subject: Cosmetic Surgery: Your Financing Options [print this page] Cosmetic surgery can be expensiveCosmetic surgery can be expensive. Unfortunately, most insurance companies aren't going to cover procedures done entirely for vanity purposes. Even if you have a deeper reason for seeking enhancement, an insurance company isn't going to cover a procedure for non-medically necessary reasons. Therefore, you'll have to find a way to pay for it yourself. Since many people do not have thousands of dollars sitting around in a bank account, they must look to financing if they want to pay for the procedure. Choosing the wrong financing option can land you in a tricky place, however, so it is important to be thorough when investigating your choices.
Avoid Using a Credit Card
Cosmetic surgery is already expensive. There are few more expensive financing options than putting the cost of the procedure on a credit card. There are exceptions to this. If you're fortunate enough to have a card with very low interest rates or even zero percent introductory rates, it may be worth it to consider going that route. However, be careful that you don't drag your balance out of the introductory period, as the post-intro rates are often worse than most credit cards offer to begin with. Use your credit card if you must have the procedure and you have no other options, but otherwise save it as a last resort.
Talk to Your Doctor
Many practices and clinics offer financing directly through their office. They understand that many of their patients don't have the money on hand to write a check and they don't want to turn away customers for financial reasons, of course. Even those that don't provide their own financing can often offer patients a way to get in contact with lenders. There are certain lenders that focus their entire business on providing medical loans to people. These loans often have decent interest rates and reasonable repayment structures.
Look to Your Bank
The best option for a loan of this type is often the one that people completely overlook: their own bank. Most banks are willing to provide their loyal customers with personal loans that can easily cover the cost of cosmetic surgery. The rates you get from your bank are likely to rival, if not utterly destroy, anything you can get from an outside lender. At the very least, set up a meeting with your branch and see what they can do for you. If nothing comes of it, you've lost nothing for trying.
