u/DiscombobulatedBig66

Officially started the home-buying process and my husband and I have a modest budget of $300k for a condo in Chicago (not considering outer burbs). In chatting with our realtor he’s painted a very grim picture lol - can anyone who’s bought within this budget offer some insight? Thanks!!

EDIT: looking for 2 bed specifically, considering fringe/up and coming neighborhoods. Super open to location and we also dont mind needing to upgrade appliances/minor work.

I (35F) recently switched from a low deductible health plan to HDHP this year and am contributing $4.4K in my HSA. Both my husband and I are on my health plan. Long story short, early this year I had severe gastric issues which prompted me to go to a GI specialist which then recommended getting an endoscopy done. I've been charged about $2k++ for the endoscopy and about $400 for an abdominal ultrasound after the negotiated discounts. My in-network deductible remaining is still $2095 for the year and the reason being due to the Dr using an out of network lab for pathology. I'm likely going to need yearly endoscopies now due to my diagnosis. Can anyone help me do the math of what makes sense health plan-wise for the next coming years? Is it still sensible to keep the HDHP even if I have health issues since I get tax advantages on the HSA funds?

Here is what I pay annually for 2026:

$4,575.96 (myself and spouse) - Cigna HDHP Silver

$4400 + $600 credit from employer - total of $5K HSA contributions

*$4,000 deductible / $5500 out of pocket maximum

Here is what I paid last year (2025 on low deductible health plan):

$5,913.60 (myself and spouse) - Cigna Local Plus Silver

$3100 - health care spending account contributions

*$750 deductible / $5500 out of pocket maximum

I ideally wanted to not touch my HSA contributions because I'm needing to do adult orthodontics ($7K) and 2 implants ($5K each) in the coming years and I thought using the HSA money for this would be smart. For additional context I don't have any other health issues except for the gastro stuff and my husband is also healthy and only goes to the Dr for his annual preventative visits. If I went back to the low deductible plan, I would still need to max out my health spending account contribution since I would need the money for dental work in the near future.

Also follow up question - are the cost of major outpatient procedures considerably cheaper on a low deductible health plan vs high deductible? Any insight on what others have paid for an endoscopy in the past?