Frugal Village Forums banner

The $4000 challenge...

3K views 14 replies 11 participants last post by  rachelMcK 
#1 ·
Oh ladies, I'm gonna need support for this one. I just found out I need $4000 in gum surgery, soon than later, probably in the next year. We are set on having a 10k EF for when we buy a house, plus continue saving for a down payment. I don't want this to touch any of our savings, so now, I'm in challenge mode. Some of this will be covered by our dental insurance through our jobs but not all. I'm still waiting on the quote, but I'd like to save to full $4000 and then whatever I don't use will just go into savings again.

So....I need to really turn on the frugal tap. I'm starting with groceries as that is our highest expense. I've lost track of sales etc as we became debt free but now I'm gonna tighten the belt. Our average grocery bill per week for 2 is $130. I'm going to try and cut that in half.

- pet food is another big expense, since we have 2 cats and a dog. First, the dogs shot are due soon, and I'm going to try and book an appointment with my sisters vet where she lives (really small town). It's a $200 difference from here in the city. Ill be switching to a cheaper cat food brand as they seem to prefer it anyway. I'm going to add veggie scraps and rice to the dogs kibble to stretch the bag. Shes on special expensive stuff. We've tried cheaper but she either won't eat it or bad things happen, yuck.

So far that's all I've come up with. Wish me luck! I'll be updating to hold myself accountable!
 
See less See more
#4 ·
I don't know if this is an option for you, but you can do your dog vaccines yourself. (everything except Rabies)

I buy my DHPP & Bordetella vaccines from Tractor Supply and give them myself.

I spend $14 for a Rabies only at the vet, or you can search for a Rabies Clinic that offers low cost Rabies vaccines to the public.

I use Ivermectin (also found at Tractor Supply or any feed store) - .10 ccs per 10 lbs of body weight for dog's heartworm prevention once a month. I spend about $35 for a 50ml bottle.

Have you tried to make your own dog food? A raw diet? I tried it once, it wasn't for me, but the dogs loved it.
 
#5 ·
Good luck! And good for you for working to save that money to pay it in full.

Just a suggestion - work on your hydro costs as well over the next months while you save. I'm still working on that one myself, but a lower bill will help :)

Groceries are definitely where the major savings happen, in my opinion! You can do it!!
 
#6 ·
Cutting the food budget is do-able. If you have an Aldi close by and you don't already shop there, you need to! My food expenses have gone way down in the 2 years since Aldi opened here

Got anything you can sell in a yard sale?

Can you cut magazine/newspaper subscriptions?

I have had gum surgery. It's not fun but it's worth it to keep your teeth.
 
#7 ·
May I suggest a few options? I don't know what kind of gum surgery you'll be having but there aren't too many different kinds or reasons for it. With that in mind, I recommend you also become hyper-diligent on oral care:

~ If you smoke, quit.
~ Buy a Waterpik - they have a nifty hand-held one now - and use it daily.
~ If chronic inflammation is your gum problem, consider asking your doctor (not your dentist, your doctor) if low-dose daily aspirin might be a good option for you. People who have chronic inflamed gums tend to also have other parts of their body that are chronically inflamed - like heart muscle or kidneys. Taking a daily anti-inflammatory might help.
~ Floss daily
~ Consider adding a third or fourth teeth cleaning at the dentist. During the years when I've added teeth cleaning sessions, I just paid for them out of pocket and we didn't even tell the insurance company about them. The extra sessions are a ton cheaper than gum surgery.

Again, I don't know why you're having gum surgery but I've been able to completely eliminate the recommendation for gum surgery by doing the above.

With that in mind, you may consider doing the above for a few months then get a second opinion. A second opinion is always a good idea.
 
#9 ·
On the shots for the animals - we can buy our rabies shots at the local feed store and give them to the dogs and cats ourselves. It save a vet trip and the hassle of getting everyone into the car (we have five barn cats, two dogs and one indoor cat). I think last year our shots were around $100 for everyone.
 
#10 ·
I have given my dog his shots in the past WWWAAYYY cheaper than going to the vet.
I have also made homemade food for my dog...he loved it but he got too chubby on it.
 
#12 ·
Thanks everyone! CookieLee, I've never heard of a waterpik before, so I'm going to look into that. Also, I had no idea you could buy shots anywhere other than the vets! My only question about that is, how do you provide proof of shots if you need to?
I'm doing okay with saving, I only spent $69 on groceries today. However, my husbands grandmother passed away on Thursday so that turned into lots of money spent on gas, flowers, etc. I had to buy new dress shoes for the both of us since ours were destroyed in a flood we had last year. I got them on clearance so I saved a few dollars. Once the funeral is over, I'll go back to trying to save more, but the last few days have been xpensive :(
 
#13 ·
Dog food can be less expensive at a feed store. I didn't think there would be a feed store near me - urban area - but I googled and there were several.
 
#14 ·
My mother had gum disease. She used the waterpik religiously. She had three different toothbrushes so they had time to get completely dry between uses. She used the gum stimulator every day, that pointy rubber thing that used to be on all toothbrushes but is now sold separately.

Vitamin C is very good for gums, along with a high-vegetable diet. Something to try that might seem silly but shouldn't hurt is apply the inside of a banana skin to your gums and leave it there 2 minutes a day. Banana has some mild antibactierial properties.
 
#15 ·
Hmmm, this waterpik thing is really popping up all over. I had a friend at work suggest it too. Well, things have gone a little more south, we blew two tires on the way to the funeral we had to go to, so we needed to spend $250 for new ones. Then my husbands clippers stopped working, he bought another set, so that's another $60...such an expensive week :(
 
  • Like
Reactions: mauimagic
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top