Each year, the company makes us look over our work benefits and decide which benefits we want to keep, which pre-tax spending accounts we want to deposit money into, and things like supplemental life insurance.

This year is the first year that I’ve had to actually consider the Dependent Child Care FSA.  It would be a pre-tax account that I could put money into directly from my paycheck to help pay for child care.

From an informal poll of child care costs from my co-workers with children, the cost of actually sending a child to a day care is something in the ballpark of 20 hojillian dollars.  That’s a lot.  That’s way more than I’d be putting into a FSA.

So, I waived putting any money into it this year.  Our child will just have to deal with actually being cared for by us, I suppose.

Or we’ll just have to pay for it post-tax, if we sell our house.  And kidneys.  Or I can fake my own death and Katie can collect on the life insurance policy?  The options are limitless!