Letty's Liposuction Directory

Financing Liposuction Surgery

Author: Letty's Staff Writer

Should I finance my liposuction surgery?...

Don't you just hate it when people answer your questions with, "Maybe..." Personally I don't appreciate that particular answer to my questions.

But sometimes – unfortunately – the truth hurts (at least it isn't always comfortable)...

And the truth is that financing just isn't for everyone – even if you really, really want your plastic surgery procedure.

Now, if you are able to finance your liposuction surgery without a huge negative impact on your credit, bottom-line, or cash-flow then financing may be an option for you.

But depending on the financial burden extra debit will put on your monetary circumstances – you may not want to finance your liposuction surgery. In that case you may want to try alternate methods for raising the capital to fund your surgery.

For many people the drive to get any sort of plastic surgery procedure isn't financial – it's emotional. So, many of you may be willing to live with significantly more debt and less cash in your pocket to feel new and improved.

There just isn't a "Yes" or "No" answer to liposuction financing. What I can say is that – when it comes to credit cards, you should proceed with a great deal of caution.

How can I avoid getting ripped off with awful credit or loan terms?

Liposuction Financing: Answer #1

If I decide to finance my surgery – what should I be looking out for in terms of getting the best credit deal/getting ripped off?

Here are just some of the reasons why you may want to think twice about liposuction financing. The list below gives you just some of the negative practices that today's banks, and lending institutions are practicing:

1. Universal Default Interest Rate Ladder - This is where your credit company can drastically increase your interest rate even though your payment history with them is perfect. They do this because they feel that your credit history with another unrelated company has changed for the worse.
2. Outrageously High Interest Rates - many credit card companies are located in states that don't have caps on interest rates. Usury laws in many states limit the amount of interest that can be charged to consumers... Sounds good, right?... But wait – Banks and financial institutions are exempt from usury laws and in many states can charge you whatever astronomical interest rate they want.
3. "Please Be Late" – This is where you have credit card companies mailing your statement to you as close a possible to the due date to create a situation where you will be late in your payment. Why would they do that?... Simply because late fees are a multi-billion dollar business now. They can make way more money when folks pay late – so they do everything in their power to encourage you to be late.
4. Two-Cycle (Double-Cycle) – How would you like to be charged interest on debt you have already paid off? It can happen if your card comes with double-cycle billing. This confusing two-cycle average daily balance method calculates your charges by taking the sum of the average daily balance for two billing cycles. The first balance is for the current billing cycle, the second is for the previous paid-off cycle!
5. Confounding the Cardholder – Just check out some the language in the table above. It's very confusing to go through and pick out the important information. Don't think for a minute that this is an accident. Those credit and loan agreements are meant to work in favor of the credit issuer – not you the borrower. So the print is fine, and the language is very confusing.

I would like to say that these practices are not common. I would like to tell you that most credit card companies try their best to look out for the interests of their customers.

I would also like it if money grew on trees... We can't always have what we want.

The harsh reality is that most credit card companies are set up to rake you over the coals. You would be hard-pressed to find even a single one that doesn't subscribe to some of these tricky, deceitful practices listed above.

What are some alternatives to liposuction financing?

Liposuction Financing: Answer #2

Much better than credit cards is paying in cash.

But I don't have the cash... that is why I was considering credit in the first place!

My goal here is get you to delay gratification just long enough to perhaps consider some alternatives to liposuction financing or credit cards:

1. Get a real loan – Try getting a loan from a credit union or bank. The terms for loans generally are more favorable to the borrower than are credit card terms. And you may be able to make a substantial down-payment on the loan to decrease the overall cost of the loan.
2. Stick to a budget – A budget can help you identify areas of wasteful spending in your life. This money can be redirected to a savings account for the plastic surgery procedure that you want to get in a year or two.
3. Save all of your windfalls – If you get any expected or unexpected lump sums then squirrel them away for your plastic surgery procedure.
4. Request cash for holidays and birthdays – Hey if you are not shy about letting others know what your self-improvement plans are – then by all means see if you can get them to make a donation to your plastic surgery fund in lieu of receiving a gift for your birthday or Christmas.

Today's Tip: This isn't an alternative to liposuction financing - BUT good credit will help you get the best possible credit terms out there in the marketplace today. So, check out Sky Blue Credit Repair.

These are just of few of the many great ways in which you may be able to afford a plastic surgery procedure. Get creative. Come up with more ways in which you can take control of your finances and reward yourself for doing it with a plastic surgery procedure a few years down the road.

How much of the cost of surgery – in cash – should I come up with?

Liposuction Financing: Answer #3

I want to say you should come up with the entire amount in cash. It is much better not to finance your surgery. But how many of us have thousands of dollars sitting around awaiting a purpose.

That just isn't realistic for the majority of us.

So, the next best answer is to come up with as much cash as you possibly can. The more in cash you come up with the less you have to finance. A good rule of thumb is to save as much as you can for your surgery for at least one year prior to your surgery date.

What you want to do is to determine what the monthly payment will be for your cost of surgery – and try to save that amount each month for one year before you actually have the surgery.

What is the take-home here?

After the Wall Street and Bank debacle in the United States there are fewer companies willing to finance loans and issue credit cards – with favorable terms for the borrower. To put it another way – the credit market really sucks right now.

Truly good deals are pretty scarce...

So, you are more than likely going to be agreeing to something that is not favorable to you financially. Most of these credit cards also reserve the right to change your agreement with them at any time with little warning to you.

Make sure you're going forward with financing for the right reasons.

Simply put, liposuction financing is definitely not for everyone. I would even go further out on the limb and say that financing your plastic surgery should be a last resort - at best - for most everyone.

Liposuction Financing References:

• Triggs, Charlotte, and Thailan Pham. "Plastic Surgery for Real People." People Weekly 16 June 2008: 109. General OneFile. Web. 30 Nov. 2009.