vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Most HSA accounts will give you a debit card to make this even easier to pay the bill. By putting the money into your HSA for 1 day you just received a $500 tax deduction. Alternatively you can always pay out of pocket like you normally would, track your receipts, and wait until the end of the year (or up until April 15 of the next year). I like this option because I can pay all of my medical bills with a credit card and get cash back. Then at the end of the year, I add up the expenses, deposit that much into my HSA, and if I'd rather put that money somewhere else I just pull it out the next day. If you decide you don't need the money right away that's even better since you can leave it in the HSA account and invest it. Like a Roth account, you don't pay tax on the growth you achieve inside of an HSA. Another Tip: if your employer offers the service of automatically making deposits into your HSA by reducing your paycheck, you should definitely try to do that if you can afford it, rather than manually making contributions as I described in the previous tip. When your employer makes the contributions for you, your wages are reduced by that amount on your W2, so you end up saving an additional 7% in FICA taxes.
Tax deductions, credits, and special rates are done for two reasons: Encourage a behavior:  Try to lower taxes for the poor/disadvantaged and raise taxes for the rich. Every one of these programs is in essence a loophole that has been established to meet a goal. They are hard to eliminate because some people use them and don't want them to go away. Of course everybody want some program they don't use to be eliminated as long as the rates for everybody else are also lowered.
Just to be clear, private *student* loans fall in the same category.  The only meaningful difference is that they do not qualify for the federal forgiveness program (described above) and usually don't have subsidized interest rates which generally makes them even worse.  They similarly follow you for life.  There is no way out.    If you're referring to *regular, private loans*, then that's kind of a non-sequitur since the topic is student loans.  Not trying to be pedantic, just want to make sure anyone hoping to learn more understands how horrible student loans are if you can't pay them back.
For this scheme to work, you would require an investment with no chance of a loss. Money market accounts and short-term t-bills are about your only options. The other thing is that you will need to be very careful to never miss the payment date. One month's late charges will probably wipe out a few months' profit. The only other caveat, which I'm sure you've considered, is that having your credit maxed out will hurt your credit score.
While this question Can I get a rebate after using my HSA? mentions Health savings account the answer is still applicable. Go to the website for the plan administrator. They will either have a form to put the money back into the account, or they will have a contact number. In the past when I had an FSA I did this.  In one case I remember the doctor told us the bill would be X, but when they submitted the claim to the insurance the final bill was less than X so the doctor's office sent us the extra back. I was able to return the money back to the FSA administrator following their procedure.  Your situation is not unusual, accidental transactions happen all the time.
It appears that this is the case.  From IRS Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans Qualified medical expenses are those incurred by the following persons. You and your spouse. All dependents you claim on your tax return. Any person you could have claimed as a dependent on your return except that: The person filed a joint return, The person had gross income of $3,700 or more, or You, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2011 return.
Yes, there is debtor's prison in the U.S.  But you don't get sentenced because of the debt itself, but because you are not paying as much as a judge deems reasonable. Tens of thousands of mostly men are in jail because they are not able to pay an amount set by the court. Here is a balanced article that explains the situation: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/20/us/skip-child-support-go-to-jail-lose-job-repeat.html Note that the court does not need to prove your guilt. You also can end up in jail even if you have absolutely no ability to pay: In the Georgia class-action case, the plaintiffs were jailed in civil   contempt-of-court proceedings in which they did not have lawyers. They   included three veterans — one who had paid $75,000 in child support   but fell behind when he lost his civilian job because of   combat-related stress and family deaths; a second who was mentally ill   and had a letter from a Veterans Affairs doctor saying he was unable   to work; and a third who was incarcerated despite having paid $3,796   toward his debt by working odd jobs. Note that in these court proceedings you do not have the right to a lawyer and you are not presumed innocent.
"I had a similar issue take place at a hospital when the repeatedly billed the ""wrong me"" -- a stale insurance record left behind from when I was a dependent on my parent's insurance a decade earlier. They ended up billing me for anesthesia when I had a major surgery (everything else was billed to the correct insurance.) The outsourced billing people were pretty unhelpful (not usually the case with hospitals), so I became the squeaky wheel. I sent certified letters, had my priest rattle the cage (it was a Catholic hospital) and eventually talked myself into a meeting with the VP of Finance, who started paying attention when the incompetence of his folks became apparent. Total cost: $0 + my time."
If you know you will have a big bill, like braces. and you fully expect to hit the deductible then it can make sense. The deductible can trip some people up, because if they put too much into the limited purpose FSA and don't hit the deductible for the regular insurance policy, they can't get to all the money in the FSA. Because you have the ability to spend the potential money in the FSA before all the money has been contributed, it can allow you to make that payment for the braces in January. I did this the first year we had the HSA. I knew I needed to pay a dental bill early in the year. But the HSA would only have a few hundred dollars at that time, so I used the limited purpose FSA to be able to make that payment. This could also work if you spent a lot of money in the previous year. Because you have the ability to adjust how much money goes into the HSA each each pay period, this idea does keep the option open to fully fund the HSA if your finances improve. Regarding the deductible.  The law limits what you can use the limited purpose FSA for: dental and vision only. There is an exception. If you hit the deductible for the high deductible insurance policy, then you can use the funds in the limited purpose FSA for ANY medical reason.  When I did this a few years ago, I needed to send extensive paperwork to the company holding the funds before they would release the funds for dental. Once I sent them proof that I had met the deductible, then any medical expense after that date could use the FSA with minimal paperwork. If you fully fund the FSA beyond the cost of the braces, and then have a light year medical expense wise, you might not be able to spend all money in the FSA by the deadline. Regarding state taxes.  I saw no difference in my states (Virginia) treatment of the funds. The state taxable income number was exactly the same as the federal taxable income number. It did not treat the money in the FSA differently than the money in the HSA.
If you pay off a debt through a collections agency, it will damage your credit.  Here's an alternative approach.  Settling a $10K loan for $2K, shows the lender is keen to settle.   Instead of paying the collections agency, negotiate with the lender and agree to pay 2K to settle provided that they agree to: This could be a win-win for both.  The lender gets to keep full 2K without having to pay the collection agency a fat commission and your credit isn't damaged. Not saying this will always work, but worth a try.   Pro tip: Get everything in writing before you pay anything.
This has a straightforward answer. It's likely that your doctor and the hospital have no responsibility to ensure that your insurance claim is filed in a timely manner. They bill you whether you or they get reimbursed by insurance, or not. The insurance company is more than happy not to pay you any way they can. Sorry if this is harsh, but it's up to you to follow through. See also here.
"My sister had a similar problem and went to an actual lawyer, not a  ""credit repair agency"".  The lawyers settled her debt for a lot less than she owed, and she  also got a bonus: one of the creditors called her repeatedly, even  after her lawyers had told them not to.  The lawyers ended up getting her an extra $40,000. Combined with the  debt settlement, she actually came out ahead.  Of course, her credit score went down, but it recovered in a couple of  years."
Since this post was migrated from Parenting, my reply was in the context where it appeared to be misrepresenting facts to make a point. I've edited it to be more concise to my main point. In my opinion, the best way to save for your childs future is to get rid of as much of your own debt as possible. Starting today. For the average American, a car is 6-10%. Most people have at least a couple credit cards, ranging from 10-25% (no crap). College loans can be all over the map (5-15%) as can be signature (8-15%) or secured bank loans (4-8%). Try to stop living within your credit and live within your means. Yeah it will suck to not go to movies or shop for cute things at Kohl's, but only today. First, incur no more debt. Then, the easiest way I found to pay things off is to use your tax returns and reduce your cable service (both potentially $Ks per year) to pay off a big debt like a car or student loan. You just gave yourself an immediate raise of whatever your payment is. If you think long term (we're talking about long-term savings for a childs college) there are things you can do to pay off debt and save money without having to take up a 2nd job... but you have to think in terms of years, not months. Is this kind of thing pie in the sky? Yes and no, but it takes a plan and diligence. For example, we have no TV service (internet only service redirected an additional $100/mo to the wifes lone credit card) and we used '12 taxes to pay off the last 4k on the car. We did the same thing on our van last year. It takes willpower to not cheat, but that's only really necessary for the first year-ish... well before that point you'll be used to the Atkins Diet on your wallet and will have no desire to cheat. It doesn't really hurt your quality of life (do you really NEED 5 HBO channels?) and it sets everyone up for success down the line.
"They have forever to collect a balance from you. Furthermore they can add whatever penalties and fees they wish to increase that balance. Worst of all, they don't have to remind you or send you bills or any other notification. You owed it when you left the office. (There very well could be local laws that require notifications, but that isn't really the issue here.) That dentist has every right to deny you service until you settle the account. Forever. The statute of limitations on collecting that debt via court: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/savings/when-does-your-debt-expire.aspx Which covers the rules on HOW LONG they have to collect the debt. Owing the money is one thing, but the rules and tools that you creditor has to collect the debt are another. You are probably worried about them suing you. But if you don't pay the debt (or settle in some way), that dentist can refuse to provide services to you, even if they write off the debt. Ways you can be punished by your dentist for not paying the bill are: Depending on your jurisdiction and/or type of debt, they typically only report it on your credit (if they are reporting at all) for 7 years. Even if you pay and settle the account, it will still be reported on your credit report for 7 years. The difference is how it is reported. They can report that ""user133466 is a super reliable person who always pays debts on time"". They can say ""user133466 is a flake who pays, but takes a while to pay"". Or they can say ""user133466 is a bad person to provide services before collecting money, because user133466 don't pay bills"". Other people considering lending you money are going to read these opinions and decide accordingly if they want to deal with you or not. And they can say that for 7 years. The idea of credit reporting is that you settle up as soon as possible and get your credit report to reflect the truth. One popular way to collect a debt to is to sue you for it.
You didn't put what country you're in, so I'll work off the basis you're in the United States. I think you're going to have a very hard time accomplishing what you're talking about after such an extraordinary amount of time.  One has to assume that there would still be records that could be retrieved in order for anyone to determine the amount you'd have to pay, and after 40 years, the paper records would be long gone.  It's possible there might be microfiche somewhere, but I wouldn't have a clue how easy or possible it would be for it to be retrieved.   I assume you're wanting to repay this as a way to boost Social Security or other government benefits in your retirement, but it's really hard to say whether repaying the rebated money would make much, if any, difference.   This is really something you'll have to contact the IRS about, but unless they are trying to collect funds from you that they say you owe then it's highly unlikely they have any record of what you're asking about, and they probably don't even have a mechanism for accepting and crediting such monies.  The real issue here is the amount of time that has passed, because there would be little compelling reason for the government to keep detailed records (they perhaps maintain summaries, but little else) for extended periods.  We all have the impression the government knows all and never forgets, but that simply isn't the case.
"Here's another example of such a practice and the problem it caused.  My brother, who lived alone, was missing from work for several days so a co-worker went to his home to search for him and called the local Sheriff's Office for assistance.  The local fire department which runs the EMS ambulance was also dispatched in the event there was a medical emergency.  They discovered my brother had passed away inside his home and had obviously been dead for days.  As our family worked on probate matters to settle his estate following this death, it was learned that the local fire department had levied a bill against my brother's estate for $800 for responding with their ambulance to his home that day.  I tried to talk to their commander about this, insisting my brother had not called them, nor had they transported him or even checked his pulse.  The commander insisted theirs was common practice - that someone was always billed for their medical response.  He would not withdraw his bill for ""services"".  I hate to say, but the family paid the bill in order to prevent delay of his probate issues and from receiving monies that paid for his final expenses."
When a person dies with a lot of unsecured debt, it's often the case that they don't have a lot of cash lying around. The estate must sell off assets to raise the cash to settle with the creditors. Now here's where things get ugly with the house. ** The estate should try to raise money any other way, but it may have to sell the house to pay the creditors. For the people who would otherwise inherit the house, it may be in their best interest to pay off that debt. Check with lawyers in your area, but it may also be possible for the estate to take a mortgage on the house, use the mortgage cash to pay off the estate's debts (still haggle!), and then bequeath the house-and-mortgage to the heirs. The mortgage lender would have to be on-board with all of this. Then, the heirs would owe the mortgage. Good chance it would be a small mortgage on a big equity, e.g. a $20,000 mortgage on a $100,000 house. Banks love those."
Normally, under law today (at least in the United States; perhaps there is somewhere in the world where things are different) debts expire upon the death of someone; debt may consume much of their estate, but there cannot be a net debt passed on to their children.  That's a bit unsatisfactory, if you are a lender.  People can only sell their future labor to you up to a point; they cannot sell that of their children.  There's only so much debt that they can run up.  However, that is only true of private debt.  *Public* debt is a whole different ballgame.  There, debts can be passed down from generation to generation.
Sorry for your loss. Like others have said Debts cannot be inherited period (in the US). However, assets sometimes can be made to stand for debts. In most cases, credit card debt has no collateral and thus the credit card companies will often either sell the debt to a debt collector or collections agency, sue you for it, or write it off. Collecting often takes a lot of time and money, thus usually the credit card companies just sell the debt, to a debt collector who tries to get you to pay up before the statute of limitations runs out. That said, some credit card companies will sue the debtor to obtain a judgement, but many don't. In your case, I wouldn't tell them of your loss, let em do their homework, and waste time. Don't give them any info,and consult with a lawyer regarding your father's estate and whether his credit card will even matter. Often, unscrupulous debt collectors will say illegal things (per the FDCPA) to pressure anyone related to the debtor to pay. Don't cave in. Make sure you know your rights, and record all interactions/calls you have with them. You can sue them back for any FDCPA infractions, some attorneys might even take up such a case on contingency, i.e they get a portion of the FDCPA damages you collect. Don't pay even a penny. This often will extend or reset the statute of limitations time for the debt to be collectable. i.e Ex: If in your state, the statute of limitations for credit card debt is 3 years, and you pay them $0.01 on year 2, you just bought them 3 more years to be able to collect. TL;DR: IANAL, most credit card debt has no collateral so don't pay or give any info to the debt collectors. Anytime you pay it extends the statute of limitations. Consult an attorney for the estate matters, and if the debt collectors get too aggressive, and record their calls, and sue them back!
I feel like this has nothing to do with income, and as such RMDs will not really help or harm you. After a person passes, credit card companies are unlikely to collect any outstanding balance.  Debts cannot be inherited, however, assets can be made to stand for debts.  Many assets pass to heirs without the probate process and in some cases all of them pass this way.  This leaves creditors with nothing and having to write off the balance. Even if assets do pass through probate heirs may dispute the creditors.  In that case credit card balances may not be high enough justify hiring a lawyer to fight for payment; or, if they do the judge may be unsympathetic and offer nothing or pennies on the dollar.    The bottom line is that they probably see you, or your demographic, as a poor credit risk and reduced their exposure by lowering your limit.  While that is not what they told you, they probably have to carefully structure what they say to avoid any discrimination claims.
What sort of emergency requires payment up front for which 2-3 days processing of a stock sale would pose a problem? In my case, the sudden and unexpected death of my wife. Back in 2011, my wife was struck and killed in a traffic incident. I had to immediately (not in 2 - 3 days) cover 50% of the entire costs of the funeral. The balance was due shortly after, though I now forget if the balance was due in 7 days or in 30. I suspect the latter. The life insurance paid out in approximately 4 months for this simple case. Even if your mortgage is insured, you still have to pay the entire balance, along with living expenses, until the paperwork is resolved. And, again in simple cases, assume this will take months rather than days or weeks. My point is, the funeral is only one of the expenses you'll have to cover in such a situation, though generally you'll have sufficient lead time for the other expenses, where your investments would likely be sufficiently liquid. Yes, a credit card would (and did) help in this situation, but if you have no credit card (as your question poses), you need ready access to thousands of dollars to cover this sort of eventuality. My bank told me that many people in such a situation have to take out an emergency loan the very day their spouse dies. Let me assure you this would be... emotionally difficult. Funerals vary widely in price. The Motley Fool indicates the median cost of a funeral with a vault was $8,343 in 2014. Crematory fees, a headstone, flowers, food, obituaries, all add to this cost. My total cost was closer to three times the median, though some of the expenses (headstone, primarily) came later. I'm sure I could have gone for a cheaper funeral, though it's hard to make rational economic decisions at that sort of time. I don't recall the exact amount I had to put down, but it was somewhere around $6000 - $8000. (No need to leave a comment expressing condolences; thanks, but I've already had plenty and now my goal is to help share knowledge. :) )
My family members, particularly my aunt (his daughter), are telling me that when my grandpa dies they are taking my car. Bring this up with Grandpa.  If this is what he wants to have happen, then help him make it happen before you finish paying $12,000 on a car worth only $6,000.  Let the Aunt and other relatives deal with the remaining $12,000. If that isn't what he wants to have happen, then work out how you and he can legally make sure that what he wants to have happen actually happens. If the Aunt or others bring it up, make sure they understand that you still owe $12,000 on the car, and if they get the car they also get the loan.  If they refuse to pay the loan then make sure they know you will cooperate with the bank when they attempt to repossess the car - up to and including providing them with keys and location. This will hurt your credit, and you will be on the hook for the remaining portion of the loan, but you at least won't have to deal with all of it - they'll sell it at auction and your loan amount will fall a little. But the best course of action is to work with Grandpa, and make sure that he understands the family's threats, how that will affect you since you're on the loan, and what options you'd like to pursue.
Since you mentioned that it is your close relative, he has never done enything dodgy and is wise with his money, then I would take it that you have some implicit trust in him. Now your options in this case are limited to either saying an outright no, which may impact familial ties adversely or to do as he has requested. One way could be to ask him for a mail requesting a short term loan and then transfer the money to his account. Then after a few days/weeks he repays the money back to your account. Now, this may or may not be 100% black & white depending on the legalities of your country but in most countries/cultures giving and taking of personal loans between friends/families is quite common.