Comments on: Flexible Education Spending Accounts?

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:45:33 +0000

I’ve been wondering about this lately myself, so I’m tickled to see someone else thinking the same thing. My previous employment actually did have a childcare FSA, and I believe my boss used it for her kids’ private school, though it’s entirely possible it was only used for the after-school care portion.

If it could be used for private school, could it be used for homeschool supplies?

I live in California, where one of the legal methods of homeschooling is to register as a private school. If it couldn’t directly be used for homeschooling supplies, could I charge myself tuition and use the FSA for that?

Could I use it to send my kid to an “after school” program a few days a week if I found one offering activities and enrichment programs I felt were worthwhile?

All of this is almost purely hypothetical, as I don’t expect I’ll ever work for that particular entity again, and they apparently no longer offer this as a benefit, anyways.

By: Smrt Mama

Smrt Mama — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:30:35 +0000

I agree completely. Making a Flex Ed (I like that) account available for everyone would make it more universally appealing.

By: TaderDoodles (Lisa B)

TaderDoodles (Lisa B) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:05:30 +0000

I hate it when I see both sides of an issue

I was thinking, however, that homeschoolers are not the only ones forking over money for school related stuff. My aunt spends a small fortune in stuff for her daughters school and she’s in public school. What if a Flex Ed Acct was offered to everyone? Parents, College Students, etc.

Our Flex Med account is pretty liberal in what we can claim. And I have until March 30th I think to finish turning in stuff for last year. After that I will lose it, but I’ve never lost much… I think this year I’m going to be short $20. I saved more in taxes then that.

On my soapbox regarding public school budgets…. I wish they’d invite some homeschoolers to come show them how to do it for less money! The waste going on in some schools is unbelievable!

Lisa

By: Tori

Tori — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:35:20 +0000

Ok I didn’t read all the comments on this post so nobody flog me! ok? I think parents homeschool for the most part whether they are doing full time or not. I know when I learned it would cost me $400 a month to send my son to a preschool to learn about a circle was also the day I began seriously homeschooling. I took the money I would have spent and purchased educational toys and scattered them throughout our house. The result was the smartest kid in kindergarten these were the words of his teacher. We are no full time homeschoolers and wow what a difference a few years make. It cost more and more the older they get I think. Ron Paul tried to make a tax deduction for all parents for the purpose of education. Since we are in upstate New York all I really want is to tell the local distict to take a flying leap with their IHIPS and quarterly reports. I feel that it bogs us down and waste valuable time. I also think we should be relying on other homeschoolers more. Sometimes I feel like some homeschool blogs are more about lets make a buck for me and less about helping others. The ones that are truely helping and supporting others we should parade them around on our shoulders like the heros they are! My personal goal is to make homeschooling easier for others in anyway that I can.

By: Smrt Mama

Smrt Mama — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:38:17 +0000

I think she’s partially confusing HSAs and FSAs, though both have aspects that could be taken into account when developing an educational spending account. FSAs are “government regulated” in that there’s a cap on them, they’re subject to specific tax codes, and there are certain classes of items/care that are covered and that aren’t. There’s no management of how/when I spend my FSA money, on what type of materials/care as long as they are for specific health needs (not general health, like vitamins or herbal supplements), they don’t care what brands I use or what stores I go to (though some stores have deals w/ the FSAs that make using them really easy, no need to mail receipts), etc. No one cares if I’m spending the money on bandaids or codeine.

By: Smrt Mama

Smrt Mama — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:30:16 +0000

The HSA model might even be more applicable to homeschoolers than the FSA model, since HSAs are consumer driven and FSAs are meant to be supplemental (to an employer-provided health plan), though aspects from both would be good.

I think the ideal spending/savings plan for educational funding would:

1. Be available through private financial institutions, not through employers or the government
2. Have a contribution limit based on number of eligible school-aged children (perhaps a tiered system, such as a bracket for single child, then 2 children, then 3-4, then 5+, since materials can be reused for subsequent children).
3. Be pre-funded (like FSA medical plans) OR allow for roll-over if pay-as-you-go.

By: Hannah

Hannah — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:08:01 +0000

This would take some figuring out, but, yes, i think it’s a great idea. In response to the above comments–I think HSAs can be set up in different ways. My husband is self-employed and we have one. We feed into it every month as much as we want, up to a limit. The money that you don’t use, does roll over–which is really nice. I actually find it pretty flexible as far as what you can use it for. I don’t need to just use it at a dr’s office–I can go to cvs and buy cough syrup or lotion for eczema. I can also use it to pay for things that aren’t covered by my insurance, such as midwifery care.

By: Care

Care — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:06:40 +0000

Oh, so she’s being snotty and having no clue about the actual mechanics of what she’s trying to snark? Excellent.

I’ll snark with the best of ‘em, but at least when I have no effing clue, I’ll say so. ^_~

I was under the impression that the FSA would be managed by the fed, as they ‘control’ education anyhow (regulation-ally speaking, anyhow), but that they’re managed by independent companies makes a great deal of sense, and the mini-short-term-loan idea is reasonable as well. So, honestly? As long as there’s nobody coming in behind the legislation requiring people using this FSA to provide evidence of public/private school attendance or mandating a specific curriculum or whatever? I’d have to be solidly behind it. If I could break down into a “forced” savings plan a couple hundred dollars a year (for us, for now), I could actually have curriculum materials for Nathaniel by the time he’s ready for them. As it stands… Not likely to be such an ‘easy’ time.

By: Cara Z

Cara Z — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:13:47 +0000

hope i didnt put a damper on the conversation!

By: Smrt Mama

Smrt Mama — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:16:59 +0000

Yes, the money does come from you. You determine what amount will be pulled, pre-tax, from your paycheck and put into the account. You can only use that predetermined amount in the year, but you can use it from day one — it is like a mini-loan that you pay back each paycheck, in a way. FSA companies aren’t “the government” anyway — it’s a privately funded account, so I’m not sure where she’s getting that whole “homeschoolers are anti-government thing.” Republicans and Libertarians, on the whole, love FSAs because they’re not government services.