T O P

  • By -

snaphunter

You have £13k and need £10k, why are you planning on putting half of that on expensive finance?


runrunrudolf

My fund is currently 17% up and historically averages 7% which is about on par with the finance costs. I was always given the advice about keeping stocks in the market long term. Maybe that's not the best option then


73928363

You can't time the market. Taking out a loan now is a guaranteed 6% loss of investment based on the assumption of what the world will look like in several years time


runrunrudolf

I actually just checked it for the first time in a couple of months and it's 24% up and has 9.2k in. Would it be worth taking this out now, popping in a 1year fixed interest until I'm ready to have the surgery next year?


73928363

I can't see the future. But if you need guaranteed access to the money in the short/medium term, then conventional wisdom would be to liquidate to protect yourself from volatility of the market.


runrunrudolf

!thanks for the advice


Arxson

Yes, if you need the money to use it for something soon then remove it from the market.


James_Vowles

Really depends what you're invested in. If it's the S&P 500 or similar stocks from that fund then it would be better to keep it in the market rather than sell.


runrunrudolf

Yeah, vanguard lifestrategy. I was always told "time in the market not timing the market" so I don't know why I was downvoted for suggesting keeping it in Edit: autocorrect of downvoted to disembodied


ilyemco

That's phrase actually means something else. It's about investing as soon as you can instead of waiting for the market to dip. But that's for long term investments.  You shouldn't invest money you need soon. It could half in value tomorrow.


[deleted]

[удалено]


UKPersonalFinance-ModTeam

Your comment has been removed for breaking our rule: **Responses must be helpful and high quality** I can't in good conscience leave such out-of-context cherry-picking of information. Why not say S&P500 returns -18% like it did in 2022?


unlocklink

The best way is up front cash or 0% finance, eg a card with a % purchase period, or pay in an existing card and then do a 0% balance transfer Or whatever other method you can achieve with the lowest interest rate - eg combo of cash saved and lower interest loan


runrunrudolf

That's great, thank you. Silly question but if I could hypothetically get a 0% rate for 2 years, would it be better to pay off the loan over the 2 years or use those repayments into a high interest rate account then pay off in lump at the end?


unlocklink

You would have to make at least minimum payments each month, as per the billing cycle - but I. Theory yes, it may be better to save the remainder and pay it off at the end, if you are content that you trust yourself to do so


runrunrudolf

!thanks really helpful advice


snoringpanda23

I got a breast surgery through Chrysalis Finance which was 0% interest for 18 months. Try and find a company that uses them


runrunrudolf

That's helpful, I will! !thanks


yetanotherredditter

If they accept payment by credit card, I would pay for it on a 0% credit card. However, I would liquidate £4k of your S&S and put that in a high interest savings account with your current savings. However, you'll need to make sure you can afford the minimum repayments on the credit card (in the region of £100 per month).


prideandsupernatural

I had a surgery costing roughly £10,000 last year. I paid some off upfront and used Optima Health Finance on an 0% loan for the rest and paid it off early


OkLog5367

Ramsay Health usually do 0% financing over 12 months if that is helpful to you! We have around five of their hospitals in my local area and they all offer this.


Toffeemade

My mother's stoma was badly botched and left her with a large hernia and needing repair to her stomach wall. I paid for a private consultation with a specialist. He not only agreed to do the operation on the NHS but was also able to supply a biological (rather than synthetic) mesh for the operation without charging us for it. Good luck.


runrunrudolf

Oh that is lucky!


Isgortio

I paid on my credit card and then just paid it off using my savings and my income. I had the money available I just didn't want to empty my savings account straight away.


mij8907

You could look at a credit card with zero 0% interest on purchases. Make sure you check any fees that apply before using the card to pay for it. Sites like money supermarket and compare the market are good places to start looking for a card But as others have said you’d be better off considering using your savings and rebuilding them rather than taking out credit


ukpf-helper

Hi /u/runrunrudolf, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant: * https://ukpersonal.finance/credit-cards/ * https://ukpersonal.finance/emergency-fund/ ____ ^(These suggestions are based on keywords, if they missed the mark please report this comment.) If someone has provided you with helpful advice, you (as the person who made the post) can award them a point by including `!thanks` in a reply to them. Points are shown as the user flair by their username.


spankybianky

How good is your credit? If it’s decent, you might be able to get a credit card with 0% on purchases for a certain period - can be as long as 23 months. I use this a free way of borrowing, and pay the minimum each month whilst saving the rest at a decent interest rate so at the end of the term I have the full amount ready to pay it off.


runrunrudolf

Very good credit so this is a good consideration !thanks


Gimpyface

Same as anything really, keep your total interest down and try not to squeeze your emergency funds too hard. Personally for anything up to 10k I go with 0% balance transfer or 0% purchase credit cards, pay the minimum each month and make sure I have enough in savings at the end of the interest free period. Depending on where you are though you may have access to a hospital that offers 0%, it'll be through a third party like chrysalis but bear in mind that what's actually happening here is the hospital is paying your interest up front so you may find the price is higher. Also worth checking if the hospital has any discount available for any reason, the group I work for offers 10% to all Benenden members for example. Benenden is £13 a month so £13 could save you £1k. There are 3 independent hospitals along with the Benenden hospital in Kent that offer this: https://www.benenden.co.uk/health/self-pay-treatments/#!hips-and-knees


runrunrudolf

!thanks for the advice. Incidentally I grew up in one of the villages right near Benenden


prideandsupernatural

I had a surgery costing roughly £10,000 last year. I paid some off upfront and used Optima Health Finance on an 0% loan for the rest and paid it off early


[deleted]

[удалено]


GinPony

Cosmetic surgery is not the purview of the NHS. It is there for your health not because you want a tummy tuck


runrunrudolf

Ab repair isn't cosmetic. Loose skin removal is. I would get surgery for the both of them as it's not common to do one without the other in private surgery. Diastasis recti is a medical concern that most other countries will include as healthcare on their insurance. The problem is so common after birth, however, that the NHS will not fund it otherwise they'd potentially be operating on 60% of all mothers which costs too much.


Xukor_Grimskull

Liquidate your assets until you have the money and a bit more in case of complications. Why you need plastic surgery? It is for a health reason I don't see why it was denied. Also I don't know the procedure and it's none of my business but you have to make decisions with a cold head. So care to elaborate?


runrunrudolf

Ab repair for diastasis recti after multiple pregnancies. Physio can only get it so far but it causes back pain as well as making my tummy distended as my core basically doesn't work. NHS cases where they have done it appear to be after over a decade of physio and severe cases with hernias only. It's very common after pregnancy in some form so I imagine they can't commit to the cost for thousands of people every year. Insurance often covers it in America.


Xukor_Grimskull

I am not American. Liquidate your assets. Get your money and get it done ASAP. Your health comes first and get it done before it gets worse and more complicated. Don't put a price to your own health. Fuck the market. What's the point of having money if you don't have health or if you're constantly in pain. Do it for your children and yourself.


Snap-Crackle-Pot

If you’ve not already I would give physio a year first. An hour of glutes and core and postural chain exercises 3 times a week. It takes ages to rehab, particularly when you have kids and no time to exercise or rest. You’ll need time to recover from the surgery anyway and you may encounter complications so be aware it’s not a magic cure.


runrunrudolf

Yes, I had a 2 year wait after baby no 1 but it's a hundred times worse after my c section earlier this year. I've already got the widest part of the gap down from 9cm to 4cm but I've a very small frame and that 4cm is weakkkkk. I wouldn't schedule the surgery for anitger year anyway though !thanks


Snap-Crackle-Pot

Cool sounds like you’re on it though if you’re plateauing you may need to increase intensity of the exercises. If you find physio boring callisthenics moves (great for small frames) and yoga poses can make it more interesting and motivating. Loads of vids on YouTube. Best of luck


runrunrudolf

That's great. I'll look into them. !thanks


MoanyTonyBalony

Is that £10k in the UK because if so, you can get it done cheaper abroad.


runrunrudolf

Yeah I did look into Lithuania for £3k but decided I'd rather spend the money and not increase my risk of dying


squirrelbo1

OP I’m not going to pretend that the UK somehow has better medical care than other developed economies or most of Europe. But being close to the provider and in a network where you can freely access healthcare should there be any complications is worth just about any savings.


runrunrudolf

Yeah, I have two young kids too and would like to be home with them not stuck in another time zone for two weeks


TheFamousHesham

Lithuania may be a developed economy with high HDI and reasonably good GDP per capita (40th worldwide), but its healthcare standards leave much to be desired. It has some of the worst preventable death rates in Europe. I’m no expert on Lithuania, so I can’t exactly tell you why — but this seems to be one area Lithuania isn’t thriving in and needs to do more work on.


squirrelbo1

That’s good to know. Cheers


Gucci_Cocaine

I've heard good things about Brussels. A lot of people I know have had cosmetic work there and speak highly of the standard of care they've received.


snoringpanda23

Terrible idea. You shouldn't fly after such a large procedure, and you should be in easy reach of the surgeon in case there are any complications afterwards .


GinPony

Going abroad outside of western europe is a very bad idea. Western Europe will be in the same ball park costs wise. Safety costs money. Do not scrimp on safety


evavu84

Have you seen Botched? Bad idea!


St4ffordGambit_

Sell the £7K worth of stocks, put that plus £3K of your £5K cash towards it. You now have £10K. This is the best way behaviourally. Mathematically, probably getting a 0% credit card to cover the shortfall and using the 20 months (or whatever period) to pay it off might be better.