Just realized I need to double check my Medicare stuff before the year gets too crazy. There are way more deadlines than I thought, and honestly missing one could cost you. So here's what I learned.

If you're turning 65 soon, you've got a window that starts 3 months before your birthday month and ends 3 months after. Sounds simple but people mess this up all the time. If you miss it, there's a general enrollment period from January through March 31 each year where you can still sign up, so that's your backup option.

Now if you're already on Medicare like me, here's where it gets confusing. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, you can make changes during January through March 31. You can switch to a different Advantage plan or bail out completely and go back to original Medicare. Then there's the big annual open enrollment in the fall, October 15 through December 7, where literally everyone on Medicare can shuffle their coverage around. That's when you can swap drug plans, change Advantage plans, whatever.

Honestly I should double check my own coverage because I'm not even sure if I'm in the best plan right now. The whole thing is confusing but apparently if you don't double check these dates and deadlines, you could end up paying way more than you need to. Definitely marking these on my calendar so I don't accidentally mess up. Anyone else find this stuff overwhelming or is it just me?