What would Dave (Ramsey) Do???

[rszdtrvl]

It was a rough night. He kept coughing from the anestheia and tube down his throat. Which is typical. I slept on the couch with him, all curled up in a ball. DH, as he was leaving for work, told me to take DS to school and go back to bed.


And he did vomit a couple more times.

He just had breakfast (if he keeps this down he will get the other half of breakfast in an hour) and his antibiotics and pain medicine.

Yes, the vet will take payments. I plan on paying off the brunt of it ASAP, but since we have been going there forever, they will take payments from us. I have never used the payment plan (at 0% interest - unless you do not pay every month, then they charge a $10 monthly fee), and never wanted to.

This has been the year of medical bills for us.

I am hoping that the second half of the year is better on us.

 

[hsmamato2]

pay the vet in payments,and eat rice and beans till you build up your emergency fund again-add extra $$$ to that pet care budget line,and keep it aside for times like this,with pets,you know they're always coming
and remember, that emergency fund is MINIMUM 1000.00- it's supposed to be your safety net so you don't have to resort to cc use. keep saving,and I don't think DR would say get rid of them.....just plan for those emergencies!

 

[KBoopaloo]

I can't give you any Dave Ramsey advice but wanted to say that I am sending good wishes for your pup to feel better soon!

 

[tonilea]

I worked for a veternarian for ten years. I have also been through Financial Peace University.

Pay the vet in installments. Make reasonable payments (while socking a bit back in the the EF) and your vet will be fine with it. You are a good customer and they want to keep you.

 

[chris31997]

It was a rough night. He kept coughing from the anestheia and tube down his throat. Which is typical. I slept on the couch with him, all curled up in a ball. DH, as he was leaving for work, told me to take DS to school and go back to bed.


And he did vomit a couple more times.

He just had breakfast (if he keeps this down he will get the other half of breakfast in an hour) and his antibiotics and pain medicine.

Yes, the vet will take payments. I plan on paying off the brunt of it ASAP, but since we have been going there forever, they will take payments from us. I have never used the payment plan (at 0% interest - unless you do not pay every month, then they charge a $10 monthly fee), and never wanted to.

This has been the year of medical bills for us.

I am hoping that the second half of the year is better on us.

more pixiedust that your dog feels better and the rest of your years is healthy

I think your vet needs some home baked goodies at Christmas for really taking care of you. You have an a good vet.

 

[rszdtrvl]

more pixiedust that your dog feels better and the rest of your years is healthy

I think your vet needs some home baked goodies at Christmas for really taking care of you. You have an a good vet.

Thanks. I agree - I really like our vet.

Dog just yacked a HUGE amount of grass and food. I am hoping that this is the last of the post-anesthesia vomiting. Fingers crossed.

 

[bumbershoot]

Not so sure Dave would have told you to get rid of them but .

Especially since you already owe for the procedure. Wouldn't help at all!

Yes, the vet will take payments. I plan on paying off the brunt of it ASAP, but since we have been going there forever, they will take payments from us. I have never used the payment plan (at 0% interest - unless you do not pay every month, then they charge a $10 monthly fee), and never wanted to.

I imagine that paying the vet in installments, since there's no interest and they are allowing it for you, would be the best thing to do.

Hope your dog gets better quickly.

 

[thebeesknees]

Hope your dog is feeling better soon.

 

[timmac]

I did transfer $250 from savings and payed that as the down.

My balance is $619.

....

Anyway, I will pay the extra on Friday from DH's paycheck, and chug along with the money I deposited into the bank account next week.

I'm sure you already know this, but wanted to add, be sure to focus not just on paying off the vet, but also on getting your savings funded again; I'd argue that's probably more important than paying off the new bill quickly. Otherwise, you'll find yourself stuck between the same rock and hard place if/when any other situations arise.

 

[MaggieBailey]

It was a rough night. He kept coughing from the anestheia and tube down his throat. Which is typical. I slept on the couch with him, all curled up in a ball. DH, as he was leaving for work, told me to take DS to school and go back to bed.


And he did vomit a couple more times.

He just had breakfast (if he keeps this down he will get the other half of breakfast in an hour) and his antibiotics and pain medicine.

Yes, the vet will take payments. I plan on paying off the brunt of it ASAP, but since we have been going there forever, they will take payments from us. I have never used the payment plan (at 0% interest - unless you do not pay every month, then they charge a $10 monthly fee), and never wanted to.

This has been the year of medical bills for us.

I am hoping that the second half of the year is better on us.

We had a "What Would Dave Do" moment about 2 months ago... Our Shih Tzu had a UTI. Took her to the vet, got her meds, paid $200 out of savings for it all. (The "dogs" section in the budget is only $100, for flea meds/heart guard and food) We felt very blessed we had that in there.... But the meds didn't work. She got very, very sick - I thought she was just constipated, but then when she started crying, this heart wrenching howling noise, I had to take her back to the vet.... It was a weekend, so only the ER vet was open. They checked her out, did and x-ray and found she had bladder stones. They recommended our vet do the surgery, as it would cost wayyy a lot there - and they hooked her up to an IV an tried to put a catheter in (catheter didn't work, she was too little and their tools too big) and kept her over night. It was a horrible sleepless night (she and our other dog are our "fur babies".... truly!) and a $560 sleepover for her. Took her to our vet the next day, and it was another $500 for the surgery. We had to drain the account, then the vet was kind enough to let us make payments. We really would pay whatever for them -- and I think Dave might say he wouldn't but deep down would too . Good luck with your doggie, hoping that it heals quick and you have no more vet worries!

 

[rszdtrvl]

We just took him in for a post-op checkup. Since his surgery yesterday was so traumatic, the vet wanted to make sure his lungs sounded okay.

So far so good!

She gave us Pepcid for him to take for the next 4 days, and we were given a pack of pill pockets too. And then we go back in another 6 days for his true post-op.

I am making a payment tomorrow. And come to think of it, I should be able to sock the extra $$ I was going to pay towards the vet into savings because I just deposited all of that $ in checks yesterday. I can pay $200 tomorrow. And in another 10 days I should be able to pay $3xx.00. So that should just about pay the entire amount, without denting the amount I am to put towards credit cards & emergency fund.

And when I pay that tomorrow, I will be bringing them cupcakes as a "thank you".

 

[dd50]

It was a rough night. He kept coughing from the anestheia and tube down his throat. Which is typical. I slept on the couch with him, all curled up in a ball. DH, as he was leaving for work, told me to take DS to school and go back to bed.


And he did vomit a couple more times.

He just had breakfast (if he keeps this down he will get the other half of breakfast in an hour) and his antibiotics and pain medicine.

Yes, the vet will take payments. I plan on paying off the brunt of it ASAP, but since we have been going there forever, they will take payments from us. I have never used the payment plan (at 0% interest - unless you do not pay every month, then they charge a $10 monthly fee), and never wanted to.

This has been the year of medical bills for us.

I am hoping that the second half of the year is better on us.

I don't follow DR as I don't believe in much of what he says.

Since you can make payments to the vet that is what I would do. Make arrangements that you and the vet are comfortable with. I have used credit cards for emergency's and paid them off ASAP. That is why I keep credit cards because you never know. You are lucky because none of the Vets or even doctors will take payment plans.
[/LIST] like that

 

[MaggieBailey]

We just took him in for a post-op checkup. Since his surgery yesterday was so traumatic, the vet wanted to make sure his lungs sounded okay.

So far so good!

She gave us Pepcid for him to take for the next 4 days, and we were given a pack of pill pockets too. And then we go back in another 6 days for his true post-op.

I am making a payment tomorrow. And come to think of it, I should be able to sock the extra $$ I was going to pay towards the vet into savings because I just deposited all of that $ in checks yesterday. I can pay $200 tomorrow. And in another 10 days I should be able to pay $3xx.00. So that should just about pay the entire amount, without denting the amount I am to put towards credit cards & emergency fund.

And when I pay that tomorrow, I will be bringing them cupcakes as a "thank you".

So glad that he's doing well! I feel good now knowing that as easy as it would have been to put it all on a card (the kept pushing Care Credit Card on me!) this feels better . And Dave would be so proud of you, lol!!

 

[tonilea]

Another thing to remember is the payments directly to the vet is good for the vet also. If you pay via cc, then he/she has to pay the cc company a percentage. If you pay it out, the vet gets all the money. Now, if you were not a regular client or one with an iffy payment history, it would be worth it for the vet to accept the cc. But, since you are a very good client, it is adventageous for the vet to take payments.

 

[rszdtrvl]

The vet has told me for years that I can make payments if I want to. This is the first time I have ever done so though.

The dog does sound a bit congested in the chest, so he is doing double antibiotics right now. He had his surgery on Wednesday and was in for checks on both Thursday (as per vet request) and Friday (as per my request - when I heard the raspiness of his breathing I called and asked to bring him in before the weekend was here). Plus the "on call" vet called yesterday to check on him (lucky that the on call vet this weekend is actually from the office we go to).

He is acting like his normal self. It seems to me like the congestion has gone down a bit. Fingers crossed. He goes back to the vet on Wednesday for another checkup. He may need to be on antibiotics for a few weeks, to make sure that anything in his chest (they think it is asperation pneumonia from the vomiting) has disappeared.

I am glad I took advantage of the payments. We paid $300 on Friday, and should have the rest soon. We are having a yard sale next weekend, so I hope we get some $$ during that as well.