TIFU by forgetting to claim my work benefit and losing $400

r/

I just found out I missed my FSA claim deadline and basically gave my company back about $400 for nothing.

I thought the cutoff was later, but it was actually June 30 — now it’s July and too late.

I did this last year too with a wellness perk I never bothered to finish claiming. I always think I’ll get to it “next week” and then forget.

I hate paperwork — my brain just shuts down when I see fine print or extra forms, so I end up wasting money like an idiot.

I know it’s my fault, but it still feels so stupid that I work for this money, then just hand it back because I couldn’t do a basic form.

Not looking for pity — just needed to rant. Anyone else ever done this? How do you keep from missing stuff like this?

TL;DR: I forgot to claim my FSA benefit by the June 30 deadline, so I lost $400 for no reason.

Comments

  1. Portersuf Avatar

    I feel you. I forgot to do my wellness check this year to get $500 credit towards my insurance. It is what it is. Not gonna stress about it now.

  2. Phantom_Crush Avatar

    Set a reminder for next year’s right now while it’s still fresh in your mind. Yeah forms and stuff are a pita but that’s a good 2 or 3 days wages depending on what you do.

  3. Mud_Drop3421 Avatar

    Always remember folks, money doesn’t sleep or forget. We’re only human after all.

  4. Pearly_Fizz09 Avatar

    Because who reads the fine print, right?

  5. thcheat Avatar

    OP, I just wanted to confirm that June 30 is the last day for expense or last day to submit expense.

    Those are 2 different things. Like in my plan, March 15 is the last day of expense, and March 30 is the last day to submit expense.

  6. neutrino71 Avatar

    If it’s an annual benefit set a reminder in your phone with and a link to this post so the memory of the feelings you have now will help to motivate you overcome your procrastination inclination next year.

  7. Public-Argument-4921 Avatar

    Double check, because usually there is a grace period for filing, but not using. So you probably had to use by June 30 but might have up through September to file. That is how mine is. Now I use mine far in advance because we have a lot of bills. Have you looked to see if they have a debit card you could use? I use mine to pay my doctor, co-pays, RX’s, etc. through the year and don’t have to worry about trying to file at the end. Worth a shot if you hate the extra paperwork.

  8. Fooldozer Avatar

    🙁 that sucks, sorry