My employer offers me a Flexible Savings Account (FSA) and if you have the opportunity, you should take advantage of it.

What is an FSA?

The Health Care FSA allows you to set aside up to $5,000 of your income before any taxes are withheld for reimbursement of eligible health, dental, and vision expenses which are not paid by a health plan. The expenses must be incurred by you or your dependents (for federal income tax purposes). Anything you pay out of your own pocket for eligible medical care, such as deductibles, copays, eye exam fees, eye glasses/contacts costs, some over-the-counter drugs, and dental expenses such as orthodontia, are usually reimbursable expenses.

Why do I love it so much?

The FSA not only comes out of your salary pre-tax, but it is basically a way of budgeting for health expenses. Sometimes we should plan for them, such as dental appointments and regular doctor appointments. Others, however, we don’t see. In emergencies, we often have to pay out of pocket for certain expenses. I advocate setting aside a little bit of money for medical expenses so we’ll be prepared when something happens.

An FSA does the budgetting for us by taking out a little big from each paycheck and in return we get a debit card that we can use for health expenses. The best part? Instead of like my budget where I set aside money each money and after a year I have a hefty sum, the FSA gives you the money upfront and then takes money over the course of the year. So your mind is immediately put at ease and you don’t need to worry about coming up with cash should something happen.

Restrictions

When leaving an employer, the rules vary, but often times you can use the total amount designated for the FSA at the beginning of the year, while at times you may not use the remaining money in your FSA after the termination of your employment.

There are a lot of personal finance posts that give us encouragement to quit the 9-5 job and start a business, but for most people, this is unrealistic, at least in the short term. Starting a side business is possible, but it takes time, so while that is happening on evenings and weekends, what can we do to solve the problem of being unmotivated by our jobs?

Here are three simple solutions that can help us through the day:

1. Get Away
Sitting in your cube having lunch can be depressing, and staying in your seat for 8 hours straight only makes the problem worse. Take a walk, or even better, find a spot where you can truly get away from work. I found a nice little park near my work, where I sit, listen to music, and eat my lunch in peace. There are no distractions, and I completely forget about work for at least a few minutes every day. Instead of a long 8-9 hour day, that break makes the day feel like two short, 4-hour days.

2. Have Fun During Breaks
If you can’t stand the thought of doing any more work, do something you enjoy during your breaks. Bring a book to work or find a few blogs you enjoy and spend a few minutes reading something you care about. It will motivate you and get you excited, and this will carry over to your work when you go back.

3. Multi-Task
If you think that working on your side project is only for nights and weekends, you’re wrong. Always have it in the back of your mind and take notes so you’ll remember them later. There’s nothing more frustrating than having a great idea but forgetting it by the time you get home! Plus, having a great idea will pump you up and help you get through those next few hours.
You’re not ready to quit your job, but using these steps, you can still improve your life right now and help the day go by just a little bit faster.