A family health budget helps you predict your annual health care expenses. If that sounds impossible to you, you're not alone. Eighty-three percent of people say health care expenses are hard to predict.* So how in the world can you guess what to budget for?

It's easier than you think. With some basic information, like your premiums and your family's usual health care needs, you can get an estimate… which is a lot better than guessing and coming up short.

The Family Health Budget takes into consideration all the ways you pay for health care:

• Premiums – Over the course of a year, your premium stays the same no matter how much health care you use.
• Out-of-pocket costs – Out-of-pocket costs occur when you use health care services, so they vary depending on how much health care you need.
• Products and services – This category includes medications, dental care, and vision care. These costs can vary – but for many people they're the same from year to year.
• Other health care costs – Your other health care costs may include fitness expenses, vitamins, or alternative medicine. Because these expenses are usually a personal choice, not a response to illness or injury, they're pretty predictable.

That's it — just four types of expenses!

The Build a Budget section of this Website puts it all together. Just enter some information about your health care usage and your family make-up. We'll crunch the numbers for you, taking into consideration the average costs for people with similar health care usage. In just a few minutes, you've got a budget … plus some great tips on how you can save money on health care.

* Humana Health Care Budgeting Study, conducted by Harris Interactive