I’m not sure how other 25-year-olds would take this news, but my response so far has not been good. I’m trying to stay positive and see humor in the situation, but this is truly a financial blow. Spending $5,000 on something I don’t even want (my teeth look fine!) feels like I’m getting the rug pulled out from under me.

The budgeting breakdown is not that bad if I get a decent raise this year; my insurance happens to be pretty good and will cover some of the cost of braces and most of the surgery. The initial blow of $800 in one month hurts, but then it’s $126 per month after that. I only wish I had put money into my flex-ben account this year.

The big problem here continues to be the challenge to save money in your 20′s without financial support from family (which is quite common in Chicago, from what I can tell). To start out in debt with no savings puts me at a severe disadvantage in terms of a budget, and also creates a problem for wealth accumulation: no matter how great you are at budgeting expenses, it takes money to make money. Every time I think about my braces, I’ll know I’m that much farther back from making any major investments. Plus, they look really terrible.

It’s not the end of the world, I know. Could you just keep reminding me of that?

The post Metal Mouth appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

I spent the last few days nursing a toothache and managed to get a dentist appointment yesterday. After shaving a bit off my enamel to make room for some shifting – apparently two of my meaner teeth are bullying a little one out of place – the dentist told me that I must see an orthodontist and an oral surgeon. Talk about a bad prognosis!

Usually I’m content to count my blessings and deal with the bad news – hey, I’m lucky to even have teeth! – but this particular instance seems so unjust. My teeth don’t look bad at all, which is probably why after 10 years of insisting, I’ve still never had braces. My wisdom teeth have been sitting impacted in the jawbone for years, so I do not understand why they now are putting on the pressure.

Financially, this will set me back quite a bit. I have to check, but I belive the wisdom teeth procedure is covered in full. Orthodontics is another story entirely – insurance only pays for 50 percent of costs up until $1,500. The rest comes out of my pocket – a sad day for my savings account, indeed. I may have to adjust my goals for the year.

If this wasn’t bad enough, I have not yet put money into a flex-spending account. This is where you can put money aside each year to spend tax-free on health care expenses. Some companies, including mine, also allow you to set aside money for travel reimbursement and other expenses. However, I’ve never had any major procedures done and rarely get sick, so I have not contributed anything to this tax-free fund!

I suddenly flash back to Miranda’s troubles with braces during SATC and can’t help but cringe. Will I be the mid-20′s career woman with food stuck in my teeth? Will I want to smile if I wear braces (not likely, given the cost)? I’ve got a load of other concerns, but won’t bore you with them.

At the end of the day, I’m thankful to have insurance, glad that my mouth will stop hurting and realize that this work will save me a lot of pain and money in the long run. But pardon me if I complain about the procedures – I doubt anyone has ever used the words braces with glamorous, or professional or sexy in the same sentence.

The post 2005 Already Sucks appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.