Thursday, April 3, 2014

The numbers are in! (dentist)

The numbers are finally in after several calls to the dentist! Total cost: $388.40 including anesthesia for an hour. I had most codes printed out, except one, so I had her review with me the codes so I could compare with my insurance's website.

I was still excited, as this is a bit more than $110 savings from my $500 budget, and a lot cheaper than the $200-500 per tooth (total of 4 for me) I kept reading about. However, remembering that piece of forgotten wisdom "ask for a deal, because it doesn't hurt", I asked her about discounts. The lady seemed surprised and said she would check. Guess not many people ask! She said there's a 15% discount if I pay cash on the day of the surgery, bringing the total to $334.14. Score! I also asked if there were any others for paying early, but she said no. No harm, no foul. I'll gladly take the $54 discount.  

I will be moving $335 from Ally to my checking account to have it ready. It leaves me with savings of $165 overall. Since I am paying a bulk of my savings into the car down payment, I am going to split this amount between my EF goal and my deficit goal. 

I was panicking a little about this whole cat buying experience and what it would do to my ally account. I hadn't noticed, but it's grown to $7000+, which represents all of my savings. It's by far the most money I've ever had. But once I finalize dealings with the car purchase, $4000 will be gone. I'll admit that made me very nervous. I'd still have $3k left, but I don't feel that is enough. I had saved specifically for the car and I knew I'd be gone. I guess I half wish it didn't have to. 

So, building my EF and reducing my budget deficits are priorities... And building the monthly car payment. I'm just glad to finally know for sure what my dentist bill would be and not have the nagging thought in the back of my mind that the costs would exceed $900. Phew. 

8 comments:

  1. Sometimes, you are better off financing more and keeping those savings handy, even if you aren't making diddly in interest. EFs are important, and you just never know what might happen. Maybe you might just put down $3K and keep a little more cash nearby.

    Peace <3
    Jay

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    1. I've been thinking about that, to just finance the 1700 and play it by ear, but I would really like to push it forward and pay it off ASAP.

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  2. I have been anxiously awaiting a bill from the children's dentist. I actually check the mail every day in anticipation that it will finally be here. I have no idea what it will be once the insurance is done paying. Every time the dentist does an estimate its totally off. I just want to know the amount and then hopefully it will be less than I have set aside for it. I lead such an exciting life.

    But that's great for you that your dental bill is lower than expected. Nice of them to finally get back to you. And good idea about asking for a discount.

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    1. Depending on which insurance you have, you could be able to either call in or check in their website what they cover and at what percentage. Thankfully, they covered pretty much everything I needed done at a 80%, so I was only responsible for 20% of it all.

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  3. So glad you finally got your bill and it's lower than you expected! All my dental work is paid up to date... and I'm currently paying on a nice fat $1200 bill :-/ Oh well, it needed to be done, and I've healed nicely.

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    1. Trust me, I was bracing myself for a bill that high, but didnt want to save for it until I was certain. I'm so glad it only ended up being a portion of it... and ouch. Glad it's healed nicely. I hope mine does as well.

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  4. Great to hear the pleasant surprise!

    That's a great cost for the anesthesia and work on 4 teeth. 2 lessons learned from your post - always ask! & be prepared.

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  5. You are my kinda gal!! Asking for a discount at the dentist - that's unheard of...until NOW! Proud of you! I understand the need for savings in case of emergency - on the bright side you are doing such a great job of paying things off and soon you'll have your student loans paid off and can sock more into savings!

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