So I am a bit new at FSAs but my husband started a new job today and has the option and we are TTC how much should we think of putting on the Fsa as potential first time parents?
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It goes by the year, right? That's how ours works. Do you know if you have any infertility issues that you may need medical expenses for? Otherwise, I would wait until you're pregnant because if you get pregnant now you'll have a 2015 baby and your biggest expenses will be there. We maxed out our FSA the year J was born and had no problem using it all
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We put in $500 each year unless we know something is coming up that will cost more. The bulk goes toward eye exams and contacts/glasses (we have a discount program but not traditional insurance) and chiropractor visits (not covered but we don't go often). The rest gets used between copays for office visits and prescriptions, if we need any dental work (smallish copays for a filling) or over the counter medication (you need a prescription or doctors note for ours which is silly but not hard to get.)
Over the last two years I have needed to hunt down a few receipts to hit the $500 mark so for two of us it is at the high range of perfect. We will probably keep it the same next year when we will have a baby and see how it goes.
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What kind of plan do you have? That really helps in figuring out how much to put away. If your plan has a deductible I would put away up to that amount and maybe even more if there are copays or coinsurance after the deductible. Because you are responsible for those amounts as well, until you hit the out of pocket maximum, then typically the plan covers everything 100%.
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If you have medications you take all the time and/or regular doctor's visits, add all those costs up and start there.
Pregnancy tests, OPKs, and prenatal vitamins are FSA eligible, so estimate what you'll spend on them each month as well.
Depending on your coverage, you may actually use less if you get KU (my insurance covers all pre-natal care after one copay) so you might want to lowball it a bit this year and just go with expected costs.
Don't forget about dental and eye care costs.
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