Use It Or Lose It (And Then Some)
December 18, 2011 
4 Comments
Anyone else out there trying to burn up FSA money?
On Tuesday last week my employer notified me that if I didn’t spend all the money in my FSA account by December 31, they would not be contributing the promised $250 to next year’s HSA. This baffles me considering that if I don’t use my FSA funds, my employer gets that money. But whatever.
Thirty minutes after I received that email, I had scheduled an appointment with an optometrist. I walked in thinking I’d order a pair of glasses for every possible occasion, but walked out with contacts.
I realize that common folk have been wearing contacts for decades, but it still kind of feels like magic.
I only need corrective lenses to see at a distance, and I live most of my life with a computer a couple of feet from the end of my nose. So…because my glasses were uncomfortable, I ended up only wearing the glasses for night driving and watching movies. That meant I couldn’t really read the faces of people coming at me down the hallway. If I was standing in aisle two at the grocery store, I’d have to squint to read the sign for ketchup, pickles, and peanut butter on aisle six. The branches and leaves at the tops of old trees looked like an abstract blur of brown and green.
That is, until about 3:00 on Friday.
I go back for a follow-up this Thursday to pick the rest of my lenses. Even with the contact lens exam and a year’s worth of disposable lenses, I still have about $150 left in my FSA account. So I’ll be begging my dentist to write me a prescription for one of these.
Hat tip to my sister-in-law for the idea.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to practice sticking my fingers in my eyeballs so I’m not late to the day job tomorrow morning.
Photo credit: xenia
