Flexible Spending Accounts and you

My employer offers the opportunity to save money by way of a Flexible Spending Account, or FSA. An FSA allows you to put money in, before taxes are taken out of your paycheck, and set it aside to pay off certain types of expenses. My employer offers one for both medical and childcare expenses.
The obvious benefit to doing this is being able to pay your medical expenses with money that you don't have to pay taxes on. Doing so can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars per year. The one drawback is that if you don't spend the money in that year, it is gone, and you cannot get it back.
I choose to contribute $500 annually to my FSA, which I can then use to pay for things like co-pay, prescriptions, glasses, even some over-the-counter drugs and medical supplies. Each provider has their own list of exactly what will qualify as a valid medical expense for their FSA, and a lot of it is regulated. In the past, most over-the-counter drugs were covered flat out, but this past year the rules were changed, so you must have a doctor's prescription for them to be covered.
There are still many supplies that a lot of FSA will cover without the need for a doctor's not though. These include bandages, braces, gauze, heating pads, saline solution, supports, thermometers and more. It is important for anyone to verify these with their provider before purchase though.
Last year, I expected my medical expenses to be much larger, and only used a small portion of my FSA, leaving me with over $300 in the account. With it being 2012, I thought I was out of luck. However, after talking to my human resources representative, I've found out there is an extension for the healthcare FSA, and I have until March 15 to incur claims! So now, I must figure out how to spend this money as quickly and efficiently as possible. As the saying goes: waste not, want not.