In college I was one of those kids that balanced my checkbook by how much the ATM told me I had. Scratch that – there was no "balancing" of a checkbook, my statements came in the mail and I threw them unopened in a drawer. When I went to the ATM and it spit that little piece of paper at me, that’s what I figured I had to spend. (And I made sure I spent it) It was an easy way to live…for a little while. I got caught in a jam with an overdraft toward the end of my freshman year. I was horrified and dug out my wadded up ATM receipt – it had lied to me! After comparing it to the first bank statement I’d ever opened, I realized what had happened. Because my friends were as broke as me and I was determined for my parents to not find out about my mistake, I reluctantly took my 4 new pairs of shoes back to the store and got my money back. And then I actually walked into the bank to make a deposit and wipe my tarnished record away.

Slowly I got better at managing my money and once I got married, gladly turned over the entire responsibility to my husband to handle. Today I’m the girl in the grocery store with a calculator, an envelope full of coupons and competitor ads, the one who buys generic items from the store with the best possible price. And I’m happy to see there are a lot of other people just like me who are stretching their dollars as far as possible.

We can all benefit from saving money where ever it can be saved - in the grocery store, buying a car, or getting the best deal on that much-needed snowblower. If you are self-employed, you may qualify to save even more money by setting up a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) for your business. By enrolling in an HRA you can deduct your health insurance premiums and qualified out-of-pocket medical expenses on your business tax return. Our average clients save over $3,800 a year by using a BASE HRA. For me, that equates to a lot of new shoes….what could you spend $3,800 on?

Call to speak to one of our BASE Benefit Specialists today to see if an HRA will work for you or someone you know!