Start a savings acct

[Diane Elizabeth]

Tried talking to my SO tonight about our financial status. I mentioned that I wanted to sell off some property and she says no. Told her we would probably lose it if something happened to one of us since we are all maxed out in debt. I also said I wanted to save for surgery. Her solution is for me to open a savings acct and put $20 a week in it. How long would it take to get enough saved for FFS and/or GRS. I don't know, but am sure it take longer than I have time left.

[ameliabee]

Assuming 3% interest (grossly high for savings accounts, but let's go with it), that SRS costs $13k and the surgeon graciously decides not to have costs rise with the times, we can do a little math...

$13000 = sum from i = 1 to n of ($80*e^(0.03*(i/12))).

Solving for n will produce the answer in months (interest is credited monthly, yeah?), we get n = 136.226, which would round up to 137 months, or eleven years and five months.

Not a perfect estimate (I've ignored four weeks of deposits per annum), but that should give you some idea.

[MandyGG]

Assuming 3% interest (grossly high for savings accounts, but let's go with it), that SRS costs $13k and the surgeon graciously decides not to have costs rise with the times, we can do a little math...

$13000 = sum from i = 1 to n of ($80*e^(0.03*(i/12))).

Solving for n will produce the answer in months (interest is credited monthly, yeah?), we get n = 136.226, which would round up to 137 months, or eleven years and five months.

Not a perfect estimate (I've ignored four weeks of deposits per annum), but that should give you some idea.

Whoa. Can I borrow your brain!? Just a tiny piece would be fine. I am sure there is enough in that tiny piece to get me all the way through my Masters!

[Diane Elizabeth]

I like your idea of math so much better than mine. Here I was going with the standard $20 a month = $240 a yr= $2400 a decade times 5 = $12000 over 50 yrs.

int 20 x .125% = 2.5 cents a month x 12 = 30 x 600 months = $18000. No wonder I was so ditzy with arithmatic (si that word used any more). Anyway it looks like I will have to save for 25 yrs or more to have enough. I wonder what it will be like to have the surgery when I am 85 yrs old.

Well, back to school - have to learn this new math so I get on the surgery shedule sooner.

[Jorja]

I like your idea of math so much better than mine. Here I was going with the standard $20 a month = $240 a yr= $2400 a decade times 5 = $12000 over 50 yrs.

int 20 x .125% = 2.5 cents a month x 12 = 30 x 600 months = $18000. No wonder I was so ditzy with arithmatic (si that word used any more). Anyway it looks like I will have to save for 25 yrs or more to have enough. I wonder what it will be like to have the surgery when I am 85 yrs old.

Well, back to school - have to learn this new math so I get on the surgery shedule sooner.

Or you could find a sugar daddy/momma and have surgery in the next year. :D

[SandraAbsent]

Can I ask this question? Is your surgery only important enough for $20 a month, or can "you" sacrifice things in your life to reach your goal sooner? You mentioned a lot of debt. Most people i know have a lot of debt for one of three reasons. Student Loans and Medical Bills being the smallest of the group, and just having a lot of things and stuff is why most people really have debt. What changes can you make personally without asking your wife to sacrifice as well? I've reduced my life down to absolute bare minimums and spend every day working on one job and as a partner in two "very small" businesses to earn as much as I can, because I have one goal...surgery!

[Jorja]

Can I ask this question? Is your surgery only important enough for $20 a month, or can "you" sacrifice things in your life to reach your goal sooner? You mentioned a lot of debt. Most people i know have a lot of debt for one of three reasons. Student Loans and Medical Bills being the smallest of the group, and just having a lot of things and stuff is why most people really have debt. What changes can you make personally without asking your wife to sacrifice as well? I've reduced my life down to absolute bare minimums and spend every day working on one job and as a partner in two "very small" businesses to earn as much as I can, because I have one goal...surgery!

As we all know, surgery is expensive. I read and hear many girls on a daily basis complaining about not having the money for thier surgeries. Sandra has the right idea. Save, save, save. Instead of going out and spending money on that new game, cigarettes, or dress, do you really need a new car? Put that money in the bank and save towards your surgeries. Pickup a part time job. I mucked horse stalls for 2 years just for the money. I waited tables for a while just for the extra money. At one point I was even an exotic dancer ;). It all comes down to just how bad do you want it.

Before any one says it...... I know there has been a very bad economy. Many people lost their jobs. I fully understand that. Still, how bad do you want it?

[Kaitlyn Michele]

interest rates are closer to zero...inflation is rising ...when inflation rises , costs go up..including surgery...
even $100/month is only $1200/year...it is not financially sound to assume any interest on your savings...

srs can be $12k-$20k estimated... so $100/month is 10-16 years..
FFS is $20-$50 k depending on your risk tolerance (for cheap surgeons) and what you want done....but if you are older you may want to skip this part..

I"m sorry you are in a financial bind..you have made a pretty deep hole for yourself financially and the real answer is selling assets..saving up will not work.

being in debt is a big problem for your idea...
i bet you are paying big interest on your debt... if your interest rate is 3.6% on your debt, every $10,000 of debt is $30/month of money down the drain...if its 7.2%, its $60/month...
If you are so much in debt, selling property only helps to pay down the debt...but it does stop the interest payments, which can then be added to the savings..

If you add up all your property value, and subtract all your debt ...is that a positive number???
have you budgeted your monthly costs vs your income (including debt interest)..??

These are the mathematical ways to get at your problem...

btw...what is the situation with your wife and you regarding transition? are you doing HRT? are you living full time?? are you 60? retired?

[Babeba]

SOME money aside each month is more than NO money...

[whowhatwhen]

May I ask how anyone is able to afford those surgeries?
I mean, it seems you're looking at around ~$100k for all the electrolysis, FFS, and SRS?

[ameliabee]

Whoa. Can I borrow your brain!? Just a tiny piece would be fine. I am sure there is enough in that tiny piece to get me all the way through my Masters!

We'll discuss it after I survive qualifying exams, start and finish the dissertation, get the PhD, get SRS, and land a cushy-ish job?


May I ask how anyone is able to afford those surgeries?
I mean, it seems you're looking at around ~$100k for all the electrolysis, FFS, and SRS?

A lot of will and a little bit of luck? Living like a college student helps. In my case, I did a crazy amount of academic acceleration so I could still draw from the last year of a four year scholarship while being supported with a graduate assistantship - that should cover SRS with a Thai surgeon. Also, using laser instead of electro helps. Not needing FFS helps. Doing side gigs as a ghostwriter or professional dominatrix also helps. As Jorja said, how badly does one want surgery?

[sandra-leigh]

May I ask how anyone is able to afford those surgeries?

Avoided debt, saved cut down on luxuries, only bought what I could already pay for (including the house). No car, no plasma TV. My main computer until about 2 years ago was one built in 1983 (and I retired it because it was no longer possible to get a web browser for it that dealt with modern web sites, not because it was only 175 MHz.)

[RADER]

Waite a minuet:
Where did you get 3% from, heaven. Even jumbo Cd's (Over 100,000.00) are paying less than 1 %
I am lucky to get (.) something % om my Cd's and I get them short term because I do not want to
sit an a very low rate for a long time when interest rates do go up.
Saving is a good thing, but just do not count on interest, just on what you put into the bank.
Rader

[Kristy_K]

May I ask how anyone is able to afford those surgeries?
I mean, it seems you're looking at around ~$100k for all the electrolysis, FFS, and SRS?

If there is a will then there is a way. The mind is a powerful tool. If you can imagine you can do it.

But you do have to work at it and believe.

[Diane Elizabeth]

that should have been $20 a week instead.

As for my sacrafices. there are my debts (including the SO) Bad business decisions didn't help either. Trying to unload property is not easy. Can't refinance. I am looking into filing bankruptcy. The SO is against it. Medical bills are piling up now. Sanity doesn't come cheap. Almost got myself committed this weekend. Too much to handle. If I can keep my foot in the door of reality and keep from going over the edge then I will make it some how.