I am planning to have lap band. I just started contacting the office where I will be doing this.

I wonder for those who self pay. Or anyone at all that would know.

When doing taxes will this be considered a medical expense that can be deducted?

I will have to pay 10,000 for the surgery plus what not for pre test and any other pre and post and fill ups, etc.

Anyone have ever done this and had an ok on having it be a medical deduction?

and

Anyone tried then got trouble with them saying it is not deductible?

At this point I feel is this of my life..

My BMI is at a Shocking 73.2 and my heart feels tired. This last year has been very hard on my health. I started with blood preasure issues one year ago, before that I was at a low blood preasure end been my normal. I also have sleep apnia, not that I have gotten a dianosis, but my husband and I have noticed it. I am at hight risk of many things. And due to both Granmothers having diabetis and dying from complications of it, well I am doomed to have it, and I want to live life for once.

I am 39, Have two kids with autism 7&8 and I desperately need the energy.

I am saving to have this done, and I keep thinking ok early next year, because I do not want to loose SSI for my kids disability until next year, as I found a good job online working in a virtual reality community, been saving the money, which is play money until I cash it out, but it equals 6000US, and at the pase I am making it, in another month I will have the 10000 needed for the surgery. If this is deductable, I can get away on pulling it out before the end of the year and scheduling the surgery. After that I don't care if I loose the SSI, but for the rest of the year, I need to save to save my life.

Now I am just going in circles, not sure if this makes sense.

Any help and suggestions?

so... that paypal debit/mastercard. What happens if you use it to pay for the surgery in December before the funds have been deposited? Will the card get rejected? If so can you call Mastercard and ask if it can be changed so it doesn't get rejected?

I know this is a lot of work but if my math is correct for every 10K extra you show in income for the year that is another $750 you can't deduct on your taxes. Assuming you fall in a 15% tax bracket that comes out as $112. I suppose that isn't as large a difference as I thought when I started typing this. Maybe it's not enough to worry about. Then again maybe your income will continue to climb and by the end of next year you could be looking at an income of 20-30K more than you expected. So why risk losing more money next year when you know you could get it all this year?

hehe now you got me doing numbers,, my brain is wheels are smoking and sparks are going off .

I just talked to a friend, who is the only friend I have told I am saving to do this, and she is excited about me, my BMI is 73 and you can imagine, I am short and look like the great pumpkin.

The only thing she said, is, wait until after Christmas so you can have one last nice Christmas meal with your family,, well, if numbers look ok, and I talk to my husband and he ok's this, I might settle for Thanksgiving been my last nice large meal with my family, I just went shopping, got me the smallest Turkey I could find, just so there is not so much, I feel to eat a lot,, time to start changing habits. I am excited about this today, infact, I feel better already, more energy and my spirit is up since I made the decition and well seen how much I have saved.

I saved up for a brand new computer this year and 2 plasma monitors, it helps my work, and I was so happy when I got my money for that knowing I paid all of it by my self, and is all tax deductable so now this is so much more,, ok, forgive me, I am just in a good mood :bounce:

Don't stress the holiday meals. Double check your doc's guidelines but I think I was back to eating most foods after approx. 3 weeks. Just in much smaller portions. I remember thinking how in the world can 2 tablespoons of Mashed Potatoes, 2 pieces of over-cooked broccoli and a piece of chicken the size of 2 fast food chicken and MAYBE one bit of pumpkin pie afterwards, possibly make me happy? Well first off having foods "make me happy" is part of what got me where I was. But ultimately I found that the meal described above did make me "happy" and it took me just as long to eat as everyone else at the table so my fear of finishing in two seconds flat then sitting there feeling like a freak and left out as everyone else continued to eat wasn't founded either. Actually I think I felt more uncomfortable in previous years as I desperately tried to eat enough to feel satisfied without everyone noticing just how many seconds, thirds, fourths I'd gone back for and still wishing I could have ate more.

Oh, and in the end the one bite of pumpkin pie turned into more like 1 slice (average person's slice not my pre-band 1/2 the pie slice that is) It just slid through the band a little too easily, still I lost 3 pounds that week if I remember correctly, so it was all good.

A couple tips - Not only should you try to serve your meal on a dessert plate or coffee cup saucer. Try to find a set of "children's flatware" The doctor's office I go to hands out some for free at their support groups that looks quite nice (silver with clear acrylic handles). I also saw some online at flatwareoutlet.com that looks just like an adult silver set just smaller. It sounds silly but it really does help keep you from taking too big a bite, as well as making that 2-tablespoons of mashpotatoes feel more like 10-15 bites instead of 1.

thank you thank you, thank you!!! I had no idea that I could claim the $17,000+ cash that I have put into this surgery!!! I think we're going to the dentist too! Thanks everyone:):)

I agree - this has been an excellent thread. DH was SO happy to hear about this. We'll be paying for a CPA that is familiar with small-business/self-employed people this year rather than going to H&R Block because it's cheaper. I think I might actually get a refund this year!!

Chiquita - I had the same thoughts as you about the whole "last meal" thing and enjoying that last big one. But you know, honestly, I'm looking forward to eating LESS than I have in years past and being satiated. That'll be so nice. And really, it's best to do it THIS holidays so that you are most likely to be around for NEXT holidays (AND slimmer!!) and beyond. You are making a great choice for you and your family. I have NO regrets doing this before Thanksgiving/Christmas (just banded 11/15).

can you tell me more about this game called second life? i went to the website but can't quite get the whole concept of it. does it cost to join? what exactly do you do to make money off of it? thanks. single mother of four and needs extra money.

hi I will send you a private IM about Second Life.

Hey there :pout: I was waiting to see your response about Second Life as well. Could you PM me as well?

Thanks

lol,, ok I will just put it here for all those wondering what Second Life is about.

Second Life is a Virtual Reality Game played on the internate.

Kind of like those fancy video games you see on tv of combat, or thumbstone or what not.

It is free of charge for a basic account. You go into Secondlife.com and can read a bit more about it.

The difference is here you get assigned an avatar of your choice, and you can customize it to look anyway you want, like a very nice sexy girl or guy lol, or a puppy, a dragon, well I seen aliens and even huged Santa Claus lol. He was naughtey and gave me a candy cane, imagine that :car:

People use second life for many reasons. There are support groups that meet for all types of things, like cancer support groups, disabilities. Groups for fans of Star Trek, Doctor who or what not.

Everything you see in the game, someone build, the clothes the avatars wear, the homes the plants, the cars,, everything is made of a basic building block call prim, or clothing or is animated with what is called a script which is basic computer programing.

Many try to make money in Second Life, some do just enough to give them a nice vacation once a year. Some to make enough to buy things to keep on playing and not having to deep into their "Real Life" income to enjoy the game. But there are some who make enough money to make a living out of the game.

There is a play money currency called the linden dollar, the exchange rates is about 275 lindens per US dollar. It goes both ways, you can buy lindens and you can sell lindens. you get to loose about 10Lindens per US dollar everytime you convert lindens into dollar, that is one way the game makes their money to keep the game running.

Some go into designing clothing for avatars, that is big business in Second Life. Some script. Some are builders, some are entertainers, counselors, teachers, etc etc. It is amazing what you can do to make money if you put your brains into it.

One thing, I caution, is many go in the game wanting to make money, but, just like any job, you have to put your hours and work into it. The game is extremely addicting and to get good you have to take the time to learn it. I have been ingame for almost two years now. Didn't really got serious about making some money in the game until about a year ago. I started teaching others how to play the game, build, etc.

One thing led to another, and found my self making lots of graphics, what the game calls textures, in order to teach and have materials for my students to learn with.

Now I make textures full time, I still teach from time to time for free now since I can afford it, it brings me customers and I get a lot of referals for my business this way. I am now making about 2 times more what my husband makes :clap2:. I have to say, it did not happen overnight. I have spent my late hours on the computer working, sometimes until 3 am to get enough material to sell to open a descent size store.

The good thing, with the graphics, once I make them I don't have to make it again, they sell over and over with no additional effort after I put them for sale. So residual income adds up. I have saved 2/3 of what the surgery is going to cost me in the last 7 weeks of so. So I can proudly say now, it has been a success for me.

Hope this helps to answer some of the questions about Second Life.

Now I shall catch some z's :notagree

Oh, and just because I compred it to combat games, I ment the graphics, but the game is not about combat, is mainly about life, or whatever you want to make it be.

Like they say.. Your World, your imagination