It’s so hard to save for health care costs these days. With so many people out of work, and with the cost of everyday life skyrocketing, it is challenging to find room in the budget for doctors appointments, prescription drugs, and a cushion for unexpected emergency room visits. Having emergency cash on hand is no small feat, so it’s a good idea to take advantage of employer sponsored flexible spending accounts. If you aren’t familiar with these types of accounts, then this entry can serve as your basic education.

The flexible spending account is money that you can set aside at the beginning of the calendar year for a host of medical, dental, child care, and eye care expenses. Here’s how it works:

Your company will ask you to fill out a form requesting that money be set aside. You can pick whatever total makes sense for you. You want to give them your best guess because at the end of the year the money you don’t use is not returned to you. Factor in your fixed costs and add a little cushion room.

Then you tell your employer how they should take it out of your check. You can choose to have this done right away, or you can pay your employer in increments. Don’t worry if you choose the latter because the full benefit of your flexible spending account starts immediately even if you haven’t paid it all back.

What makes this feature nice is the money you set aside is tax free. This means the total amount of taxed income drops, which can even bring about other benefits. These plans make it so that you don’t have to worry about shoving money in your mattress for a rainy day; your employer will do it for you.