Marcie Lucas is trying to determine how much of her income she should dedicate to her Select Benefits Medical Account at University of Miami. The Select Benefits Account allows Marcie to pay for medical expenses (including her insurance deductibles, eye-glasses, dental care, prescription copayments, etc.) with pre-tax dollars. Once Marcie has chosen (before December 31) some level Q, she will not be able to change it. In particular, if her medical expenses are less than the amount she has set aside, she will lose the money left over in her account; it is not carried over to the following year. (On the other hand, if her medical expenses exceed Q, she will need to pay that part of the expenses from her take-home pay [using after-tax dollars].)