Please welcome guest blogger and dear friend…Maureen Rieder….

It’s Time for Annual Enrollment, But There Are Other Things to Consider Too…..

Yes, it’s the time of year when our benefit enrollment packets show up in the mail and (sigh) it’s time to review our options and select our strategy for the next year. Just as it is important to select a medical plan for 2010, it’s equally important to make an extra effort to look into your other employee benefits such as flexible spending accounts, 401K programs and life insurance policies. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employee benefits typically add up to 30% of an average worker’s total compensation. Wow! With wages staying relatively flat, it’s time to look into other ways to stretch your income. Look for employee discounts (from everything to local attractions to cell phone services) and health awareness perks (gym discounts, diet programs and flu shots). A little extra effort in reviewing your total benefit packet could yield extra savings heading into 2010….

Have I motivated you to power through your benefits packet over a cup of coffee? I hope so! And while you are at it, have you thought about life insurance, beneficiary designations and estate plans? It’s a good idea each year to review where you stand with each of these as your needs may have changed. No changes may be necessary, but I find it liberating to check these off my list and know that as we head into the New Year we have it covered! I keep a spreadsheet that includes the information for our life insurance, investments and beneficiaries. We print out a copy and keep it with our estate plans so that all of our important information is in one place. After combining finances with my husband when we married a few years ago, I realized that the old days of having a paper trail are long gone! Many of our transactions are managed online and I realized we needed one place to be able to track all of our important stuff.

So, I’m anxious to hear… what did you find in your benefit packet that you didn’t know about? What other things do you do to keep your important stuff updated and organized?

Thanks Maureen…we appreciate your insight and incredible organizational skills.

Maureen Rieder is a guest blogger, wife and mother of two. She earned her MBA from the University of Dayton and worked for almost 10 years in marketing before becoming a stay at home mom.