This was my morning:

14 phone calls.

6 companies.

4 ½ hours.

1 long day.

Playing phone tag with payroll processors, wealth management institutions, and banks.

Why?

Because I overlooked keeping track of where my health savings accounts (HSA) and 401(k) accounts were being managed.

Over the past week, I’ve been trying to consolidate my accounts wherever possible.

A small part was driven that the budgeting app Mint will be shutting down January 1, 2024 (🪦 RIP) …

…but the larger reason is that I’ve realized there were some past accounts simply missing from my personal tracker.

When we go through onboarding with a new employer, we often click a few buttons and then things are magically setup.

What we miss is which accounts are automatically being created to hold our money at different financial institutions.

For example: I had setup a health savings account through our payroll service, Gusto.

What I didn’t know was that when the employer changed their payroll service this would also change where my money was being kept.

Different payroll services have different investment partners.

So what happen?

A new account elsewhere was created…

…leaving the old money in accounts that will soon become nothing more than an email notification.

This all happened 3+ years and two past employers ago.

How are we suppose to remember which company did what with who? 🤔

Here are 3 things you don’t want to forget when you transition to a new employer.

Create your accounts and keep records of them.

After completing onboarding with your new company, you’ll receive a number of emails from different companies.

Some of these emails are going to prompt you to make an account.

Do this!

I just went through trying to make an account for something that I ignored years ago…

…trying to remember the service’s name, my old address, the employer at the time, and more!

What made it even worst was that the account was tied to my old work email…

…that I didn’t have access to anymore!

It was a huge headache that could have been avoided had I simply paid 1% more attention.

Make the account and then save it in your favorite password manager.

Probably doesn’t take more than 2 minutes…

…but can cost you thousands. 🫢

Consolidate your accounts.

When you leave an employer…

most of your account will still remain active.

There might be some slight changes like additional management fees or the investment mix might change.

For example: there are some instances where when you leave a company, you’re 401(k) will no longer be invested.

It’ll just sit in a cash account…

…depreciating. 😵

Additionally, you’ll be most likely opening up new accounts with the companies that your new employer uses for their staff.

So those are even more accounts to manage.

Save yourself the hassle and try to consolidate (also known as “rollover”) your accounts.

I’ve found that usually the new financially institution will even do it for you if you jump on a call with them.

Use the funds in your flexible spending account (FSA)!

Using a FSA account can be helpful if you need to cover glasses, contacts, dentist procedures, or other medical expenses.

But when you separate with a company…

…this does not come with you!

It most situations, the money that YOU put into your FSA will go back to your employer if it’s not used.

Every employer has different policies…

…where some may allow you up to three months to use the funds after leaving.

But that is not guaranteed and you don’t want to leave that to chance.

With the 2023 maximum contribution of $3,850…

…make sure you are using that for you!

Depending on what you are doing after leaving your employer, there may be ways to extend access to your FSA with some COBRA plans.

If you are going that route, read the fine print.

Why throw away $3,000+ when you don’t need to?

Hopefully these tips will help save you the time and energy of tracking your various accounts.

The last things we need to worry about are things like this…

…especially when we are focused on making the best first impression at our new jobs.

📚 Other Notable Resources

• Last Week’s Post: Pay yourself first, then look towards other investments
• Free Resource: Personal Budgeting Template (works for couples too!)