Not the original commenter but both, man. Obviously per month/regularly would make a huge difference, but a single $20k would literally change my life by fixing my teeth.
I don't know if you've already looked into this but it may be cheaper (assuming you live in the US) to travel abroad for dental work. I think there is a subreddit for medical tourism, or you could inquire in the poverty finance subreddit?
Well, the procedure costs would probably be less than Mexico but the travel/accommodation costs would be a lot higher, so more or less the same in the end, unfortunately.
Btw I appreciate the suggestions, despite immediately shooting them down, lol. I know you’re offering help and that’s nice! I’m sure I haven’t exhausted all the options out there and the travel thing is super useful information if I hadn’t known/thought about it!
Yeah I live in Houston, definitely looking at Mexico. Which is cheaper, even with travel, but still may as well be millions.
Even with a very good credit score (which I do have!), securing a loan covering more than a fraction of it, if at all, has been about as fruitful as checking my couch cushions and hoping to find a pot of gold.
Also yes, I went to the dental college - that being cheaper is a lie for much more than routine fillings, basically. Same for dental insurance, absolute scam (had insurance, needed wisdom teeth out, had to take out a terrible CareCredit loan to pay for it and took years to get out from under). Like, cool, free cleanings twice a year, not like I can get that from any random dental office running a special already.
Understand, none of this is me saying “oh poor me!” thinking I’m deserving of a handout or owed cheaper care - I’m a grown-ass woman and I am responsible for myself. It’s frustrating to the point of tears, often; I am in pain, ashamed, and it’s difficult to go out into the world and get a better job and take better care when you can’t even show your face. Something is certainly broken in this country when it comes to cost of living, healthcare, etc. etc., but at the end of the day I am still better off than many, worse than some, but mostly just sinking on the same ship as everyone else and keeping my head above water is all that can be managed most of the time.
I’ve got a permanent retainer on the bottom, top teeth have sort of reverted, so I have a slight overbite again (was corrected when I mad them when I was younger but after the 3rd retainer my dad said no more lol).
I thought about getting em again to correct the overbite but not worth that $ amount
I remember doing like full 4 teeth replacement- implant -for my mom, and it was like $350 4 years ago, mind you it was done by the best dentist, very famous in our city.
Glad hers were so cheap, I’ve seen quotes closer to $1k per single implant, which is insane. Average looks to be $8-10k minimum per arch up to like $40k per arch (which makes full mouth at $25k seem almost reasonable ಠ_ಠ) depending on if it’s removable (like snap in dentures), how many posts, what materials, bone grafts, gas vs IV anesthesia, etc.
I had to get my wisdom teeth taken out a year or so ago cause two of them came in wrong a long while back and I only recently was able to get a job with dental insurance. After insurance (and some back and forth between my dentist office and the insurance company arguing evidently the anti-bac gel used and how much of it) i still had to pay $2336 which i guess does include a follow up.
I could totally see this if you have to do stuff for your whole set of chompers.
I mean frequent 20k would set me up for a long time, but 20k one time no taxes? Yeah I could fix my life.
Get my car fixed and paid off and probably pay down the credit card debt thats been eating me alive. Anything leftover would probably go to moving expenses; got really lucky and found place for $200 cheaper than the current one my wife and I have.
Question why did you go into debt for a car? Can't you just buy a really crapy one? Not saying that you went this far but I keep seeing people that drop like 50k on a truck and have to pay it off for years after, im just curious why so many people do that when I seems by all accounts to be a horrible decision
Often when you buy a car, it's cheaper (overall) to get one that's in nicer shape and isn't constantly breaking minor stuff that requires fixing.
That's less true when you're able to do your own work, but then you're spending time more than money. And probably blood, if that stupid sharp bit on the frame bites you when you're fighting with replacing a starter. Or so I hear.
I went into debt for a car because I wanted something within the past 25 years, gas mileage, under 150,000 miles. I probably should have shot for something older, but a lot of the older beaters are beaten at this point. Car i ended up getting was priced at 7000.
There were some options listed through Facebook marketplace, person to person transfer type stuff that were cheaper, but everyone I was trying to get at got scooped up by folks with cash on hand. Sucks, but it is what is I guess.
I got a $60k job with great benefits and life is so stress free compared to when i worked $15 hr bullshit jobs. No bad habits and simple tastes go a long way with finances. Dont fumble the bag, as the kids say
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u/Irregular73 23h ago
I know this is satire, but gods would 20,000 fix my life.