Recently I've run into a financial issue, it's a common one... ready? I can't afford it all. My current job because of travel takes up anywhere from 50 to 70 hours of my week. I've been putting in apps like crazy but I can't get a 2nd job until someone hires me for a new 1st job because there literally isn't enough time between work, travel, & keeping up with my college work to get a 2nd job.

My job offers part-time insurance but it wouldn't cover my medical costs enough to be worth what I'd have to pay each week so I don't have any. Seriously, how do you guys manage to afford to keep up with bloodwork, get your name changed (for me that'll cost around $500 and can't file for the court to pay for it because I "make too much"), keep up with doctors visits, & pay for your hormones (luckily that doesn't cost me too much)?

I'm going to do a yard sale as soon as I get a weekend off to help with bloodwork costs but I'm totally open to suggestions and advice. So what do you all do? Thanks

I was fortunate in that my insurance covered blood work, counseling, and prescriptions...they just didn't know what they were paying for (this was well before the current age of computerization bouncing anything out of the ordinary).  I did also have some expenses that I covered out of a healthcare reimbursement account.  Never actually had to go to court for any of the name change stuff.  And SRS was something I took out a loan against savings for and paid back across the following year (as well as wrote off on my taxes).

Being through with everything before the dot.bomb era certainly made life a lot easier...

Ann- That's awesome that you managed to do all that I wish things were slightly less difficult these days like they used to be.

Caseyy- Yeah, I still live with my mom and I know she would support me in a heartbeat if I needed her to but I pay bills, buy anything I need, and try to never have her have to support me. She pays to keep the roof over my head and while I know she'd support me if I needed her to I also know she struggles sometimes. She is helping me a lot with my name change. I gave her $300 to hold onto for me when I had it and she said since she was holding onto it if I let her borrow it until October she'd give me the extra $200 for my name change.
Ya know I wish I could move to Canada man  it's a beautiful place from what I've seen of it. I used to travel up there with my grandparents for a couple weeks in the summer. I stayed pretty close to the Michigan border but it was still nice to see the Horseshoe falls and all of that.

Age plays a big role.  Graduate degree, 3 jobs, and yeah, I'm >40.

If you're young, underemployed, and uninsured, it's hard.  Are you too old to be on your parents' insurance?  It's usually an option if you're in school still (assuming they'd let you).


Jay

That's true it does and being 20 with only one job to show experience doesn't help much.

Honestly my mom has incredible insurance but at insane prices. They want $200 a month for me to be on it. My dad lives up north but he isn't an option because we don't really talk and he wouldn't do it anyways.

Quote from: xAndrewx on August 10, 2011, 05:29:08 PM
That's true it does and being 20 with only one job to show experience doesn't help much.

You are not that much younger than I was at the time...but it was also a different era.  I did it while at my first 'real' job...everything up to that point had been commissioned sales, mostly in retail. 

It CAN be done

Preach on...

This whole process is SUPER expensive (emphasis on super ).

I have a good job and make a decent income... and let me tell you things get pricey really fast. I honestly don't think MTF/FTM persons have any idea on how much this will all cost until you are smack dab in the middle of it. Anyway you cut it, it costs a lot of money.

I have a laser appointment tomorrow and have to pickup my meds... those 2 things alone are costing me close to $700.00 out of pocket. 

With difficulty and luck. I don't drink don't smoke, and pre-transition I rarely went out and after I was badly treated by the first GP I saw I got a part time job alongside studying for my degree. Part of me desires to horde things.

Amazingly these attributes helped me. I had savings of a few thosand pounds I used these for electrolysis and my hormones. Of course the flow of money is more important than the savings whitch is what I'm stuggling with now.

Quote from: JennX on August 10, 2011, 06:27:48 PM
This whole process is SUPER expensive (emphasis on super ).

Yeah, it's insane!  It's keeping that fire under me to find a job ASAP, but I can't find anything that pays enough to cover my most basic bills.  And that's with two college degrees and years of experience in many different fields.

Ugh... this job market sucks.   I don't know how or when I'll ever afford anything more than my generic hormones that cost $20 every three months.

I have health insurance from my workplace though the cheapest option has a really high deductible and their fine prints outright said not covering anything related to transition (my pcp and therapist get their money fiddling with the system).  About half of my pay goes toward transition and the rest to food and transportation and books and stuff.  I live with my parents too but I can barely save anything every week.

I started to go back to school as I started my transition since even though my workplace's policy is nondiscriminatory against gender identity and expression, it offered no benefits (SRS and whatever you need in the insurance), and with the low pay I get, I would not be able to save up for all the things later that I had to pay all by myself.

If you desperately want to undergo it all right now or as soon as possible, maybe try to switch to full time employment and part time school if you can?  That way you can earn the money you need to cover the visits and meds while you continue your education albeit slower?

Insurance covers bloodwork, doctor visits and hormones, but I still have to pay full price for electrolysis... and at $88 an hour it adds up fast.

Then there's the cost of a new wardrobe, makeup, shoes, etc... woman stuff is expensive! 

Don't know how I'll afford it all. I have some a few thousand saved up, but beyond that I don't know. In the end it's all worth it though, whatever the cost may be.

I don't afford it. These days I can't even afford treatment for non-trans related things. Would love to move to Canada, are they hiring engineers who are trans?

I can't afford it at all - I have been selling off my possessions just to keep up with my $60 / month HRT.

I guess I just lucked out and chose the right career (software engineer).  Due to my apathy about doing anything while I was still living as male, saving money was pretty easy.  I didn't spend anything outside of food, bills, and the occasional eating out for the first 2 years.  I started transitioning toward the end of my 3rd year and by the end of my 4th I had saved enough money to pay for all the surgeries I planned on having.  My therapist had me do a genetic test, which came back as "abnormal male" so I'm hoping the insurance will pay for bottom surgery when that comes around next year.

I wish I knew what to tell you all that are struggling.   Right now it seems like all you can do is keep chugging along and hope the economy gets better sooner rather than later.  Don't give up on trying to find better jobs though, they are your ticket to freedom if you can find one.

Quote from: AmySmiles on August 10, 2011, 10:46:46 PM
I guess I just lucked out and chose the right career (software engineer).

This before or after transition?

Quote from: Pinkfluff on August 10, 2011, 11:20:41 PM
This before or after transition?

I started working about 3-4 years before starting transition.  While I was in "guy mode" I don't feel that I ever projected a very masculine image though.  Just easy to get along with, nice, and I at least tried to project a confident image in the interview.  I am now full time and doing fine though.  More people talk to me in the hallway, smile at me, and say hi than did before.

Try it on unemployment.  Some things are just a no go, electrolysis, surgeries and ect.  Basic living and HRT.  Thank the gods for Walmart.

And I pay $300 month on alimony.

How much do you ladies and gents pay for hormones(if you have insurance, how much is it without insurance) and endo visits per year?

I don't know about the FtM side, but I was just looking at some prices last night for MtF HRT.

You can get Finasteride from Walmart for $9
Estrace from Drugstore.com for $20
With insurance I pay $5 for Spiro, otherwise its about $50.

So for the basic HRT the meds are going to cost you (without insurance) about $79, or with my insurance $34.  In larger cities there are usually clinics that are either free or operate on sliding scale, including some GLBT "community centers" that offer free and low cost services for young transitioners (usually under 25).

The reality is, you need a good job with good insurance to afford transition.  its going to take more then just a high school education to get those jobs.  Education may not feel like transition, but in the long run you're better off when you can afford continuous HRT then the on again off again nature of most low income transitioners.

Im a Senior in University right now(going to grad school afterwards), and insurance has covered my therapy sessions, but the endocrinologist that I'll be going to doesn't even file claims for transgender patients, so there's no hope on getting that covered. They said it was around 150 for the initial visit and labwork and then 50 dollars for every follow up appointment. I'm not really sure how much hormones are going to run me every month, but I have budgeted for around 6-8 visits in the next 12 months. Do you think that's enough? They said every 3-6 months after the first few visits, so I am assuming so. And as Sarah stated, she sees her endo about every 2 months.. so yeah 6 visits per year. Oi. That's more than I've been to the doctor in about.... 10 years LOL

Thanks for the cost layouts, ladies. I really appreciate it.

I'm hoping that once I change my gender marker that I can get the scrips covered on insurance. It will cover hormones, but not for transgender patients, so I'm hoping for the best lol

Besides that though, I just hope that Testosterone doesn't take 100 bucks a month. Regardless, it'll be worth it. I do have a job online that I do during school to pay for my expenses, my dad helps out in anyway that he can(which understandably isn't a lot), and I also get overages from my school from excess scholarships so I'm very blessed in that aspect. I am able to pay for endo visits, I'm positive and co-pay for therapy visits - I was just a little worried about the cost of the scrips themselves lol

And I didn't know about a GLBT places in larger areas helping out younger individuals. I'm 21, and I'll be moving to NYC in a little over a year( I live in the middle of nowhere in Tennessee lol) so fingers crossed for that. I really appreciate you bringing that to light as well, regan

Again if any of you know any super cheap methods, let me know.