What to do with your FSA before you quit your job (FIRE)

 The simple answer? Use it if you have things you need to get. There are lots of things you can use your FSA account for. 

I'm leaving my job, what should I do with my FSA money? I've seen variants of this question sometimes but I don't think the people I see ask are nurses. I think a lot of times, one is so focused on moving onto the next job and not thinking about retirement accounts, insurance or FSA. And that's because most people are leaving one job for another. I think I tend to see most people worry about retirement accounts when they leave their employer. But if you have an FSA, it would be good to think about the funds in there also. Ideally, best time time to retire is January😉

Your Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contains money you have elected for the year to use. The money is sorta "preloaded" at the beginning of the year. Your employer deducts it from your paycheck during the year. If you do not use the money during the year, it's sorta gone. Some plans allow flexibility where you have a few months to use it in the new year while others allow a carryover of a small portion. 

What happens when you are retiring or decided to FI/RE? The decision to FIRE is one that should be made, ideally, a few months ahead of time. That way, you can assess a few things and decide what to do about them before or when you retire. Things like vacation time, FSA, retirement accounts, your health (if you need any major surgeries and might benefit from doing it before leaving and making good use of your ST Disability), certain benefits like education benefits and reimbursements, etc. 

So when you are Financially Independent and decide to  Retire Early,  What do you do with the money in your FSA account? Again, use it.  If you are wondering how to use up your FSA funds, I'm going to share a few ways you can use up your FSA fund below:

Medications you may be running out of.

• OTC drugs. You can get some allergy medications like Flonase, Zyrtec, heartburn meds, etc. If you have a club membership like Sam's club, it doesn't hurt to get the warehouse sizes to  last you a bit. 
• Call the pharmacy ahead of time and get a refill. Do this ahead of time so you can call again the next month to get another refill. 
• Contact lenses and glasses. Go to Zenni Optical and help yourself to happiness. 
• Orthotics - I looked up a podiatrist and went and simply asked for one. I did this the year before and I planned to go just before leaving but she left the practice. And I had a few things going on prior. I'm surprised nurses don't ask for this. You don't need to have an issue. Just get one fitted and have insurance cover it. The ones they gave me looked very thin but I was very impressed with the comfort I got out of them.
• Sunscreen 🌞
• Lotions and creams like Cetaphil, Eucerin, expensive  moisturizers with SPF, etc. 
• Face wash that's eligible
• Petty items like gloves, pads, panty liners, etc. 
• Nice Compression stockings - your insurance may cover this and you may not need to use your FSA. I got some really cool cashmere ones in black and navy with light compression. 

Equipment you can use

• HEPA Air purifier. I made an appointment in January and went to the office with a list of scripts I needed. The reason for the purifier "allergies". I've actually forgotten some of the things I was requesting but I was asking people who weren't even my PCP to print stuff out when I saw them.
• An AED - yes it's covered. You do not need a doctors order for that. Calmed equipment runs sales and you can get one for less than 1k. What you do with it? Think. 
• Stethoscopes - great gifts for you or not😉. What else can you gift?😉😉
• Humidifiers - some are covered. You can see the FSA icon on Walgreens or whatever pharmacy website you use. 
• Baby equipment - the list of things in this category are too much to list. Take a look at them if you need some. 
• You can get a First Aid Kit if you so desire. I personally feel some of the ones sold on a some large websites are padded with unusable nonsense. 

Appointments you could use

• This includes scheduling to see the Dentist, eye doctor for contact lenses or glasses.
• Do you need braces? See the orthodontist. 
• Are you considering LASIK?
• and there are certain procedures I'd rather not list here but if you are getting them in a hospital or doctors office instead of a spa...

These are a few ways you can use your FSA funds before you quit your job. Get the items you need and schedule the appointments you have been putting off. I like to treat my FSA account like my vacation days - I use them quickly or have a plan for how I'm going to use them. 

If you are wondering how much I had in my FSA account when I FIRE'd, $0. But the balance went up to about $15 or so because I returned an item and Sam's club returned it first to the FSA card even though it was not an FSA item. It was a purchase where I bought FSA items and non-FSA items and paid with both  my card and regular card. However, upon returning the non-FSA item, they returned it to the FSA card first. So no, I didn't realize Sam's club changed their return policy.  It was not that way last year. 

Even if you are not FIRE'd and are simply leaving your job or employer and wondering what to do with your FSA funds, think and get items you need, especially if you've been putting them off. And if you don't need to use it, well, be sure to elect accordingly before you FIRE. I hope this helps you if you are considering what to do with your FSA funds before you FIRE, leave your employer or before the year ends. It's December so even if you are still employed, you're hopefully not carrying a large portion of your election still unused. Take a look at some of the suggestions above and put the money to good use. Do not stay at a job simply because you want to use your FSA funds when your heart and mind tells you it's time to leave. The misery isn't worth it.