Fiscal Responsibility: How I Paid For Dental Work

Last year was a year like no other.  True love came back, true love failed me.  Diabetes, Hashimoto's, and cancer tried to kill me, I bounced back.  I met people who would change my world forever, I said goodbye to people who were too toxic for me to forgive.

There were a lot of changes and one of those things was a commitment to be even more fiscally responsible.  2012 was the year I stopped making "oh its only ten dollars" purchases.  2013 was the year of savings and paying myself an allowance.  Because someone has to pay for my dentist and his lovely wife to go to Africa.  I am convinced Dr. Frank and Anne plan their holidays around my visits.

There are two very easy savings plans trending on the Internet (read that as Pinterest) that I tried with much success.  I barely noticed I was saving money.  These plans are not about deprivation or cash starvation; they are about saving money daily and weekly.

First is the five dollar savings plan.  Whenever you receive a five dollar bill as change, when you return home, you take the five dollars out of your wallet, pocket, sock, shoe, bra, wherever you put your change and put it in a jar, envelope, box, etc.  Set a goal for yourself (for me it was a paying for a root canal because I have a ghetto fantastic medical plan that doesn't cover shit when it comes to your teeth) or a specific dollar amount, and at that time use your fives.  Had I not had to make a mortgage payment on my teeth, by the summer I would have had nearly $600.00 to throw in my savings account.  To be honest, I stopped saving after that point.  The guilt of spending five dollar bills still plagues me to the point where I have started saving five dollar bills again and I am committed to saving them all year long.  Unless Dr. Frank and Anne decide they need to go somewhere exotic, do their voodoo dental dance, and I land in Frank's chair with a tooth ready to fall out of my head.

The second savings plain is being called the 52 week money challenge.  This chart and others like it are making their way around the Internets:

The idea that drives this plain is pretty simple.  Each week you pay yourself an "allowance" and at the end of the year, you will have saved $1378.00.  Again, put the money in a jar, box, envelope, etc.  You can download this chart, or other charts like it, to track your progress throughout the year. If you find yourself a bit short on cash due to buying Christmas presents and spreading Christmas cheer, try starting the chart at the end.  This way, when December comes, paying out your allowance is manageable.  I used the money I saved using this plan to pay for the crown that had go on top of the previously mentioned root canal.  Frank is expensive company.

Be diligent and don't forget to feel the sun when it shines on your lovely face.