It's Year End Donation Time! (aka time to clean out your closets)

Along with the end of the year comes your last chances to make any kind of donations, including the non-monetary kind.  If you have a few minutes here and there at home, start poking around your closets or other areas where "stuff" accumulates (hello, garage).  Look for things that you haven't used in years and wouldn't miss.  Be sure to take your donations to your favorite local non-profit before 12/31.  Actually, take them to your non-profit at least a week before 12/31 (which would be next week).  I have actually shown up to my favorite charity on 12/30 with a bag of donations and was turned away because they were already overloaded with too many donations.

Many people just turn to the normal default of taking their donations to Goodwill.  Have you ever actually looked to see what other non-profits are in your area that take donations?  Once I started looking around, I immediately stopped taking my donations to Goodwill and now take them to a non-profit that directly helps the homeless population in our town.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in our immediate area that need help, and this organization does an amazing job providing food and shelter for those people, helping them to recover from any addictions, and giving them job training so they can get off the streets.  You might find a non-profit that you feel similarly passionate about that accepts donations as well.

Here are some things to think about donating:

• Was there any yard equipment that you didn't use this past year that you don't need anymore?
• Do you have clothes that are no longer the size you currently wear?  If you have consistently been the same size for at least two years but have clothes in other sizes, you should probably consider donating the clothes that aren't your size.
• As the weather is turning colder, you probably have jackets and coats coming out of the closets.  Try each of them on in front of the mirror.  Also try to get a second handheld mirror so you can view the coat from the back.  If there are any coats you don't like any more, donate them.
• Glance through your book, CD, DVD, or cassette (yes, some of us still have those) library.  Do you have any items that you don't like anymore?  Was there any item that you had full intention of reading or listening to that you never did? 
• Likewise, do you have any cookbooks that you never used any recipes from?
• Are there any decorative household items that you don't really like or just create clutter for you to dust?  Maybe it's time to donate those.
• If you receive any presents during the holidays that replace things you already use, donate the item being replaced.

Go through your house a little at a time and you'll be sure to find things to donate.  But be sure to do it before 12/31!

Dec. 31 is almost here - is your flex spending account zero yet?

It's already the beginning of December.  Didn't we just come back from Labor Day vacation yesterday?  At any rate, with the end of the year comes deadlines that you don't want to miss.  One of those is the deadline to spend your Flex Spending Account and Dependent Spending Account money.  If your balance is still above zero, here are some steps you can take:

1. Double-check and make sure you paid for all of your medical or dependent care expenses with your spending account.  I have never heard of a provider who doesn't let you submit expenses you paid out of pocket for reimbursement later.
2. If you truly haven't spent the money you set aside on medical expenses, you probably have a grace period.  The IRS allows $500 from 2015 flex spending accounts to be used in 2016 for medical expenses.  However, check the fine print on your plan; your employer does not have to allow this since it is optional.
3. If you can't roll over the money or if your balance is more than $500, then spend that money!  See if you can squeeze in an appointment with your doctor or dentist if anything is bothering you.  Refill any maintenance prescriptions if your insurance lets you.  Order more glasses or contacts.   

One thing you might not want to do is to try to spend your flex spending money on over the counter medications.  Even though the IRS rules specifically state that over the counter medications that you have a prescription for are eligible expenses, I have had flex spending plans deny my claim when I presented that same evidence for my claim.  I was never able to convince the plan administrator to allow my claim, which really annoyed me.  (I had other medical expenses to spend my FSA money on anyway.)

Remember, the above does not apply to Health Spending Accounts (which are used with High Deductible Health Plans).  The money in H.S.A.s is completely yours and can be held indefinitely.

Don't let your money go to waste!