There are a ton of budgeting apps out there, but many people end up using some sort of a spreadsheet for their budget.

Spreadsheets offer control and flexibility to users, and allows them to look closer at the transactions going through their accounts.

I have nothing against apps. Many people find them useful, and there’s no denying that there are a ton of good ones out there.

But I personally have used a budget spreadsheet for years and have found it useful. The more people I talk to about budgeting, the more I hear that people desire a spreadsheet-based budget without all the manual work that comes with it.

Today we finally have a budget spreadsheet in Excel that is automated and easy to update. But first let me tell you a bit about the budgeting process I’ve used in the past.

My Budgeting Process

 
I’m an Excel nerd so using a spreadsheet to budget was a no-brainer for me. I’ve had the same spreadsheet for over four years now. But why haven’t I shared it?

When I share spreadsheets and tools I want them to be as easy to use as possible. The biggest issue with spreadsheet budgeting is getting all the data in the proper format.

I have a number of credit cards due to credit card churning, plus throw in a bank account and you can see why it would take quite a bit of time to reformat everything. No two financial institutions seem to export data in the same format. So there’s a lot of work on the backend.

I didn’t want to share a budgeting spreadsheet until I solved this key piece of the puzzle. Fast forward four years and I still haven’t shared a spreadsheet.

That all changed when I discovered Tiller.

Tiller – The Key to Automation

 
Tiller is what I have been waiting for: it automates the process of pulling in your financial data into a clean, uniform format.

Now there are a ton of apps out there that link to your accounts. But they don’t allow you to dump your data into a spreadsheet because they either haven’t built a tool that can do that or they have a huge incentive to not allow their users to dump data into a spreadsheet.

Once you sign up for Tiller you simply have to connect your accounts and your financial transactions will be dumped into a Google Spreadsheet each day. They will come through in a uniform format that looks something like this:

 
Tiller does cost money. You can use my link for a free 30 day trial, but after that it’s $6.58/month. If you’re like me and spend an hour or more getting your data into a uniform format or have avoided budgeting because you don’t want to take the time to mess with your data, $6.58/month is well worth what you are getting in return for Tiller’s service. (Don’t worry they have a 60-day money-back guarantee as well).

Tiller has bank-grade security and has partnered with a company that works with some of the biggest banks in North America to ensure it’s up to the same high standards banks are held to. What was even more reassuring to me was hearing that their employees can’t even see your financial data. You can read more about their security and other features of their service on their website.

I’m all for Google Sheets, and Tiller absolutely can work simply using Google Sheets, but Excel is where it’s at if you want a clean and good-looking budget spreadsheet.

So I took it a step further and created an automated budget spreadsheet in Excel.

An Automated Budget Spreadsheet in Excel

 
Tiller is a great start, but my automated budget spreadsheet in Excel is where people will feel most “at home.” Excel is widely used and I’ve created a spreadsheet that someone with limited experience can use.

The spreadsheet has a directions tab that guides you through the process of updating the spreadsheet with your data. It also points out best practices that will help you not “break” the file.

 
The data tab is where you will want to paste your Tiller data. The data will then become part of a table that uses formulas to automatically populate the monthly summary tabs and the annual summary tabs.

Note that Tiller does not automatically populate the category for each transaction. Having the user populate the category allows the user to assign relevant categories and look at the transactions at a lower level of detail than they would if category was auto-filled.
 

 
On the categories tab you can add or delete categories as you see fit.
 

 
On the monthly summary tabs, everything is automated except for the budget column and the categories. You can add and delete categories as you see fit. You can unhide the hidden rows towards the bottom if you need to add more categories.

Everything is formula-driven, making it easy to see a snapshot for the month. While tabs have already been created for each month in 2024, you can easily make a copy of any of the months tab and choose a different month and year drop-down as you see fit. Everything will update automatically for whatever month you choose.
 

 
One additional thing included in this file is the annual summary. If you go to the 2024 tab you can see an annual summary of your income and expenses by month. This is automatically populated and you can easily make a summary for future years by choosing a different year from the drop-down.
 

 
This spreadsheet takes a lot of the manual work out of the budgeting process and gives you nice clean views of your financials, both budgeted versus actual as well as net inflow and outflow of cash.

My hope is that this easier process of importing and tagging data will encourage others to start budgeting. After all, using this process you can easily update your budget in less than 30 minute a month, perhaps even less than 10 minutes depending on how many transactions you need to tag.

A popular topic in personal finance is passive income.

Income that doesn’t require you to trade your time for money is “the dream” for many people.

There are many different forms of passive income, but the ultimate passive income is dividend income.

Dividend income comes from owning dividend-paying stocks. Not every company pays dividends. If a company is focused 100% on growth, they are going to use all their earnings to continue to grow their business.

With that being said there are many large companies that are focused on growth that pay a dividend. In fact it would almost be silly for a publicly traded company to not have a growth strategy.

Many of the large blue chip companies pay dividends, though their dividend yield (Amount paid out in dividends annually divided by current stock price) can vary. For example, Best Buy has a relatively high dividend yield of 4.18%, while Visa has a modest 0.80% dividend yield.

Even if you have other financial priorities that take precedence, learning and being aware of the opportunities that come with dividend income can motivate people to save more money, pay off debt faster, and make more money so that they can take advantage of all the benefits that come from dividend income.

With that in mind, let’s get to the real question here: how much can you make in dividend income?

How Much Can You Make in Dividend Income?

 
The first thing I need to say before answering this question is this: it’s not easy to make a sizable amount of dividend income. If it was easy no one would work and everyone would simply live off of their passive dividend income.

Using the spreadsheet I created, let’s look at what you would be able to make annually from dividends if you invested $5,000 in 3M stocks:

 
Okay so you’d only make $123 each year. Now that may not feel like much, but remember it’s also reasonable to expect 3M’s stock to appreciate over time. Also, don’t forget how great dividend income is: you are getting $123 by simply owning $5,000 worth of 3M stock! No effort required.

Let’s take a look at a higher investment amount: $100,000.

 
Nearly $2,500 a year – not too bad! You can see why dividend income is so attractive, especially to those looking to retire early or who don’t want to spend down their assets in retirement.

Quick math shows that owning $1 million of 3M stock would yield $25,000 a year in entirely passive income. Do you have $2 million to invest? double it up to $50,000 a year.

I don’t know about you, but this sort of scenario analysis is incredibly motivating to me.

I spend most of my free time working on side hustles to increase my income, and while paying off debt is the primary goal right now, long-term I would love to regularly funnel “extra” side hustle income into dividend-paying stocks.

If you are an entrepreneur or want to be an entrepreneur, dividend income just might give you the motivation needed to put in the long hours and hard work to build your business. After all, if you are able to sell for a couple million dollars – or more – you very well could live off of passive dividend income the rest of your life.

It’s an easy way to save over $1,000 in one year. $1,378 to be exact.

The 52 Week Money Challenge is realistic for anyone because it doesn’t require the same amount of money to be saved each week. That’s because over the course of 52 weeks you save as little as $1 and, at most, $52.

Let’s take a more detailed look at how the 52 Week Money Challenge works, and some alternative ways of doing the challenge.

How the 52 Week Money Challenge Works

 
The 52 Week Money Challenge is simple. Over the course of 52 weeks, you make a deposit into your savings account once a week. The deposits range in value from $1 to $52.

One way people do this is deposit $1 the first week, $2 the second week, $3 the third week, and so on. At the end of 52 weeks the deposits total $1,378.

Another way to do this is vary the payments. Perhaps you deposit $52 the first week, $1 the second week, $51 the third week, and so on. This works well when there are busy times, like Christmas, where money is tighter, or if you have an unexpected expense that sets you back.

Being able to adjust your weekly contribution as needed is an added layer of flexibility to the challenge, but not everyone takes that approach. It can be easier to just stick with increasing your contribution each week by $1. Who knows? Maybe you will even continue past the 52 weeks.

Another variation is to multiply the amount you save. Depositing $1 through $52 is great because you will save $1,378 in one year, but why not up the ante? If you deposit $5 through $260 in increments of $5, you would have nearly $7,000 saved. This is a great way to make a game out of building an emergency fund.

I recommend having a separate savings fund at a different bank than your home bank or credit union to create a separation between the money you have for spending and the money you are saving for a rainy day. My choice is a high-yield savings account at CIT Bank. Many banks pay almost nothing in interest for their savings account. You deserve to get a high interest rate on your savings account, and CIT Bank is a great option.

Download the 52 Week Money Challenge Spreadsheet and Printable

 
If the 52 Week Money Challenge sounds like something that you want to try, we have a free 52 Week Money Challenge Spreadsheet and Printable for you.

If you want the spreadsheet or printable, you can get a free copy below.

Don’t miss out on our free budget spreadsheet or these travel rewards credit cards that can help you achieve your travel goals faster.

Luckily, you have control over one of the most notoriously expensive parts of Christmas – gift giving. Here are 14 creative and cheap alternatives to traditional Christmas gifts.

1) Donations

 
Giving a donation in someone’s name in lieu of gifts can be even more meaningful, and can really help those who are truly in need during this time of year. Making a donation in the name of your family or friend is something nearly everyone would like or at least appreciate.

If you aren’t sure what organization your friend or family member supports, just ask. They will appreciate the thought, and it’s always better to ask to ensure money in their name is going to a cause they really care about.

DC here – I’ve given a donation as a gift and received one as a gift in the past and it was awesome. Especially as an adult, so often we already have so much “stuff” that it can be refreshing to receive a gift that is actually a donation helping a good cause. Highly recommend it! My go-to is the World Wildlife Foundation, which has a great gift option where you can give a stuffed animal or other gifts as a physical representation of the donation you gave.

2) Secret Santa

 
If you can’t bear the idea of a gift-free Christmas, why not consider a Secret Santa gift exchange? Before Christmas day, everyone randomly draws another family member’s name and purchase a gift for that specific person. During the gift exchange, everyone gets one gift.

You can even put a price limit on how much everyone can spend. This not only make a Secret Santa an incredibly budget-friendly option, but it also forces participants to get creative with their gifts.

3) Potluck Dinner

 
Hosting a big potluck dinner can be celebration enough. At a potluck, everyone can bring their own dish to share, which can be considered a gift in itself. In addition, a potluck takes some of the stress and financial responsibility off the host.

To make it even more fun, you can consider a theme meal, where everyone brings a dish and dresses up according to the theme.

4) Make Memories

 
Instead of gifts, think of something you and your family or friends can all do together. It doesn’t have to cost much, but chances are, experiences you’ve had together are going to be more memorable than a gift.

This could really be anything – a trip to the movies, a weekend getaway, a fancy meal out. You may even find that this becomes tradition.

5) Create a “Need” List

 
It’s never easy to guess what people want for Christmas. Instead, ask everyone what they really need.

If you’re going to be spending money on them, they would probably appreciate something they really needed versus a gift that they might not even use.

6) Give Your Time

 
The gift of time is not only one of the most meaningful gifts, but it can be one of the most helpful. Everyone could use additional help in some area of their life – whether it’s a house cleaning, organizing, cleaning up the lawn, or a special project.

Helping them for an afternoon might not even feel like much work to you, but the recipient will surely appreciate your help.

It’s also worth pointing out that actually scheduling this is much preferable to giving a coupon for future use. Many people who receive coupons as gifts rarely redeem them. Offering to help with landscaping or watching someone’s kids so they can go on a date night should be put on the calendar so it actually happens.

7) Start a Savings Account

 
For anyone with children in your family, consider starting a savings account. Instead of spending money on gifts, put a few dollars into a savings account to give them when they graduate high school.

Okay, maybe a FEW gifts. But you can still get the savings account rolling as well.

Though it might not save you lot of money right now, it does re-purpose that money into something more meaningful than the latest gift. If you are unsure whether this would be appropriate, talk with the child’s parents.

8) Go Homemade

 
Whether or not you consider yourself crafty, you can make a variety or relatively simple homemade items to give as gifts. Everyone appreciates a creative homemade gift, and the possibilities are endless.

You can make anything from woodworking projects, scarves, body scrubs, food items, and more. Making items homemade can be much more cost effective versus buying a gift for everyone. They might just take a little more time since you have to actually make the gift, so be sure to start plenty of time in advance.

9) Give Household Staple Items

 
Giving household staple items might not be the most meaningful gift, but they rank high in usefulness and simplicity. If you’re unsure of what to give, household items like nice hand soaps, bath items, cleaning supplies, or even laundry detergent can make great gifts.

I like this gift because I’m practical. It’s something that will never go unused, and allows me to save more money in my budget by not having to buy such household items for a few months. To make it seem a little more special, you can wrap it up into a gift basket to give to the recipient.

10) Don’t Exchange Gifts at All

 
Though it may seem taboo to some, it is possible to forgo gifts entirely and without guilt.

The important step is to ensure everyone is on board with a no-gift Christmas. If you are proposing a no-gift Christmas, you’ll also want to stress that this truly means no gifts. Inevitably, one family member will give small gifts, causing everyone else to feel slightly guilty. When you all talk about it beforehand, it allows everyone to be on the same page.

11) Celebrate Christmas in the Off-Season

 
Though it is possible to find sale items during the holiday season, the sales are far less significant than other times of the year. Add that to the already hectic holiday season, and you’re spending much more money than you would be during another time of year.

One way to elevate some of these costs is to hold the holiday celebration during another time of year. Many people find a “Christmas in July” is more affordable than celebrating in December.

12) Limit the Number of Gifts

 
It can be easy for gift-giving to get out of hand. You may feel inclined to buy endless gifts for everyone. One way to combat this is to limit the number of gifts you buy for each person.

The key is communicate your ideas with everyone you are celebrating with. This ensures that no one feels slighted or upset after Christmas.

13) Host a White Elephant Exchange

 
For a fun and informal Christmas gift exchange, you can declare it white elephant. That means everyone buys or finds one funny gag gift. It truly can be anything. Then you go about exchanging the gifts by drawing out of a hat.

This may not be for everyone, but it is a fun and very affordable way to celebrate a family Christmas.

14) Split Meaningful Family Gifts

 
What gifts could your family all benefit from or enjoy? Why not go in and purchase a group gift?

This could be something such as family portraits, a new household item if you all live together, a trip you take together, or even purchasing the research to create a family tree.

We basically have unlimited access to a ton of information right at our fingertips, thanks to the internet.

What’s even better is that the majority of this information is free.

So if you want to get resourceful, finding free alternatives to products and services that would otherwise cost money is pretty easy.

It’s even easier with this list of free things on the internet you should be using!

Everything is broken down into categories so you can easily find what you need.

1) Free Education Sites

 
These are first on the list because they’re truly valuable resources. If you love to learn, you don’t necessarily need to go back to college and take classes. Instead, there are MOOCs – Massive Open Online Courses. The list below contains both learning platforms and sites that have curated free courses offered on a certain subject.

The list doesn’t end here at all, either. If you’re interested in learning about a specific industry or skill, I recommend searching for a learning platform dedicated to it!

• Coursera
• Khan Academy
• Open Culture
• edX
• Open Education Database
• Academic Earth
• MIT Open Courseware

2) Free Trials for Memberships

 
Almost every subscription based service or product has a free trial. The best part is you can usually get something for free in exchange for referrals.

The one caveat with this is to remember to set a reminder for yourself to cancel if the free trial requires a credit or debit card upon sign up.

Hulu+: There’s a standard one week free trial to Hulu+, but if you search for specials, you might find ones that last a month or longer. Get the most out of your free trial by binge-watching a few shows.

Netflix: Can’t decide between Hulu+ and Netflix? You might want to start with Netflix first as it offers a more generous one month free trial period.

Hello Fresh: Want to give a food delivery service a try? Hello Fresh gives you recipes and all the ingredients you need to make great meals for dinner, and they offer 3 meals for free.

You Need a Budget: This is a super popular budgeting software that normally has a monthly fee, but you can try it free for 34 days.

Lynda.com: You get a 10 day free trial with Lynda.com, and it has just over 4,600 courses available if you’re interested in learning about photography, programming, video editing, etc. There’s not much it doesn’t offer!

3) Free Music Services

 
I can’t even remember the last time I bought a CD. Can you? These days, it’s just so much easier to stream a wide variety of songs right from your phone or computer.

Besides curating your own playlists, you can also listen to a huge amount of radios for free as well.

Pandora: One of the first services to offer music streaming for free, Pandora allows you to discover tons of music you otherwise might not have heard. You search for music you like, and it plays music it thinks you’d like based on that. You can tell Pandora if you like a song or not by giving it a thumbs up or thumbs down.

Spotify: I prefer Spotify to Pandora only because I can be a little picky about music recommendations. I prefer to create my own playlists and search for specific songs that I can save. That’s not to say you can’t discover new music, though. Spotify also offers recommendations and it has plenty of playlists to look through depending on the day, time, and your mood.

Slacker: At first glance, Slacker looks very similar to Pandora. The difference is that you can create and share your playlists with Slacker, and it promotes playlists curated by experts. Pandora uses algorithms to determine if songs are similar. Slacker further enforces its “human-powered” concept by allowing celebrities of all sorts to take over the station.

Radio station streaming: Lastly, your favorite radio most likely has an online streaming service so you can listen to it on your computer at work.

4) Free Entertainment

 
YouTube: Where would we be without it? From cat videos to tutorials to troubleshooting and learning, you can find pretty much anything you want to keep yourself entertained. YouTube could even go under the music section as it’s incredibly easy to create playlists, and it often has singles and remixes that might not be available elsewhere. There are even content creators who have formatted shows.

Crunchyroll: If you like anime and manga, then you’ll find most everything you need by tuning into Crunchyroll. The free version is a bit limited, but at least it’s offered!

Twitch.tv: Twitch originally started as a platform to watch game play, but it has evolved over its short lifespan to include board games and artistic hobbies as well. If you’re into crafts, cosplaying, or watching people have fun while playing games, you can tune into any stream for free.

5) Podcasts

 
What’s not to love about podcasts? Most of the time they’re commercial free, and plugs for sponsors don’t last nearly as long as radio commercials do.

You can download a variety of podcasts, so if you’re looking for comedy, education, or actual scripted shows, you’ll find it here. I personally enjoy listening to music podcasts because I get an hour or two of non-stop mixes of the latest tracks.

6) Free Open Software

 
There are free alternatives to popular software out there if you know where to look. If you’ve built your own PC before, you know how annoying it can be to buy all the programs you need.

A great example of open software is one you’ve probably heard of: Open Office.

We can’t mention free tools without mentioning Google’s suite of products. Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and more all have great functionality for basic users, and the fact that everything is saved in the cloud means you can access it from anywhere.

Want to take it a step further? If, for some reason, you find yourself without an operating system on a PC of yours, or you want to dual boot, Linux can be a great option. It’s a completely free OS, and it’s pretty and very functional. You can use it as you would regularly use Windows, and for the nerds out there, it has a separate distribution that offers an interface for command-line prompts. It also comes with its own suite of programs, so you’ll have a word processor and graphic design software.

Speaking of, while I love Photoshop, I realize some people would rather not pay the monthly fee to have access to it. In that case, GIMP, Canva, PicMonkey, and InkScape (alternative for Illustrator) are worth looking at.

7) Free ebooks

 
I don’t know about you, but I love to read. I practically grew up in a library. While you can get books for free by borrowing them, sometimes finishing them by the due date can be a challenge (especially if you’re busy). However, if you’re not the type of person who reads books multiple times, buying can sometimes be a waste.

Instead, look for free eBooks! There are plenty of sites that offer selections, and even though some exclusively offer classics, you could decide your life needs a little Pride & Prejudice.

Project Gutenberg: There’s over 50,000 ebooks on this site, and you can search by most popular and most recent. Be aware that many are older because the copyright has expired on most of them.

SpringerOpen Books: Springer provides access to scientific documents and journals, so if you’re looking for something a bit more academic, you’ll find it here. All research is peer-reviewed.

OpenLibrary: The purpose of this project is literally in the name. OpenLibrary’s model is similar to Wikipedia – they want to catalogue every book ever published. That means you can create pages for your favorite books and share them with the world. You can also download free, out-of-copyright books, and borrow books that are in copyright.

Smashwords: This site has a selection of books you can buy along with its free books. Most of what you’ll find in the free section are books published by indie authors. There’s every genre you can think of along with essays, poetry, and screenplays.

8) Actual Freebies

 
What would a list about free things to use on the internet be without mentioning the fact you can score a bunch of freebies online?

There are many websites that will send you free samples of things to try, and these products may even be full-size samples:

• Reddit’s Freebies Subreddit
• Freebies.org
• I Crave Freebies
• A great list of birthday freebies to sign up for
• Don’t forget to check the “free” section of Craigslist!

9) Free Money Management Tools

 
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention money management tools in this article being that this is a personal finance website! Thankfully there are quite a few free ones to choose from.

Personal Capital: Personal Capital is a one-stop-shop for all your finance needs. You can review your spending, the performance of your portfolio, and see if your retirement savings are on track.

Mint: I’m sure you’ve heard of Mint by now, but it automatically tracks and categorizes your spending, you can set up spending goals/limits for a budget, and receive alerts when you’re nearing your limits.

Digit: This is a great, free tool to use if you’re not a natural saver. Digit analyzes your spending patterns, takes a look at your bank account, and figures out how much you can afford to save. It then transfers that amount to a separate savings account. Digit promises to never overdraw your account and offers a guarantee on it.

Penny: This app is a relative newcomer to the personal finance scene, but it’s great for people who are on the go or need a little encouragement. Penny might be an app, but it functions as a coach, as it will have actual text conversations with you about the state of your money.

10) Free Cash Back Sites

 
Last, but not least, we’ll round out this list of free things you should use with a few places where you can earn free money. Well, it’s not totally free – you do technically pay with your time – but it beats getting nothing!

Swagbucks: This is a great site to use in your spare time or while you’re watching TV. You can earn Swagbucks by performing a variety of tasks on the website, such as taking surveys, watching videos, and using its search engine. You can redeem your Swagbucks for gift cards. A lot of people use this strategy around the holidays to reduce the cost of gifts.

Ebates: If you’re going to be shopping for something, you might as well try to earn as much for your purchase as possible, right? You can do that by shopping through Ebates. There’s a huge selection of popular retailers to choose from, and when you shop using Ebates, you earn cash back for your purchases. You can redeem the cash back once you reach a certain threshold.

Credit Card Portals: Do you have a rewards credit card? Then chances are, you can earn even more cash back with your card by shopping through a rewards portal. It functions essentially the same way as Ebates.

Bonus Free Stuff

 
Because who doesn’t want more free stuff? Here are just a few things to look into if you’re a little bored:

• Cards Against Humanity Online
• Free-to-play games on Steam (PC games)
• A list of productivity tools, many of which are free
• Duolingo
• Coloring pages for kids (or adults, who’s judging?)
• Hemingway Editor
• Justin Guitar – Free Lessons
• Font Squirrel

Who ever said there wasn’t anything free in life? Blogs are a great example of free information, too. ;) As anyone who goes online knows, there’s a ton of free stuff to be found if you’re willing to look for it. Hopefully some of these resources are useful for you.

 
 
What are some of your favorite free things you use on the internet? Are any from this list? 
 
 

Or, perhaps you may have had an HSA for years but haven’t used it.

It sounds weird, but I love writing and talking about Health Savings Accounts. I don’t think enough people know about the benefits of Health Savings Accounts.

An HSA comes with a number of benefits. It creates a (much-needed) medical emergency fund, has a “triple tax advantage,” and is a retirement account on steroids.

We’ll go through all the details of an HSA in this Health Savings Account guide so you have all the info you need to take full advantage of the benefits. Let’s start by talking about High Deductible Health Plans, or HDHPs. Why start there? Because you need to have an HDHP to contribute to an HSA.

High Deductible Health Plans – What Are They?

 
HDHPs are health insurance plans that have a relatively high deductible before your insurance kicks in. For example, you may need to spend $3,000 of your own money towards medical costs before your health insurance pays anything. Even though your insurance doesn’t pay anything until you hit your deductible, you would still reap the benefits of having health insurance because you would get their negotiated pricing, which knocks off some of the cost of provider visits, pharmacy drugs, and other costs.

The IRS sets the parameters for what is and isn’t an HDHP. For 2023, the IRS defines an HDHP as any plan with a deductible of at least $1,500 for an individual or $3,000 for a family. As long as your coverage hits those minimums you have an HDHP and are eligible to contribute to an HSA.

$1,500 is actually a pretty low deductible. Many plans will have a deductible of $3,000+ for an individual and $6,000+ for a family. Typically the higher the deductible the lower the monthly premium. The good news is that HDHPs total yearly out-of-pocket expenses are capped by IRS guidelines. These out-of-pocket costs can’t be more than $7,500 for an individual or $15,000 for a family, though this limit doesn’t apply to out-of-network services which could have a cap as high as $10,000+ for an individual or $20,000+ for a family.

You may be wondering how the out-of-pocket max comes into play, since insurance kicks in once you hit your deductible. Well, just because you hit your deductible doesn’t mean that you are done owing money; it just means your insurance will cover most of the costs. You may see something like an 80/20 cost share once you hit your deductible, meaning for a $1,000 bill you would owe $200 and your insurance would cover $800. The out-of-pocket max is the absolute maximum you will pay. If you need an expensive surgery, a hospital stay spanning a few days, or some other expensive event you will likely hit not only your deductible but also your out-of-pocket max.

HDHPs are becoming more popular

Many employees today have no choice but to sign up for an HDHP because it’s the only option that their employer offers. According to a data brief from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of adults aged 18–64 with employment-based coverage that had HDHPs increased from 14.8% in 2007 to 43.4% in 2017. Keep in mind this doesn’t include the millions who get their insurance through the exchanges, which virtually only offer HDHPs.

HDHPs are both good and bad. They are good because they allow for lower monthly premiums. They also can, in some situations, give an incentive for the consumer to shop around. For example, when I got a CT scan a few years ago I would have paid $1,000 if I went to the place my doctor referred me to. Instead I shopped around and paid $300.

The elephant in the room is the large amount of costs it puts on a consumer before their insurance kicks in. I wasn’t surprised in the least when Presidential candidate Kamala Harris in a debate about health care, painted the picture of the mother with a sick infant who was parked outside the emergency room, hoping she wouldn’t have to go in because she knew she could afford a bill of $1,000+.

HDHPs can serve as a “medical emergency fund”

That’s where a Health Savings Account comes into play. An emergency fund is great, but we’ve gotten to a point where even if you have insurance you are exposed to a potential for a big surprise medical bill. This is why the cost of health care is my biggest concern for millennials. Too many don’t have an emergency fund, let alone a separate medical emergency fund. I fully recognize that some are in a position where cash flow is tight and it’s extremely difficult to save money in an emergency fund.

Now that we have a solid background on HDHPs and why it is beneficial to sock away money in an HSA, let’s talk about the specifics of HSAs.

Health Savings Accounts – How They Work and How to Maximize Them

 
For 2023 the IRS has set contribution limits for HSAs to $3,850 for an individual or $7,750 for a family. For those over the age of 55 there is an opportunity to contribute an additional $1,000.

Most HDHPs will already have an HSA provider set up that you can leverage with your health insurance. If you don’t have one, though, a few of the major providers are Fidelity, Lively, The HSA Authority, and Optum. When picking one you will want to understand any fees they charge as well as the minimum balance required to invest (more on that in a moment).

One important distinction to keep in mind is that an HSA is not a Flexible Spending Account (FSA). FSAs have a silly “use it or lose it” policy where you lose any money that is left in the account at year-end. HSAs stay with you forever. You can switch employers, move to another state, change medical coverage, get married or divorced, or any other number of life changes and your HSA stays with you.

Now let’s get to the tax advantages that come with HSAs, specifically the “triple tax advantage”:

• Put Money in Pre-Tax – Contributions put into an HSA are not taxed. Meaning, your adjusted gross income on your taxes will decrease by the amount you deposit.

• Interest and Investment Gains are Not Taxed – Once your cash balance hits a certain threshold (i.e. $1,000, $2,000, etc.) you can shift any money above the threshold into an investment account. The investment gains are not taxed.

• Withdraw Money Tax-Free – When you withdraw money to cover a qualified medical expense you are not taxed on the withdrawal. You can consult a tax expert on exactly what is and isn’t a qualified medical expense, but in general an IRS-qualified medical expense is defined as an expense that pays for healthcare services, medications, or equipment. Clear-cut examples include a prescription you get at a pharmacy or a bill from a doctor visit.

One reason I call HSAs a “retirement fund on steroids” (no pun intended) is because after the age of 65 you can withdraw money from your HSA for non-medical expenses without incurring a 20% penalty. You will still have to pay taxes on the withdrawal, as this withdrawal would be treated similar to a withdrawal from an IRA. But you also have the option of withdrawing funds for qualified medical expenses and pay no taxes at all, regardless of your age. Meaning, an HSA acts similar to a standard IRA retirement account with the (huge) added benefit of potentially taking out the funds tax-free if you have medical expenses. With the way health care costs are going and with people living longer, there’s a very good chance you will have many qualified medical expenses when you are 65+.

A final benefit I want to point out is that you can use it for anyone in your household. What I like about this is that if you are caring for and covering the medical bills of a parent, sibling, or child, you can leverage your HSA to pay the bills tax-free. This could be invaluable if you have a sibling or child with a disability who you anticipate caring for long-term.

Health Savings Accounts – Strategies to Maximize

 
Whether or not you contribute to an HSA – and how much you contribute – depends entirely on your individual financial situation. You can talk this over with a financial advisor or money coach. With that being said, here are a few strategies to maximize HSAs:

• Deposit as much as possible, as early as possible. While I don’t have research or a robust data set, what I’ve seen is that people tend to only contribute to an HSA if they have medical issues. If someone is relatively healthy they don’t contribute. I will admit my wife and I didn’t max out our HSA until after we had a pair of surgeries and realized how important it was to have money set aside ahead of time.

• Shift your money out of cash and into investments as soon as possible. The HSA I have has a threshold of $2,000. I log in every two weeks and if my balance is above $2,000 I shift every dollar I can to investments. Now that I have some traction my ultimate goal is to get my HSA to $100k.

• Never use the debit card the HSA provider sends you. Instead, use a rewards credit card and then simply reimburse yourself through your HSA. HSA providers are making money each time you swipe their card, but they aren’t sharing the wealth with you. There is no requirement to use their debit card, so you should be using a solid rewards credit card instead.

This isn’t surprising. We are inundated with Instagram pics of people visiting cool locations all over the world.

In Minnesota where we have brutal winters, a pic from a beach can instantly cause wanderlust (and jealousy).

The main thing keeping people from traveling is money.

I can relate: my wife and I graduated undergrad with $100k in student loan debt.

Even if you have little or no debt there is a never-ending list of things you need money for: rent, a down payment on a house, health care, retirement, pets, emergency fund…the list goes on.

Travel is something we wanted to prioritize after college. But we also wanted to hit other personal finance goals, including building an emergency fund which is no small feat.

One of the benefits of being a personal finance blogger is that I am exposed to many different ways to save money. The more I learned about credit card rewards, the more I realized that they could help make our travel goals possible.

Travel rewards credit cards oftentimes come with a “welcome” bonus, such as “get 50,000 miles if you spend $3,000 on your credit card within the first three months of signing up.” Those welcome bonuses can really pay off because they translate to hundreds of dollars of savings through a statement credit or through free flights.

 
A quick note: If you are currently in credit card debt I recommend not signing up for these cards. The amount you pay in interest will outweigh any potential benefits. Instead, read my post about what to do if you are in credit card debt.

OUR TOP CHOICE: Chase Sapphire Preferred

 
The Chase Sapphire Preferred has been one of the top credit cards on the market for some time now.

One positive of this card is the fact that there are so many partner programs that you can transfer your 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® to. The points transfer 1:1 to the following programs:

• United MileagePlus®
• British Airways Executive Club
• Aer Lingus, AerClub
• Emirates Skywards®
• Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM
• Iberia Plus
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• IHG® Rewards Club
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt®

Both my wife and I have signed up for this card and we transferred the points to our United MileagePlus® account. You don’t have to transfer your points to get value out of this card, though: the 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® bonus points are redeemable for $750 on the Chase portal.

Bonus: 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® bonus points

How to Unlock the Bonus: Spend $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening

What the Bonus can be Used for: Redeemable for $750 through Chase Ultimate Rewards® or transfer 1:1 with partner travel rewards programs

Annual Fee: $95 (NOT waived the first year)

Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card

 
The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card is one of the best travel rewards credit cards because of how flexible its rewards are.

This card offers $500 towards any travel-related cost after you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months of account opening.

This card is great because of its simplicity. You know exactly what you are getting with this card and you don’t have to limit yourself to specific companies or brands when redeeming your rewards.

An extra perk with this card is that you will receive up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre®.

Bonus: 50,000 bonus miles

How to Unlock the Bonus: Spend $3,000 within the first 3 months

What the Bonus can be Used for: Redeemable for $500 in travel-related expenses

Annual Fee: $95 (waived for the first year)

Chase Sapphire Reserve

 
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a popular credit card, but it does come with a hefty price tag: a $550 annual fee.

Typically a card with a $550 annual fee wouldn’t be worth getting for anyone other than those who travel frequently. But one nice thing that comes with this card is a $300 annual travel expense credit. Assuming you will for sure have at least $300 in travel-related costs each year, the effective cost of the card is $150. Some of the other benefits of the card, such as lounge access and built-in trip insurance, can make the card annual fee worth the cost.

Similar to the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Chase Ultimate Rewards® points transfer 1:1 to the following programs:

• United MileagePlus®
• British Airways Executive Club
• Aer Lingus, AerClub
• Emirates Skywards®
• Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM
• Iberia Plus
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• IHG® Rewards Club
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt®

There are a couple additional perks worth pointing out. Chase will reimburse your expense for a TSA pre-check or global entry account up to $100, and they also provide you with one-year complimentary access to a network of over 900 airport lounges.

I signed up for global entry, which includes TSA Pre-Check, and it was so worth it. The first time I used it was a trip to NYC. I checked in online from home so I didn’t have to wait to print a boarding pass. Even with checking a bag it was under 10 minutes from stepping out of the car to being past security. I highly recommend it even for casual travelers.

Bonus: 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® bonus points; $300 annual travel credit; Credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check application

How to Unlock the Bonus: Spend $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening

What the Bonus can be Used for: Redeemable for $750 through Chase Ultimate Rewards® or transfer 1:1 with partner travel rewards programs

Annual Fee: $550 (NOT waived the first year)

United Explorer Card

 
The United Explorer Card is a great card to have if you plan on flying United or if you either already signed up or plan on signing up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

This has been my airline of choice the past few years because of how many miles you can rack up when you transfer Chase Rewards points 1:1. My wife and I have amassed over 300,000 miles and have used it to travel to Florida, St. Martin, and New York City. United is an ideal airline to have miles for because of the sheer number of locations they fly to.

Like most airline cards you will get free checked bags, but unlike other airline cards you will also get a pair of passes each year to the United lounge. I’ve taken full advantage of this perk over the past few years and it can make a layover at the airport a bit more tolerable.

Bonus: 40,000 United MileagePlus® Miles

How to Unlock the Bonus: Spend $2,000 within the first 3 months

What the Bonus can be Used for: Flights on United Airlines

Annual Fee: $95 (waived the first year)

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

 
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card has standard rewards you should expect from an airline credit card: first bag checked free (for everyone in your reservation) and priority boarding.

While there are other benefits such as no foreign transaction fees, the real draw of this credit card is the welcome offer.

Earn up to 70,000 bonus miles. Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles after your first anniversary of Card Membership.

When you apply for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card and spend $2,000 within the first 3 months of account opening, you earn 60,000 Bonus Miles. You can also earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles after your first anniversary of Card Membership.

Welcome Offer: 60,000 Bonus Miles

How to Unlock the Welcome Offer: Spend $2,000 within the first 3 months; also earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles after your first anniversary of Card Membership.

What the Welcome Offer can be Used for: Delta SkyMiles

Annual Fee: $99 (waived for the first year)

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus

 
The Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus card is an airline card, and airline cards typically come with free checked bags. This card is no different, with first and second checked bags flying free.

But the main draw of this card is the 40,000 Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points, along with the potential of gaining their coveted Companion Pass. The Companion Pass allows you to book a designated companion’s flight for free, regardless of whether you pay with points or cash.

To get the Companion Pass you have to earn 110,000 Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year. This card will get you 40,000 (or 41,000 if you include the 1,000 you will get when you spend your $1,000 to get the bonus). If you get the Chase Sapphire Preferred and transfer over those 50,000 points you are even closer. Note: as of January 2020 you will need to earn 125,000 qualifying points to earn the companion pass.

Bonus: 40,000 Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® points

How to Unlock the Bonus: Spend $1,000 within the first 3 months of account opening

What the Bonus can be Used for: Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

Annual Fee: $69 (NOT waived the first year)

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There are a ton of travel reward credit cards with great bonuses. Using these cards alone could potentially save you thousands of dollars on travel.

Other Posts that Will Help You Save Money on Travel:

• Chase Ultimate Rewards: Our Simple Guide to Maximizing Your Points

• Tips for Making Travel More Affordable: Save Thousands on Travel

• What to Expect When Using AirBnB for the First Time