If you buy your own health insurance, add this important date to your yearend to-do list: November 15.

That's the date open enrollment is available for individual healthcare plans offered through the Healthcare.gov site, your respective health insurance marketplace (https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/eligibility/) or independent agents in your community.

If you're working for a company that provides your health insurance, chances are your open enrollment period has already begun. The SHOP insurance marketplace, open to small businesses and nonprofits with 50 or fewer full-time employees, also begins taking online applications November 15.

If you buy your own personal or family coverage, don't wait until November 15 to start planning your 2015 coverage decisions - do it now.

Here are six things you should know to get started:

1. Timing is tight. Last year's health insurance enrollment process lasted six months. This year, it's only three - November 15 to February 15. You may be able to enroll outside of those dates if you're facing a major life change like a divorce, birth of a child or marriage; otherwise, that's your window.

2. Sticker shock is a possibility. Obamacare didn't guarantee cheap healthcare coverage; it guaranteed available healthcare coverage. Keep in mind that if you bought health coverage last year, your insurer will automatically re-enroll you on December 15 for new coverage effective January 1. However, that's no guarantee that your monthly premium will stay the same. Some experts are predicting only modest increases (http://www.cnbc.com/id/102055144#.), but depending on where you live, your premiums might go up or down. And if your 2013 carrier grandfathered your 2014 coverage, those changes may go well beyond price.

3. Your doctors and hospitals might change. Hospitals and physician practices scrutinize the state of the health insurance market very closely. Their income depends on it. In 2013, some medical practices made news by dropping insurance plans altogether and accepting only cash or credit; others changed the insurance plans they would honor. Something to keep in mind: the best way to confirm that you'll still have access to your favorite doctor and hospital choice is to pick up the phone. Your doctor's website may list the particular insurance plans his or her practice may accept, but don't expect the list to be current. Call your practitioner or their business office to confirm they're sticking with your plan or any you've chosen to use instead. You don't want to be surprised with enormous out-of-network costs later.

4. Planning future health needs is important. If in the next year you're planning to expand your family, undergo elective surgery or other factors that could affect how you'll use the healthcare system, query the plans about specialists, prescriptions and other specific services before you sign up. It could save you thousands in potential out-of-pocket costs.

5. Coverage isn't immediate. Depending on when you enroll during the open enrollment period, your actual coverage may not start until two to six weeks later. Check effective dates of coverage for every plan you're evaluating to make sure the timing addresses your particular needs.

6. You can get help. Personal referrals from friends and fellow professionals to particular plans and agents are always a good way to start your enrollment search. There may also be nonprofit assistance within your community or state to help you evaluate individual plans. On the national level, nonprofit Enroll America runs a nationwide site (http://www.enrollamerica.org/resources/in-person-assistance/) with specific tools and resources for help in your search.

Start now to build a good toolbox full of online and personal resources to help you with your 2015 health insurance search.

If you always stop to read the fine print before signing anything, congratulations - your parents trained you well. If you don't, beware: Your signature could commit you to a long-term gym membership you don't really want, an apartment you can't afford or worst of all, paying off someone else's loan you cosigned.

Broadly defined, contracts are mutually binding agreements between two or more parties to do - or not do - something. It could be as simple as buying coffee (you pay $3 and the restaurant agrees to serve you a drinkable beverage), or as complex as signing a 30-year mortgage.

Once a contract is in force it generally cannot be altered unless all parties agree. And, with very few exceptions (e.g., if deception or fraud took place), contracts cannot easily be broken.

Before you enter a contractual agreement, try to anticipate everything that might possibly go wrong. For example:

• After you've leased an apartment you decide you can't afford the rent or don't like the neighborhood.
• Your roommate moves out, leaving you responsible for the rest of the lease.
• You finance a car you can't afford, but when you try to sell, it's worth less than your outstanding loan balance.
• You buy a car and only later notice that the sales agreement includes an extended warranty or other features you didn't verbally authorize.
• You sign a payday loan without fully understanding the terms and end up owing many times the original loan amount.
• You buy something on sale and don't notice the store's "No returns on sale items" policy.
• You click "I agree" to a website's privacy policy and later realize you've given permission to share your personal information.
• You buy a two-year cellphone plan, but after the grace period ends, discover that you have spotty reception and it will costs hundreds of dollars to buy your way out.

Cosigning a loan can be particularly risky. If the other person stops making payments, you're responsible for the full amount, including late fees or collection costs. Not only will your credit rating suffer, but the creditor can use the same collection methods against you as against the primary borrower, including suing you or garnishing your wages.

Still, there may be times you want to cosign a loan to help out a relative or friend. The Federal Trade Commission's handy guide, "Co-signing a Loan," shows precautions to take before entering such agreements (www.consumer.ftc.gov).

A few additional reminders:

• Ensure that everything you were promised verbally appears in writing.
• Make sure all blank spaces are filled in or crossed out before signing any documents -including the tip line on restaurant and hotel bills.
• Don't be afraid to ask to take a contract home for more careful analysis or to get a second opinion. A lawyer or financial advisor can help.
• Don't be pressured into signing anything. If salespeople try that tactic, walk away. (Be particularly wary at timeshare rental meetings.)
• Keep copies of every document you sign. This will be especially important for contested rental deposits, damaged merchandise, insurance claims, extended warranties, etc.
• Take along a "wingman" if you're making an important decision like renting an apartment or buying a car to help ask questions and protect your interests.
• Be wary of "free trial" offers. Read all terms and conditions and pay particular attention to pre-checked boxes in online offers.

Bottom line: Contracts protect both parties. Just make sure you fully understand all details before signing on the dotted line.

Last year the IRS doled out over 110 million income tax refunds averaging $2,803. Another way to look at it is that collectively, Americans overpaid their taxes by nearly $310 billion in 2012.

Part of that is understandable: If you don't have enough tax withheld throughout the year through payroll deductions or quarterly estimated tax payments, you'll be hit with an underpayment penalty come April 15. But the flip side is that by over-withholding, you're essentially giving the government an interest-free loan throughout the year.

If you ordinarily receive large tax refunds, consider withholding less and instead putting the money to work for you, by either saving or investing a comparable amount throughout the year, or using it to pay down debt. Your goal should be to receive little or no refund.

Ask your employer for a new W-4 form and recalculate your withholding allowance using the IRS' Withholding Calculator (at www.irs.gov). This is also a good idea whenever your pay or family situation changes significantly (e.g., pay increase, marriage, divorce, new child, etc.) IRS Publication 919 can guide you through the decision-making process.

Meanwhile, if you do get a hefty refund this year, before blowing it all on something you really don't need, consider these options:

Pay down debt. Beefing up credit card and loan payments can significantly lower your long-term interest payments. Suppose you currently pay $120 a month toward a $3,000 credit card balance at 18 percent interest. At that pace it'll take 32 months and $788 in interest to pay it off, assuming no new purchases. By doubling your payment to $240 you'll shave off 18 months and $441 in interest.

Note: If you carry balances on multiple cards, always make at least the minimum payments to avoid penalties.

The same strategy will work when paying down loans (mortgage, auto, personal, etc.) Ask the lender to apply your extra payment to the loan principal amount, which will shorten the payoff time and reduce the amount of overall interest paid. Just make sure to ask whether there's a prepayment penalty before trying this strategy.

Boost your emergency fund. As protection against a job loss, medical emergency or other financial crisis, try to set aside enough cash to cover six to nine months of living expenses. Seed the account with part of your refund and then set up monthly automatic deductions from your paycheck or checking account going forward.

Increase retirement savings. If your debt and emergency savings are under control, add to your IRA or 401(k) accounts, especially if your employer matches contributions; remember, a 50 percent match corresponds to a 50 percent rate of return - something you're not likely to find anywhere else.

Finance education. Enroll in college courses or vocational training to gain additional skills in case you lose your job or want to change careers. And ask whether your employer will help pay for job-related education.

You can also set money aside for your children's or grandchildren's education by contributing to a 529 Qualified State Tuition Plan. As an incentive, the government allows your contributions to grow tax-free until they're withdrawn.

And finally, to check on the status of your refund, go to the IRS's Where's My Refund site. You can usually get information about your refund 24 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of your e-filed return or about four weeks after filing a paper return.

Good news for people shopping for a mortgage - and for current homeowners facing foreclosure because they can no longer afford their home loan: New mortgage regulations drafted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently took effect and they provide a slew of new rights and protections for consumers.

One of the cornerstones of the new mortgage rules is that lenders now are required to evaluate whether borrowers can afford to repay a mortgage over the long term - that is, after the initial teaser rate has expired. Otherwise, the loan won't be considered what's now referred to as a "qualified mortgage."

Qualified mortgages are designed to help protect consumers from the kinds of risky loans that brought the housing market to its knees back in 2008. But obtaining that designation is also important to lenders because it will help protect them from lawsuits by borrowers who later prove unable to pay off their loans.

Under the new ability-to-pay rules, lenders now must assess - and document - multiple components of the borrower's financial state before offering a mortgage, including the borrower's income, savings and other assets, debt, employment status and credit history, as well as other anticipated mortgage-related costs.

Qualified mortgages must meet the following guidelines:

• The term can't be longer than 30 years.
• Interest-only, negative amortization and balloon-payment loans aren't allowed.
• Loans over $100,000 can't have upfront points and fees that exceed 3 percent of the total loan amount.
• If the loan has an adjustable interest rate, the lender must ensure that the borrower qualifies at the fully indexed rate (the highest rate to which it might climb), versus the initial teaser rate.
• Generally, borrowers must have a total monthly debt-to-income ratio of 43 percent or less.
• Loans that are eligible to be bought, guaranteed or insured by government agencies like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration are considered qualified mortgages until at least 2021, even if they don't meet all QM requirements.

Lenders may still issue mortgages that aren't qualified, provided they reasonably believe borrowers can repay - and have documentation to back up that assessment.

New, tougher regulations also apply to mortgage servicers - the companies responsible for collecting payments and managing customer service for the loan owners. For example, they now must:

• Send borrowers clear monthly statements that show how payments are being credited, including a breakdown of payments by principal, interest, fees and escrow.
• Fix mistakes and respond to borrower inquiries promptly.
• Credit payments on the date received.
• Provide early notice to borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages when their rate is about to change.
• Contact most borrowers by the time they are 36 days late with their payment.
• Inform borrowers who fall behind on mortgage payments of all available alternatives to foreclosure (e.g., payment deferment or loan modification).

With limited exceptions, mortgage servicers now cannot: initiate foreclosures until borrowers are more than 120 days delinquent (allowing time to apply for a loan modification or other alternative); start foreclosure proceedings while also working with a homeowner who has already submitted a complete application for help; or hold a foreclosure sale until all other alternatives have been considered.

For more details on the new mortgage rules, visit www.consumerfinance.gov/mortgage.

Bottom line: You should never enter into a mortgage (or other loan) you can't understand or afford. But it's nice to know that stronger regulations are now in place to help prevent another housing meltdown.

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Jason Alderman directs Visa's financial education programs. To participate in a free, online Financial Literacy and Education Summit on April 2, 2014, go to www.practicalmoneyskills.com/summit2014.