A Visit From the Finance Fairy

I spent the entire day obsessing over our finances, but think I’ve started to figure it out. I applied for my free credit report from https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
and applied for a free trial from http://www.myfico.com/ in order to get my credit score. Then looked into a gazillion credit cards, and finally settled on Capital One’s because it had a 0% interest for 12 months, plus a low APR thereafter.

With our savings ($4,000), my pretax flexible spending account for healthcare ($1,800), our employee retirement contributions ($1,000/month), and the extra money we usually put into our mortgage, we may just be able to afford MESA and have enough for the downpayment round of IVF #1, interest-free. Not having to apply for financing for round 1 would be wonderful. We’ll put the meds on our credit card, and pay it off within 3 months. Then, early next year, we’ll claim anything above 7.5% of our adjusted gross income from the IRS, including mileage, hotel, and other medical expenses, like dental, vision and co-pays. (Minus the $1,800 for the flex spending account, of course.)

Ladies and gentleman, we have the beginnings of a plan. Thank you to everyone who posted financial info on all the various IF forums, this “plan” could not have materialized without input from those in the trenches, and my friend, Google.

The idea is to do as many cycles in one year as our credit, time and health will allow, because then at least, we can recoup some of the cost. Since we’re self-pay, we have to do this smart. Not only that, my Endo will grow back, and we therefore have a window of one year of “optimal fertility” to work with. And then there’s my age egging us on, so to speak.

If IVF #1 doesn’t work, our round 2 plan is to buy a $20k shared risk plan (if I qualify), or to go to Cornell. It’s too early to know, but I guess our decision will be informed by how MESA goes, and how I respond during our first cycle. It kills me that the economy is limping along just as we embark on this journey. Our timing just sucks. I wish we had started when I was younger.