Health plan sign-up opens Nov 1

Open enrollment is the time each year to sign up for a health plan on your own. For 2027 plans, it opens Nov 1 at HealthCare.gov.

Sign up or change plans by Dec 15, and your plan starts Jan 1. The window closes Jan 15. If you sign up between Dec 16 and Jan 15 and pay your first bill, your plan starts Feb 1.

Plans and prices change each year. The plan you have now may cost more next year or drop your doctor. Look before you let it renew.

If you get health coverage at work, your job has its own sign-up time. Ask HR when yours is.

If your state runs its own marketplace, its dates can be different. Check your state's site.

No one plans to end up in a hospital bed, unable to talk. But it can happen at any age, after a crash, a stroke, or a sudden illness.

When it does, doctors need someone to make choices for you. If you have not named that person, the law in your state picks. Often that is a spouse, a parent, or a grown child. A partner you are not married to could be left out.

You can choose instead. The form is often called a durable power of attorney for health care. The person you name is your health care proxy. They can only decide for you when you cannot decide for yourself.

You do not need a lawyer. Most states give the form for free. Some need a witness or a notary, so read the steps.

A 401(k) is a savings plan for when you stop working, offered by your job. Money comes out of your paycheck before you see it, and it can grow over time.

Many jobs add money when you put money in. This is called a match. For example, a job might add 50 cents for each dollar you put in, up to 6% of your pay.

If you put in less than what your job will match, you are turning down part of your pay.

For 2026, the IRS lets you put in up to $24,500. If you are 50 or older, you can add up to $8,000 more. If you are 60 to 63, that extra amount is $11,250.

Not every job has a match. Some also make you wait before the match is fully yours. Ask about both.

Selling plates, braiding hair, DJing, or doing photos on the side? That money is income.

Payment apps and online marketplaces send a Form 1099-K only when you are paid more than $20,000 and get more than 200 payments in a year. Your state may use a lower amount.

But the form is not what makes it taxable. The IRS says you must report your income whether you get the form or not.

If you earn $400 or more from your own work in a year, after costs, you may also owe self-employment tax.

Keep track of what you spend for the work too, like supplies. Those costs can lower what you owe.