How am I supposed to afford the surgeries?

[charlieusf]

okay, thank you so much for answering my last post.

How am I supposed to afford allt eh surgeries? for starters the few that I do have in mind Is body sculpting, brazilian butt lift and the facial surgery, but how am I supposed to afford them? I'm relatively happy with my breasts alreadyt and want to save the bottom sugery for last
now I work 2 jobs. and they both pay decently, but I always have a hard time saving money up for anything these days, I live in texas and I have the Medicare/Medicaid deal but I highly doubt my insurance would cover any surgeries.

is there any way I would be able to afford the surgeries?

[Sophia Sage]

If you have two decent-paying jobs, you might want to examine why you struggle to save money.  Changes in lifestyle (particularly reducing one's consumption) are usually necessary to advance one's savings.  Be frugal, and especially find less expensive living accommodations. Consider sharing an apartment for a couple years to cut costs. 

The other thing you can do for financing, though, is to build up your credit.  Get a credit card, use it when you'd normally pay cash, and pay it off every month.  Maybe leave a small balance, so you end up paying some interest -- this will bump up your credit score, and can lead to higher credit limits.  About 75% of my surgeries were paid by borrowing on my credit cards, which I then spent about five more years paying off. (A couple women I know have borrowed for their surgeries and then declared bankruptcy, but I don't recommend that.)

Prioritize those surgeries that can't be accomplished otherwise.  For example, body sculpting and a BBL might not be necessary after a good year or two of a dedicated and appropriately designed physical fitness program, which is much less expensive.  Voice training is very important, and can be done by yourself in your home, with no cost.  You might not need facial surgery if your facial features aren't too severe -- electrolysis and HRT will soften everything up.  But severe facial features may need FFS to correct, and SRS is necessary to transform what we have downstairs. 

[charlieusf]

what would be a good designed physical fitness program? as far as the ffs goes, I can pass without it, its jsut an opton i would like in the furutre, and i already kind of have that ) ( shape in my midsection but there are other sections on my body that I know will not be simply fixed by physical fitness.

[alex82]

what would be a good designed physical fitness program? as far as the ffs goes, I can pass without it, its jsut an opton i would like in the furutre, and i already kind of have that ) ( shape in my midsection but there are other sections on my body that I know will not be simply fixed by physical fitness.

If you pass without FFS, why would you even bother with getting a Brazilian arse? It'll only sag when you're older.

It would probably be more productive and more fun to just spend half that amount on having a great time IN Brazil.

[Mirya]

Ever wonder how people afford to buy a motor boat?  Or a second pick-up truck or a sports car in addition to their everyday sedan?  Or a motorcycle?  Or a $5000 - $10,000 home improvement addition?  Those are all big-ticket items that people somehow find a way to purchase.

Surgeries are also big-ticket items, and the way to save up for them is really not that different.  If you already have 2 decently paying jobs, then the issue is likely more to do with your spending and saving habits.  It's kind of out of the scope of these forums, and you'll probably find better advice on websites and forums that deal with personal finance.

But I'll say this - it is kind of like losing weight.  You can't do it all at once.  There's no 'magic pill' or 'magic formula'.  It requires daily discipline, long-term planning, and most importantly, lifestyle changes.

[FTMax]

My mom paid for more than half of my top surgery. I paid for the remaining half out of savings. I paid for my hysterectomy on credit and paid it off over the course of about six months. I took out a loan for my SRS and will be paying it off for the next five years, though hopefully sooner.

Having good credit or a lot of savings is key if you want to do things quickly. Otherwise, working, cutting back on all expenses, and saving as much as possible.

[Nina_Ottawa]

This'll sound extreme, but I went vegetarian and gave up alcohol for two yearsS. Traded in my Gas guzzler for a little VW golf. I got Netflix in lieu of going to movies and out, yep, I had no life for those two years, but I afforded 13k for electroylsis and tracheal. And I took in a tenant.

On the flip side, I'm lucky to live in Ontario where my GCS was covered 100%.

[Sophia Sage]

what would be a good designed physical fitness program? as far as the ffs goes, I can pass without it, its jsut an opton i would like in the furutre, and i already kind of have that ) ( shape in my midsection but there are other sections on my body that I know will not be simply fixed by physical fitness.

Well, first, it really does help to get help from a trainer, if only so they can show you how to do certain exercises correctly.  Good ones will work with you to identify how your body in particular responds and recovers to different exercises, so you can hone in on the ones that are most effective and how to properly schedule them.  Not everyone recovers at the same pace -- there's no single ideal fitness program.

Anyways, for example, since you're considering a BBL (as am I), you'll want to focus on exercises that target your glutes -- and not just the gluteus maximus, but the gluteus medius as well.  Building up these muscles, which will take at least a year, may mitigate the need for a BBL.  But even if they don't develop as much as you need, you should still do this -- because the fat cells transferred in a BBL from your midsection to your derriere need to establish a new blood supply in order to survive.  The best way to maximize your results, then, is by having a firm bedrock of muscle for them to do so.  A glute-oriented fitness program, then, is a win-win if that's you're considering a BBL.  (You'll also need to make sure your BMI is high enough -- between 23 and 30, generally -- so that there's enough fat cells to harvest in the first place). 

Some good glute exercises include hip abductors, certain kinds of squats, the glute press and other kickback extensions, pull-throughs, and especially glute bridges and hip thrusts.  A variety is best.  Sometimes it's better to go for high-weight low-reps, other times for minimal resistance and high reps.  Again, a personal trainer can help you to identify which strategies will work best for your particular body and your ultimate goals. 

[JoanneB]

I take a more pragmatic approach... Do you NEED surgeries? Or, simply want them?

All too often I see the If you are trans you therefore NEED X, Y, Z, oh and A, B, C, D.... Like there is some sort of rule book or How-To manual buried in the copy of "The Trans Agenda" I have somewhere on a bookshelf in the attic I think

In either case.... Cut expenses based on Need vs Want. Even things like that 8GB data plan, All inclusive cable plan, eating out, alcohol, leased car vs $500 junker. BTW my 250K mile car when it needs a major repair once, maybe twice a year I say 1 car payment. The real expensive ones I say plus insurance.  Oh, and type of car 30+ MPG car vs 8 MPG truck. Or food... Stuff you buy processed or packaged for the convenience vs picking up the veg, meat, potatoes and salad fixins; you pay for that convenience big time. Both in $$$ and in Food Science effects on you health. And, dare I say Starbucks exorbitantly priced coffee or all too sweet deserts disguised as coffee?

When I was young & single making a good living I thought nothing of taking most of may paycheck and putting it into my pocket. There was always money to spend. No need to worry. I had a good cash flow. No savings, just flow out.

[KayXo]

Anyways, for example, since you're considering a BBL (as am I), you'll want to focus on exercises that target your glutes -- and not just the gluteus maximus, but the gluteus medius as well.  Building up these muscles, which will take at least a year, may mitigate the need for a BBL.  But even if they don't develop as much as you need, you should still do this -- because the fat cells transferred in a BBL from your midsection to your derriere need to establish a new blood supply in order to survive.  The best way to maximize your results, then, is by having a firm bedrock of muscle for them to do so.

With low levels of T, it is much harder to build muscle. There is only so much that can be achieved this way, in my opinion. Maybe, I'm wrong...hopefully!

[MissGendered]

I can now only handle a small fraction of physical effort that I once handled easily. My muscle mass is just gone. And my BMI is always at 20, which feels amazingly healthy.

I would love to have a bubble butt, and big boobage, too. Seems body sculpting is in my future, but with implants, not fat relocation, but I have facial things that have to come first.

These aren't so much about having any particular kind of trans-experience, as about wanting to harness my fullest potential as a binary woman that loves male attention. When I was still negotiating my freedom with my ex-spouse, and cross-dressing for relief, I relied on clothing with padding to enjoy the illusion of a vivacious, female sexuality. But, I since I know I like to be naked with big, hairy, very masculine, super straight men, and watching them get very excited by my body makes me purrr, well, why not do all I can to overcome the limits of my T-poisoned body?

I have been on the most frugal budget possible for years just to get this far, and I will keep at it until all has been done. The nice thing about being seen as a beautiful woman, though, is that men are always willing to take me out to expensive restaurants and take me on trips. I am a very lucky girl in that regard, but I am on a dating hiatus now, so yeah, lots of bulk grocery items and huge pots of soups and freezable meals. I have grown enough as a person to want a real, lasting relationship, but in the human marketplace, voluptuous women have more choices between the better quality males. That's just a fact of biological life, sooo, yeah, I am gonna do it all..

Missiluscious

[Dena]

The other thing you can do for financing, though, is to build up your credit.  Get a credit card, use it when you'd normally pay cash, and pay it off every month.  Maybe leave a small balance, so you end up paying some interest -- this will bump up your credit score, and can lead to higher credit limits.

Running a balance will not affect your credit score. I pay my card off every month and paid off my house loan early. This left me with a credit score of just over 800. What is important is never missing a payment and if you need to have a loan, so that it's within your means to pay it off.