Budgeting Tips for Cosmetic Surgery

Saving for your chosen procedure can be stressful, fortunately, small adjustments to your lifestyle will not only get you closer to comfortably paying for the surgery you want, but they’ll help in your recovery after surgery, too.

To help you during your plastic surgery journey, we’ve compiled this helpful list of tips that will help you get your budget, savings, and self in shape for surgery.

Tip 1: Break your goal into manageable steps & stay accountable

Learning the total cost of a procedure can be overwhelming. Setting a realistic savings goal for yourself is helpful. Still, you can make it more manageable for yourself if you break the total price into smaller goals over smaller timelines that are easier to achieve.

Meeting smaller goals will hopefully feel much less difficult than committing to a larger long-term number and also motivate you to continue good habits while ditching anything that makes saving more difficult than it already is. Once you have a plan, share it with friends and family who can support you and hold you accountable for the changes you need to make.

Be honest about exactly how much you need to save, and then stay aware of your daily spending by using a diary or a budgeting app. Also, don’t get lost in the numbers. You’re saving money for a reason. Remind yourself daily why you want your procedure. You may not miss that morning coffee on the way to work so much if you keep in mind the surgery and incredible results you’re trading it for.

Tip 2: Prepare meals in advance & skip on takeaways

A very practical way to start saving money daily is to make modifications to your diet. Meal-prepping is a smart way to consciously decide ahead of time how much you want to spend on food. By planning meals a week in advance, you also cut down on impulse spending at the market and expensive lunches or dinners out.

If an entire week of meal-prepping seems ludicrous to you, start with two or three homemade meals every week, then eventually try making your own lunch every day. After all, every meal you make yourself brings down your monthly food spending.

The great thing about giving your diet a makeover is that it not only saves money but allows you to eat healthfully and change some potentially bad habits that could negatively impact your surgery recovery and results.

Home-cooked meals with lean proteins like chicken breast or tofu, fresh fruits and veggies, and low levels of salt and sugar are exactly what you should eat directly before and after surgery to give your body the nutrients it needs to heal well. Think of your saving period as a chance to find your favourite delicious and/or easy recipes to prep and enjoy during your recovery.

Tip 3: Make small everyday changes (& hopefully quit smoking)

Let’s face it: takeaway meals, alcohol & smoking are expensive and not exactly necessary. Reducing (or quitting) these habits can save you money while also ensuring you’ll be going into your surgery in the best health possible.

Compared to drinking or smoking, takeaway dinners may seem harmless, but the convenience does come at a price quite literally. Having a seemingly affordable £7 or £8 dinner every weekday means you’re spending an extra £160 on food every month. The unfortunate reality is that most takeaway meals are highly processed and full of sugar and salt. You’re better off avoiding excessive salt and sugar after (and before) surgery as they can increase swelling and extend healing times.

As for alcohol, you may not feel too bad about that £10 bottle of wine every week, but drinking regularly is widely known to reduce immunity overall. You may also want to remember that drinking can increase your chances of developing a complication after surgery.

Plus, if you smoke, keep in mind that many surgeons won’t even consider operating on a patient who has smoked regularly in the past month or sometimes longer. If you’re looking for a reason to quit, budget restrictions can motivate you in the short term, while the reduced risk to your health before and after surgery can keep you going in the long run.

Tip 4: Trim your clothing budget (until after surgery)

Are you struggling to imagine how you can find extra money every month to put towards your savings goal? Many people unwittingly spend too much on life’s little luxuries. Clothing, shoes, makeup, beauty products and other small things that are easy to throw into a trolly while shopping can tally up quickly and leave your budget completely out of sorts.

A good idea is to set a fixed limit each month and consciously decide to spend less on non-essential items. You might discover that you can cut back without noticing, perhaps even learning to appreciate better what you already have. Also, living within a budget to save for your procedure will hopefully teach you some good habits that you can use to treat yourself once you’re healed and enjoying your results.

Tip 5: If you're struggling to save, consider financing

That daunting surgery fee might not look so intimidating when broken down into smaller chunks over the long term. Financing your surgery fee and breaking it down into monthly payments may make financial sense for your current budget and give you a realistic plan to work with. It’s so much easier to make a few lifestyle sacrifices every month if you know that every effort is going towards paying off your procedure.

If financing sounds like something that could work for you, speak to your Medbelle PCA to learn more about your options. Like any major life purchase, cosmetic procedures require a few budgetary changes to build your savings. However, you don’t have to ruin your social life or feel stressed or deprived to reach your savings goal.

Just a few small changes every week will not only save you money but could even set you up for a successful and healthy recovery and even teach you some money management skills for the future.