personal finance
Finance Friday Articles
- 8 Things You Must Know About Social Security
- 30% Up Years in the Stock Market
- How Tax Brackets Work for 2025
- How to Get Discounts on Your Physician Disability Insurance
- Is the United States Going Broke?
- Leaving Service? Here’s What You Can Do With Your Options for Your TSP Account
- Rules for Asset Allocation Implementation
- Should You Ever Put More Than 20% Down on a Home?
- The Big Holes in Your Financial Plan
- The Miracle of U.S. Equities
- Time Isn’t An Asset Class
- When Interest Rates Matter and When They Don’t
ENROLL NOW! Open Season is here for FSAFEDS, TRICARE and FEDVIP
Federal Benefits Open Season is here! From November 11 to December 9, 2024 for FSAFEDS and FEDVIP and through December 10, 2024 for TRICARE, you can select options for your benefits for 2025. This is your annual opportunity to review your benefits options and make choices to meet you and your family’s unique needs. Eligibility varies by program and details are available at the below links.
FSAFEDS:
NEW FOR SERVICE MEMBERS! Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account – Contribute up to $5,000 per household tax-free to pay for eligible dependent care expenses such as preschool, summer day camp, before or after school programs, and child or adult daycare.
– Learn more and enroll here: https://www.fsafeds.gov/enroll.
TRICARE:
TRICARE Health Plan – Beneficiaries eligible for TRICARE Prime and Select have three options during open season. Stay in your plan, no action required; enroll in a plan if not previously enrolled; or change plans. Actions during open season are effective on January 1, 2025.
– Enroll or Change Plan Here: https://tricare.mil/Plans/Enroll.
FEDVIP:
Vision Care – Active-duty family members are eligible for enrollment in a FEDVIP vision insurance plan.
– Enroll or Change Plan Here: https://www.benefeds.com/eligibility.
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Delivered by Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Finance Friday Articles
- 2026 Military Pay Raise: A Key Indicator Points to a Smaller-Than-Expected Boost
- Advice for the Kids
- Election Market Overreactions
- Solo 401(k) Tax Credits Explained: Don’t Let Your CPA Cost You $1,500
- Some Things I Don’t Believe About Investing
- TSP Considerations Before and After Separation
- We Need to Talk About Your Retirement ‘Spending
- What Should I Do With My I Bonds?
- When Is It Too Late to Contribute to a 529?
- You Can Dial Back Real Estate Risk
Finance Friday Articles
- 2025 Tax Brackets, Standard Deduction, and Other Changes
- Don’t Place That Call
- IRS Announces 2025 Retirement Account Contributions Limits
- Key Numbers Released for 2025 TSP Investment Planning
- One Retirement Withdrawal Strategy Shines If Maximizing Quality of Life While Living Is Your Goal
- Stop Playing When You Win the Game
- There Could be More TSP Millionaires but for These Two Things
- Wall Street’s Wisest Man
- What I’ve Learned Writing 400 Articles About Retirement
New Benefits Alert! Flexible Spending Accounts for Service Members
Flexible Spending Accounts allow Service members to set aside a portion of their pay before taxes are deducted, to pay for dependent care and health care expenses.
There are two types of FSAs:
Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA): DCFSAs allow Service members to set aside between $100 – $5,000 per household in pre-tax earnings each year to pay for expenses such as day care, preschool, Child Development Center (CDC) fees, and elder care. DCFSAs support Service members and families to allow them (and their spouse if married) to work, look for work, or attend school full time.
Enroll in a DCFSA during Federal Benefits Open Season, November 11 to December 9, 2024, at https://www.fsafeds.gov/enroll.
To continue using a DCFSA, you must re-enroll during 2024 Federal Benefits Open Season.
Coming Soon! Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts (HCFSA). HCFSAs allow Service members to set aside between $100 – $3,200 per household in pre-tax earnings each year to pay for health care expenses such as co-pays, cost-shares, deductibles, glasses, braces, and more.
Enroll in an HCFSA for the first time in Spring 2025 during a special enrollment period for Service members from March 3 – 31, 2025.
Am I eligible for an FSA? Find out about eligibility and more at https://finred.usalearning.gov/FSA.
Do you need more information to determine if this benefit is right for you and your family? Free personal financial managers and counselors are available to you through Military OneSource (800-342-9647) and at your local military installation (https://finred.usalearning.gov/pfcMap.)
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Delivered by Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Finance Friday Articles
- 4 Lessons from the 2024 Bogleheads Conference
- Before You Quit
- Built for Success
- Don’t Invest in ‘Too Good to Be True’ — Lessons Learned from an Alleged Ponzi Scheme
- 2025 Federal Income Tax Brackets Reflect Lower Inflation Levels
- Four Easy Steps to Build a TIPS Ladder
- Should Medical Students Buy Disability Insurance?
- The global 60/40 portfolio: Steady as it goes
- TRICARE Dental Program Premiums Decrease Effective Nov. 1
- What Is a Financial Advisor? How to Choose the Right Fit
Finance Friday Articles
- 3% Stock Market Returns For the Next Decade?
- 20 Ways to Lower Your Taxable Income for High Earners
- How Much House is Too Much?
- Life’s Detours and Speedbumps (Before Milestones)
- Optimists Are the Best Investors, Even If the Pessimists Sound Smarter
- The New Normal of Negativity
- Truth and Lies About FIRE
Finance Friday Articles
- 3 Key Ways to Boost Your 401k Returns
- Begin by Quitting
- Grow With the TSP – Turn Every $1 Into $10
- High Earner Not Yet Rich
- Investing with the Fed and Thinking About the Federal Funds Rate
- No Coffin, No Problem: A True Life Insurance Payout Story Where Death Wasn’t Required
- Some Surprising Things I’ve Learned in 20 Years of Investing
- Sticking With Stocks
- The Low Stability of High Income
- Year-End Planning Checklist
Finance Friday Articles
- 5 Money Moves to Make When Interest Rates Are Falling
- 5 Reasons to Simplify Your Investment Portfolio
- Buy This, Not That
- Does It Make Sense for Doctors to Rent Forever?
- How Much is My Pension Worth?
- My Spending Rules
- Retiring Smarter
- The 3 Risks of Bond Investing — And How to Beat Them
- The Biggest Risk in Real Estate
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