HSA is so fabulous if you are reasonably healthy. Droo and I both contributed to one until recently, but we still each have money left over in the fund. It was a much, much better investment for us to put the money we would have spent on premiums into a savings account instead. We don’t go to the doctor very often, so the money we spend on premiums is usually wasted. But you still gotta have insurance in case of catastrophe, right?

Droo started his own business recently, so we’re tight on cash. The cost to add him to my insurance through work is through the roof, so we bought an individual plan for him, which covers only catastrophic care. The saved up money in the HSA really the only way we are able to handle routine medical care right now. It was an investment in future needs rather than the “use it or lose it” approach of a more traditional health insurance plan.

It stopped making sense for us when the premiums for the high-deductible plan became MORE than the regular PPO plan. I don’t understand that at all. Why would you pay a HIGHER premium AND pay more out of pocket? I wish it would have lasted, since it worked so well for us. That said, you guys seem to have more medical expenses than we typically do. You’d have to run the numbers (as I suppose you have) to know if it’s making sense for you.

The Hoss, Tiff and Olivia, as far as the 401(k) issues, I think that probably is enough to do its own post as well. I still don’t know much about this, and am all ears, so stick around.

And Tiff, two things: as far as medical expenses throwing a wrench in our budget - last year we spent $2000 OOP just for me to go to the chiropractor. Never mind all other medical expenses and health insurance premiums, just for me to keep my pain level at a minimum. That’s been a huge factor in why I feel like we’re not getting ahead financially.

The second thing, is I was going to leave you a comment about my “10 items, get $5 off” experience at Safeway yesterday - NIGHTMARE! You’ll love it, but I’ll make that its own blog post here.

It’s great to see when people are honest about finances. You are exactly right–it’s always been rather taboo to discuss, but I think (hope) there’s a shift in thinking now that we are in a recession. You are on the right track to increase 401(k) contributions, and that’s great that your only consumer debt is a car. Does Joshua’s employer have a 401(k) match? (You probably know all this, but…) Ideally you want to contribute up to the amount of the match (cuz you get free money that way!), then if you have more left to invest you can max out a Roth IRA. But before that, keep building up your emergency fund so you have several months worth in there.

I think I’m going to start doing some state-of-our-finances blog posts soon. We are doing pretty well right now, but I am ever mindful of the crazy job market and am always preparing for what would happen if Scott lost his job. My brother just lost his, and I am witnessing first hand the awful downward spiral of things when you don’t have much savings.

HSA’s are fabulous, btw. We would have been in bad shape this year without ours. In the past month, we’ve spent over $1k on unplanned prescriptions and doctor visits. (Isaac is on some pricey nebulizer treatments.)

Some blogs I like: http://getrichslowly.org/blog/, moneysavingmom.com, lifeasmom.com (she has Frugal Friday posts). Which do you recommend? I watch Suze Orman every week (she drives me a little batty sometimes, but she has wise advice).

I was able to retire at 49 because of the company and federal pension plans (along with some luck). I too,had and the ability to stay out of debt.
That’s the key, do not pay interest. It always ends up costing way more than the original purchase price