How to Use Tax-Free Money from Your FSA to Buy Designer Glasses

As a college-dropout and part-time activist, I don't have a whole lot of money to go out and buy expensive clothing. However, I do have a weakness for designer eyeglasses. Every time I go and get an eye exam and have to pick out new glasses, I notice a significant difference between the style & quality of the "no-name" glasses that my insurance will cover and the glasses made by designers like Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Burberry, etc.

Late last year, my company was having "open enrollment" for their health benefits, and one of the benefits that was offered was an FSA, or Flexible Spending Account. An FSA allows you to contribute pre-tax dollars to an account which you can use to spend on qualified medical expenses throughout the year. Since I have a lot of medical expenses, I decided to contribute the maximum amount to my Flexible Spending Account, which was $2500. Since the money was pre-tax, that meant I'd only miss out on $1800 from my take-home pay throughout the year. Saving $700 on taxes was a great deal!

As soon as the new year started, I received an FSA debit card, which was a Visa debit card that I could use to buy qualified medical items and have the money deducted from my Flexible Spending Account instead of paying out of pocket. It was also great that the entire $2500 in my FSA was available to me at the beginning of the year, even though the payroll deductions to fund the account would be spread throughout the entire year. I desperately needed a new pair of glasses, so the first thing I did when I got my FSA debit card was head to LensCrafters for an eye exam.

When my exam was finished, the sales lady showed me the frames that my insurance would cover, and I didn't really like any of them. However, there was a pair of Dolce & Gabbana frames that I absolutely fell in love with. I was not in love with the $395 price tag though. I had almost resigned myself to getting the cheap frames when I mentioned that I'd be paying for everything using my Flexible Spending Account. I was informed by the LensCrafters employee that ALL eyeglass frames fall into the qualified medical expense category, regardless of price. I asked if that meant I could use my FSA money to buy the Dolce & Gabbana frames, and I was told that indeed I could.

It didn't take me more than 2 seconds to decide to go for the designer frames. I know some people think buying items with designer names is a frivolous waste of money, and I would tend to agree. However, I wanted to have a really nice pair of glasses for once and since the money wasn't coming directly out of my pocket, I decided to go ahead and splurge. When you take the tax savings into account, my $500 pair of glasses really only cost me $350. And the money to fund my FSA was taken out of my paycheck in small weekly increments, so to be honest I never really even missed that money since I never saw it in my check.

I'm definitely not encouraging everyone to go out and buy a super-expensive pair of glasses. But if you have your eye on some nice frames that you can't really afford, you may want to check to see if your employer offers a medical Flexible Spending Account. Using your FSA money to buy designer eyeglass frames is not only perfectly legal, but it can be a great way to treat yourself to something nice without feeling the pain in your wallet. Plus, FSAs can be used to purchase all sorts of everyday healthcare items, from pain relievers to home medical equipment to condoms, and with the tax savings, you'd be crazy NOT to take advantage of your employer's flexible spending account option.