Newbie here, how did you all pay for surgery? Finance?

[confidence 46]

^{I used my tax refund and save a little more to make it up then went to Mexico.}

[mylifeinpink 350]

Bonuses- thank God for them- every year.

[Sweetcarol238 181]

Insurance paid for everything.

[smsgrl2009 30]

Used a 0% credit card (until June 2014)..will have it paid off before then so no interest

[karpouzian 94]

Speaking as someone recovering from bad credit, don't take out a loan or a cc. This is an elective surgery, something you can wait for if you have to. Save up, use your tax return or a bonus, or see if your employer offers a medical flex plan.

[Shrinking_Lola 54]

I used my Tax refund.

[serenity1959 67]

We got a home equity loan since the house has to have foundation work and a new roof, so I added in what I needed for my surgery, too.

[mooregirl 74]

I saved my tax return and got a part time job to cover the rest of the cost.

[mlecompte 20]

I understand when you are ready to have surgery you are just ready…because I am! I am a teacher so I have to get surgery this summer or else I will have to wait an entire year again to get it! I have been trying to go through this process with insurance for over 2 years now and I have decided I am just going to go to Mexico. I am getting a raise this year so I will be able to afford the payments. I would rather finance the surgery now and just make payments every month rather than try to save and save and save, plus if I have the extra money to save then I would end up spending some of it…because thats how I am. So I also have bad credit because my husband was laid off a year and we were struggling with paying things on time, but he has had a job now for 2 years and we have been paying things on time but it take a long time to get your credit built back up. I didn't even qualify for personal loan through a bank and I didn't have a co-signer either. So I will be using Medical financing. Yes they are charging me a fee of $995 but it is worth is to me. My surgery expense is $5200, plus the $995. My loan is interest free for one year though, so of course I will try to pay it off before then but if I don't I'm ok with that also. If I just pay on my loan the entire time by the time I pay it off the cost will be $7500, plus the $995 I had to pay in fees, so about $8500 total. This is a completely reasonable amount to me. If I was trying to have surgery here in the US it would be about 20k. Some places in MX cost $8500 just for the surgery. I am going with my first choice of surgeon and I did not base this on the cost. So like I said IF I take the entire term to pay off my loan plus the $995…it will only cost $8500…totally worth it to me!

[pretty-pink 43]

I used my tax refund for the surgery itself. I had some in savings and borrowed a little against my 401k for living expenses while I was off work recovering.

[back2barb78 890]

Took a travel nursing assignment to save money and I'm going to end up using some of what I made to pay for this and take time off work.

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[Kindle 8,667]

I've been saving for 1 1/2 years and I'm over halfway there. I expedited my savings by only contributing 1/2 as much as I normally to to my IRA over the last 8 months. Not having surgery until January, so I will be within $2500 of total cost (surgery + flight + meds + incidentals). I will put this on a low interest cc but should have it paid off within a month or two when I get my tax refund.

[Pattie1966 35]

401K for me as well.

[jc2008 55]

I used a no interest credit card and will have it paid off within the next year

[leslie1958 159]

Go to www.creditkarma.com - I use this site several times a week. It is FREE (really free) and you can check your credit report and learn how to improve your credit and also check out offers best suited to your current scores etc. No matter what route you choose to get your surgery - it is always a good idea to know where you stand with your personal credit. - sorry I know i'm probably sounding like an old fuddy duddy but it's actually quite interesting (but then again I enjoy doing my taxes !!)