I always chose option 3. I usually took enough days during the year to use them all up. A couple of years, especially at the end of my career, I ended up with a couple of days they cut me a check for. I tried to keep 1 or 2 days for the end of the year, because I would usually catch a bug of some kind when the season changed. A check for a couple of days right before Christmas came in handy sometimes. Plus, if you call in sick here, if you have days available, they automatically apply them. It's to their benefit to burn your days as soon as possible, so if you go over, you become an "absentee problem." Scared to call in? naaaaa, not me.