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Frank Myers

US health savings accounts offer tax-deductible contributions, tax-deferred investment compounding, and tax-free withdrawals for qualifying medical expenses, supporting both healthcare and retirement savings.
To contribute, you need a qualifying high-deductible health plan and cannot be claimed as a tax dependent or have general-purpose flexible spending coverage.
Qualifying expenses include deductibles, doctor bills, prescriptions, dental and vision care, plus eligible over-the-counter items such as sunscreen and first aid supplies.
HSA funds carry over each year and remain yours when you change jobs; save receipts if you plan to reimburse eligible medical expenses later.
For retirement planning, one approach is to claim your full 401(k) match first, then fund your HSA and consider diversified investments.

HSAs Can Double as Retirement Accounts

A mortgage buydown is an upfront payment at closing that lowers a buyer’s interest rate. Buyers, sellers, builders or lenders can pay.
A 2/1 temporary buydown sets the rate 2 percentage points below the note rate in yr 1 and 1 point below in yr 2.
A permanent buydown uses discount points to lower the rate for the life of the loan. Each point usually costs ~1% of the loan amount.
Buyers can request seller concessions for nonrecurring closing costs, including buydowns, in their initial offer; allowable contributions depend on the buyer’s loan-to-value ratio.
Before choosing a permanent buydown, ask a lender for a breakeven analysis: Its upfront cost pays off only if the loan is kept long enough.