FSAs are really annoying if they don't give you a debit card to use or if the administrator is hostile (making you document every debit card swipe, when the provider is obvious, is hostile.)
If yours is usable and if you want to get the benefits and struggle with the mental overhead (like me), the way I solved it might help. I projected the expenses we were almost certain to have (took about a minute.) Then I put a range on the expenses we'd probably have. That's where I set the FSA withdrawals. There was realistically a 0% chance I was going to lose money with the FSA. If gambling stresses you out, just do a conservative amount and be content with the savings from that.
That was 2022. For 2023, FSA planning was easy because I knew I'd be paying for orthodontics, so I just set it at maximum and spent the whole thing up front in January. I'll probably be back to a lower amount next year. It takes a minute to update the withdrawal in our benefits portal during open enrollment.
If yours is usable and if you want to get the benefits and struggle with the mental overhead (like me), the way I solved it might help. I projected the expenses we were almost certain to have (took about a minute.) Then I put a range on the expenses we'd probably have. That's where I set the FSA withdrawals. There was realistically a 0% chance I was going to lose money with the FSA. If gambling stresses you out, just do a conservative amount and be content with the savings from that.
That was 2022. For 2023, FSA planning was easy because I knew I'd be paying for orthodontics, so I just set it at maximum and spent the whole thing up front in January. I'll probably be back to a lower amount next year. It takes a minute to update the withdrawal in our benefits portal during open enrollment.