Do You Spend More on Your Hair Than Medical Care? What is an HSA?

This morning I read an article, blog, commentary or some such thing posted over at HSAeducator.com which started my day with a smile.  It was humorous and entertaining, if not thought provoking.  The article explored creative and perhaps a little nutty, ways to put money into health savings accounts.

It made me think about my family and the money spent on hair care, “hair doing” and hair products each year.  And more importantly how we prioritize the things in our lives.  My wife always tells me “I don’t want to know” what the ladies in my family spend to keep their mops tip tops.  Candidly, that scares the crap out of me.

As I read the HSA savings article about hair care, I started to wonder if perhaps more was being spent to keep my family’s hair “healthy” than to keep the rest of our bodies healthy.  Now this would be OK if the total hair tab was say $100 per year for a family of four, because that would suggest we were pretty danged healthy.  Unfortunately, the hair tab is significantly higher than $100 but fortunately it is also significantly lower than our healthcare tab which for 2008 will end up being around $4,500 for insurance and actual medical expenses.

So how does this relate to you and where am I going with this?  I’m of the opinion healthcare should be near the top of our list of priorities.  It should be close behind food, shelter and clothing but way ahead of things like automobiles, electronics, jumbo mortgages, shoes (if you are obsessed with having lots of them), media rooms, big cable television, and yes lots and lots of big beautiful hair and its accessories. 

 Where does healthcare fall in your list of priorities for your family?  Especially during these challenging economic times. 

Enough said.