When we cranked up this website a few months ago, the top 3 issues leading into the 2008 political election were healthcare, immigration, and national defense. Yesterday we woke up, the market dropped 500 points, the Fed whacked interest rates by 75 basis points (that's .75% for those of us common folk who do not work in the banking business), the market bounced like a yoyo, foreign markets are moving like crazy too, and the #1 issue in the 2008 Presidential Election is "The Economy," whatever that means…..

I suppose to the average Joe, "the economy" means, whatever is either sucking money out of one's wallet or putting it in." Now if you've got an ARM and are having trouble making the payment I'm guessing "the economy" has been on your mind since before yesterday. If you go nuts seeing the price of gas bounce at the pump, then you're probably thinking about your "economy" once a week , while standing in the freezing cold with your hand frozen to the gas nozzle (hey, at least it's not your tongue). Or if you have been thrust into the world of Consumer Directed Health "the economy" rumbles through your mind every time you have to get a prescription filled or you are thinking about whether or not to take your kids to get their teeth cleaned, or you are deciding whether to hit the local emergency room or Minute Clinic to have a doctor or nurse look up your nose through the side of your head or down your throat.

For those of us with HSAs, we have begun to take control of our own "economy" in a smart kind of way. Now I am not saying that makes us particularly smart, at least not in the case of this writer, but it is, "prudent" as our former Commander and Chief, George H.W. would say.

You see, an HSA is a great financial tool. It can focus you on a savings mentality. It can be part of a smart financial strategy (we believe it is better than and IRA). They are tax smart (contributions are tax deductible and grow tax free). They help you manage your own "economy."