Welcome to Saving Money with Andrew!
I was heartened to hear from readers who found last week’s post on finding vaccine appointments useful. Most states have now opened up eligibility to all adults or have set a date for it, and I’m optimistic most readers will be able to get their first shot in the coming weeks.
A few interesting tips I came across this week:
Get Reimbursed For All Those Masks You Bought Last Year
Many savvy readers have healthcare FSAs or HSAs. During the pandemic, doctors visits declined dramatically, leaving many Americans with unused healthcare FSA or HSA funds. While HSA balances do not expire, FSA funds typically must be used during the calendar year (generally with a 2.5 month grace period) or they are lost. Last December, Congress passed legislation allowing plan administrators to extend those grace periods to up to 12 months and allow 2020 balances to be used in 2021.
But even better, the IRS announced last month that COVID-related personal protective equipment would be eligible for reimbursement from these accounts. We easily spent $300 last year on masks (some tips on good affordable masks here), so this comes in handy.
Verizon Customers: Get A Better Deal By Paying With Your Bank Account or Debit Card
As Verizon customers, we always took advantage of a $10/month discount for setting up automatic payments. Recently, however, I learned that this discount is only available for payments from your bank account or debit card (or a Verizon Visa card).[1] A $10 discount is significantly greater than the value of our 2% credit card cash back, so we made the switch to paying via bank account.
Free eBooks
Finally, two friends of SMwA had some great tips for getting free books. Many forums for specific genres routinely offer free audiobooks and eBooks. For example, r/Fantasy often has new book giveaways.
In addition, services like NetGalley offers free advance copies of upcoming titles in exchange for writing a review of the book on social media. I found this post about different review services for aspiring book reviewers (and those who just like free books) to be pretty interesting.
And now…Andrew’s pick(s) of the week:
My interests are a bit quirky, but I’ve been enjoying the Acquisitions Anonymous podcast. Each week, the hosts discuss two businesses they or a guest considered acquiring that week. Recent subjects include a “$1.1 million funeral home service provider” and a “crawlspace repair franchise”. A fun listen if you like learning about random businesses. Enjoy!
I hope this has been helpful. If you liked it, please share it on social media! Also, please send me your feedback, requests, and success stories.
[1] Presumably Verizon is encouraging people to switch their payment method to avoid having to pay credit card processing fees.