over-loaded with some vegetables from my garden, our CSA and from the gardens of friends and family. All of this wonderful produce at the height of its flavor needs to be preserved so that we can enjoy it later in the year.

I don’t do any canning, but I have found success with freezing a lot of produce from our garden. I was so paranoid about wasting the produce because we can’t eat it fast enough that I spent a recent afternoon washing, chopping and bagging vegetables so that I can freeze for future use.

Green beans

I grew purple green beans this year as an experiment. My girls love them and we have been eating them for dinner quite a bit, but I’m getting a little tired of the beans, so I am freezing the rest for a later date. Beans must be blanched before they are frozen.

• Wash
• Trim the ends and cut beans into small pieces
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Have a bowl of ice water ready.
• Carefully put the beans in to the water and boil for 3 minutes.
• Strain and transfer beans to ice water for at least a minute to cool down
• Strain and lay out on cookie sheet and stick the pan in the freezer for an hour or so. This is optional, but it makes it easier to pull out smaller portions of the beans.
• Place beans in freezer bag and keep in freezer.

Parsley

I started having success with growing parsley, after we put a bunny fence around the garden to keep the critters away.

• Wash
• Dry well
• Remove the leaves from the stems and chop the leaves. Stems can be discarded.
• Place in a freezer bag.
• In the off season, break off what you need.
• I also wash, dry and bag whole sprigs to use in my homemade chicken stock.

Peppers

I have only had one measly pepper so far, but my neighbor gave me 7 green peppers from her garden.

• Wash
• Dry
• Chop
• Place in freezer bag. I lay the bag flat and try to get out as much air out as possible. I just break off what I need in the fall and winter for casseroles and soups when I turn the oven back on.

Onions – See peppers

Spinach/Swiss Chard

Sometimes I get more spinach and Swiss chard from our CSA than I can handle. I simple clean, dry and freeze whole leaves in a freezer bag. The spinach and chard crumbles when it is frozen, so when I make smoothies, I break off a handful and throw it in the blender. My kids don’t have a clue.

Tomatoes

My grape tomatoes and a few Romas are the only ones ready thus far. Just enough for snacking and salsa. My bigger tomatoes haven’t started to turn red yet. I have frozen clean whole Roma tomatoes in the past. The skins slide right off when the tomatoes thaw. You can then chop and add to soups and sauces.

Zucchini

I have been having trouble with my own zucchini plant, but I have 7 zukes from our CSA. How could I possibly use up 7 zucchinis before they go bad? I love my Grilled Summer Squash, but not every night of the week and I am not about to turn the oven on to bake when it is 95+ degrees outside. When I saw this tip on A Latte' with Ott, A, I knew what I had to do. I hand shredded the zukes, because it didn’t occur to me to use the food processor until I was almost done. I bagged in 2 cup portions.

Do you use your freezer to preserve your garden harvest? What vegetables or fruit have you been freezing?


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This post is linked to:

• Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage
• Works for Me Wednesday at We are that Family
• Frugal Friday at Life as Mom
• Finer Things Friday at Amy's Finer Things
• Making Dollars out of Change at Madame Deals
• Thrifty Thursday at Coupon Teacher
  
  
  
  

Grilled Salmon with Peach Mango Salsa

I love to cook. I also love to serve my family a 5-star restaurant quality meal right on our own patio and for a quarter of the 5-star restaurant price.

While we love salmon, it sometimes doesn't fit into our budget. I have discovered in the past that when salmon is on sale super cheap, it can be super fishy tasting. This salmon fillet was on sale for about $5.99/lb and it was farm-raised.

The end result was a 5-star restaurant tasting dish. This fillet wasn't fishy. I didn't over-cook and dry out the salmon. The salsa made with local, fresh, in season peaches was a delicious topping for the fish.

Grilled Salmon with Peach Mango Salsa

• olive oil
• 1 lb salmon, divide into 3-4 inch wide fillets. Keep skin on.
• seasonings - I used a Fiesta seasoning from Tastefully Simple. You could just use salt and pepper.
• 2 peaches, peeled, pit removed and chopped into small pieces
• 1 mango, chopped into small pieces. Click on the link to find out how to cut a mango. Instead of mango, you can just cut up 1-2 more peaches.
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• juice of one lime
• fresh parsley, about 1-2Tbsp. chopped
• a dash of salt

1. Combine the peaches, mango, red onion, red pepper, lime juice, parsley, dash of salt. Set aside in the refrigerator
2. Heat grill to high.
3. Brush both sides salmon with olive oil and season.
4. Place fillets on grill skin side down. Close lid and grill for 3-4 minutes.
5. Flip the salmon.
6. Grill another 2-3 minutes.
7. Serve the delicious salsa on top of the grilled salmon.
8. Enjoy!

Please share your favorite grilling recipes.

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This post is linked to:

• Mouthwatering Monday at A Soutern Fairytale
• $5 Dinner Mom
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace
• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
• Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as MOM

Introducing the Re-Design of Family Balance Sheet

I can just hear some of you..."well it's about time". Trust me I was saying it as well.

I made the decision to stick with Blogger for several reasons, the first being that I know Blogger and a re-design wouldn't affect my time as much as a total switch to Wordpress would be. Maybe some day, but right now I'm staying.

I always knew what I liked and didn't like, but I have zero talent or expertise in web design, so I made the decision to hire someone and I am not disappointed. I worked with Jackie at Memories by Design and I am very pleased with my new design.

If you are reading this through your email subscription or reader, please click through to my site and check out my re-design.

Also, please do me a favor and check out my new Facebook page. And while you're there, become a fan and 'like' my page. I would very much appreciate it.

Thanks for reading Family Balance Sheet. It has been fun getting to know all of you through your comments and your sites as well.


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Square Foot Gardening Update: Patience is a Virtue

Aside from my purple green beans, some herbs and a few grape tomatoes, I haven't harvested much yet. To say that I am being impatient is an understatement.

Every evening when I go out to the garden to water, I am teased by the fruit and vegetables that are exploding at this time of year. But unfortunately everything is still in the growth stage and I have a few more weeks to go.

I can taste the homemade salsa or BLT sandwiches right now.

I planted cantaloupe for the first time last year and it was the sweetest and most delicious melon I have ever tasted. I can't wait for these lovely melons to ripen up a bit.

I pulled a few carrots, just to see how big they were...too soon.

This zucchini plant has skipped over a 2 foot pathway and entered into another boxed garden. The funny thing is that it was a volunteer from my compost pile. I have never grown zucchini, so it must be from the CSA. I compost all of our vegetable and fruit scraps and this plant appeared coming out of the compost barrel early in the season. I replanted it in a new bed that we built this year and it is taking over my entire garden.

The problem is that there are a ton of flowers, but not a single zucchini yet. I don't know if this is normal.

And to make matters worse, I found some flowers on the ground. I'm not sure if this is the work of critters that feast in my yard or if these flowers fell off naturally.

How is your garden growing? Are you practicing a lot of patience right now too?

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This post is linked to:

• Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage
• Grow. Eat. Save. at $5 Dinners