What's new: When you're signing up this month for your employer-provided insurance for 2010, you'll likely see plans with lower premiums and higher deductibles. You may also see broader use of co-insurance (you pay a percentage of the bill) instead of flat-fee co-pays.

What to do: Don't default to your current plan: compare co-pays, premiums and deductibles for each option and estimate out of pearl jewelry pocket costs. If you go with a high-deductible plan, open a health savings account, which lets you put up to $6,150 next year in a pretax account that you can tap for medical expenses.

2. Fund your flexible spending account

What's new: These pretax accounts used to come with tons of paperwork and you had to spend the dough before year's end. But now they're much less of a headache. Most companies have added debit cards and direct deposit, and you probably have until March 15, 2011 to biwa pearl spend your 2010 contribution.

What to do: Contribute the amount you spent out of pocket last year on deductibles, co-pays, and drugs, up to the max that your firm allows (usually $2,500 to $5,000). You'll save about $350 for every $1,000 you deposit. For a list of eligible expenses, contact your HR department.

3. Test your wellness

What's new: Many companies have programs to help employees get and stay healthy, so this month they may ask you to fill out an assessment of your health status and behavior. Your employer may even be offering an incentive (such as $100 in cash or a $15 discount on akoya pearl your insurance premium).

What to do: Fill out the form. Responses are kept confidential, so it's very unlikely you'll encounter problems later by admitting that you're, say, diabetic. It's good to review your own health info, and if you can nab a reward, all the better. 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Chrysler Group broke even in September and ended its first post-bankruptcy quarter with more cash on hand than it had at the beginning of the period, the company's new boss said Wednesday.

Sergio Marchionne, the head of the Fiat Group, made the announcement at the beginning of a full-day presentation in Detroit about the Italian automaker's plans to turnaround Chrysler. Marchionne became the new Chrysler CEO when Fiat took a controlling stake in the company in June.

Chrysler is not publicly traded (although Fiat (FIATY) is) and this is the first financial results of any kind that the company has released since filing for bankruptcy.

Marchionne said Chrysler had $5.7 billion on hand at the pearl jewelry end of September, up from $4 billion at the end of June. He did not detail where the increase in cash came from.

The comments come two days after rival Ford Motor Co. (F, Fortune 500) reported a nearly $1 billion profit in the third quarter, bucking expectations of another loss. But Ford sales have been much stronger than those at Chrysler.

Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy on June 10. Fiat holds a 20% stake in the company, and that is due to eventually rise to a 35% stake. U.S. taxpayers own an 8% stake, while trust funds set up to pay for Chrysler retirees' health care coverage control 55% of the stock.

Marchionne said financial targets for Chrysler are being met, despite weak sales. He also said the new product line coming from Fiat will make a significant change in the offerings U.S. customers will see in Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep showrooms. He expects 75% of the product line will be changed within the next 14 months.

"That's the plan. It's comprehensive. It's ambitious," Marchionne said.

Chrysler's chief financial officer Richard Palmer said the company should fall somewhere between break-even and a profit of $500 million (before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization) in the biwa pearl just more than six months from the end of its bankruptcy to the end of the year.

The automaker is even more confident about profits going forward, according to Palmer, due to a rebound in industrywide sales, improved U.S. market share and better access to overseas markets using Fiat's dealership networks in Europe and South America. It sees as much as $3 billion net income by 2014. That would allow it to repay loans it owes to the Treasury Department by that year.

But the sales will have to show significant improvement from 2008 for the profits to return. Palmer said Chrysler will need to ship about 1.65 million vehicles worldwide to break even. Shipments this year will end up being close to 1 million units. Chrysler also expects to eventually reach U.S. market share of 13%, up from only 9% that it has achieved year-to-date this year.

The company, with its large dependence on pickups, minivans and SUVs, got the least help of any major automaker from the government's Cash for Clunkers program, which sparked a four-week spike in industrywide sales from late July through late August.

Chrysler's U.S. sales plunged 23% during the third quarter (and 42% in September alone) compared to a year earlier, far worse than the 10% decline in industrywide U.S. sales. In October, Chrysler's sales fell 30% on a year-over-year basis, even as Ford and General Motors reported sales increases.

Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of auto industry research site Edmunds.com, said Chrysler's break-even performance in September is partly due to the one-time windfall generated by dealers who have been rebuilding their inventory after shortages in the late summer.

While reported auto sales reflect purchases by consumers, the automakers actually book revenue when cars are sold first to akoya pearl dealers, not to the final customer.

Nonetheless, Chrysler said that its relationship with Fiat will allow it to cut costs dramatically. Chrysler head of purchasing Daniel Knott said that new purchase systems and the use of common parts with Fiat will allow Chrysler to save about $3 billion in vehicle parts and another $400 million in "indirect" purchases (stuff that doesn't go into a car or truck) by 2014. 

The legislation also would extend the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit to contracts signed by April 30 and closed by June 30. The controversial credit, which many say has boosted home sales in recent months, was set to expire after Nov. 30.

The Senate's bill also created a $6,500 credit for those who buy a home after owning one for the last five years. That measure would apply to contracts signed by April 30 and closed by June 30. The pearl jewelry current credit defines a first-time homebuyer as someone who has not owned a residence within the past three years.

The Senate bill would raise the adjusted gross income cap to $125,000 for single filers and $225,000 for joint filers. The amount of the credit currently begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.

"It's gonna put people back to work, the home builders, put people in the real estate business," said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn. "The kind of jobs that can make a difference."

The extension will cost $10.8 billion over 10 years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Through mid-September, 1.4 million tax returns had qualified for the credit, according to the IRS. Some portion of biwa pearl those returns, which the IRS couldn't specify, represents buyers who took advantage of an earlier version of the tax credit, which was only worth $7,500 and has to be repaid over time.

By the end of November, the credit will have been used by 1.8 million homebuyers, at least 355,000 of whom would not have bought a house without the tax break, according to estimates by the National Association of Realtors.

"The data on the present home buyer tax credit show that the credit has had its intended impact -- sales have jumped in recent months to a projected 5.1 million for the year and housing inventory has been trimmed, thus stabilizing home prices noticeably," said Ron Phipps, the akoya pearl association's first vice president, in Senate testimony last month.

The credit, however, has also posed many problems. Critics say it's a waste of money because most of those claiming the credit would have bought homes anyway.

It's also been the target of fraud. Some 74,000 people claimed more than $500 million in credits even though they may not be first-time homeowners, according to Treasury officials. And more than 580 children, including some as young as 4-years-old, have claimed the credit.

"Some key controls were missing to prevent an individual from erroneously or fraudulently claiming the Credit and receiving an erroneous refund of up to $8,000," said J. Russell George, Treasury inspector general for tax administration, before a House subcommittee last month.

The Senate has been bickering over the details since September, and that cost more than 200,000 people their benefits. Some 7,000 unemployed Americans run out of benefits each day, according to the pearl jewelry National Employment Law Project.

Millions of Americans are now depending on unemployment benefits, as the unemployment rate continues to soar. The unemployment rate hit a 26-year high of 9.8% in September, and is expected to biwa pearl go even higher when the October numbers are released on Friday.

More than one in three people who are unemployed have been out of work for at least six months, according to the law project.

Lawmakers twice lengthened the akoya pearl time people can receive checks to as much as 79 weeks, depending on the state. But at least one Republican warned this would be the final extension.

"The public needs to ... know, this is the las

The closely watched legislation would extend jobless benefits in all states by 14 weeks. Those that live in states with unemployment greater than 8.5% would receive an additional six weeks. The proposal would be funded by extending a longstanding federal unemployment tax on pearl jewelry employers through June 30, 2011.

The measure would apply to those whose benefits will run out by Dec. 31, which is nearly two million people, according to Senate estimates. Those whose checks have already stopped would be able to reapply for another round.

The vote was 98 to 0.

"With 15 million Americans still unemployed and vying for just three million available jobs, we did the right thing today by passing this bill and doing it in a fiscally responsible way," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who helped craft the bill. "Today, we gave unemployed Americans the biwa pearl chance they need to get back on their feet, get through this tough time and get working again."

The measure now moves to the House, which passed its own benefits extension in September, giving an additional 13 weeks in high-unemployment states. The two bills must now be reconciled, though the House is expected to support the Senate's version.

"Now that this legislation has passed the Senate, I will bring it to the House Floor for a vote as early as tomorrow," said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland.

The bill would then move to the akoya pearl White House for the president's signature. Last week, the administration said it supports extending benefits.