Your own private "HSA"?

[Nutria]

If your company doesn't offer a HDHP, have you created your own "Health Savings Account"?

Every month, we transfer $220 to a "Medical Fund" (column in a spreadsheet) and pay all medical expenses out of that. Even with DD being in the hospital for a couple of days, plus sundry other "stuff", it grew by 22% in 2016.

Mainly I started doing it so that our budget would be more consistent every month. (You could consider it a subcategory of EF if you want, though we pay regular doctor visits out of it.)

[disneysteve]

I think a lot of people who make a formal budget have a line item for medical expenses. It's certainly a good idea, especially if you have a family. Even just the copays can add up to quite a bit over the course of the year. And if you have a deductible on your insurance, it's good to be prepared for that, too.