4 Creative Ways To Save Money To Pay For LASIK Surgery

We’ve written a lot about LASIK payment plans and financing, and about how you can use HSAs or FSAs to pay for your LASIK eye surgery. We’ve also shared about LASIK overall costs, and a breakdown between LASIK and regular vision care. But what if you’ve read all of these posts, want to move forward with laser eye surgery - but are still coming up short? Here are some creative ways to fund your procedure.

1. Ask for the gift of clear vision.

Even as an adult, your loved ones likely enjoy giving you gifts on your birthday and other holidays. If what you want more than anything is 20/20 vision, sans glasses or contacts, put it on your gift list! In fact, be abundantly clear about your desires. When a parent, friend or loved one asks what you want for your birthday or Christmas, for example, tell them LASIK. You can say, “Actually, I’m saving up for laser eye surgery so I would love nothing more than if you’d consider contributing to that goal.”

Some people may still insist on getting you a scarf or other physical gift you may or may not use, but still - some will honor your wish. Even if they don’t, you can make use of the gift receipts people give you. Once you make a return, put that amount into the savings account you’ve marked for LASIK. Even if you only contribute $200 twice a year, in two years you’ll have $800. That makes a dent!

2. Make it automatic.

One of the best ways to save is not even think about it, so try this when it comes to saving for your procedure. First, figure out how much money you still need for your surgery (let’s say it’s $2K). Then, determine how much you can reasonably sock away each month without leaving yourself in a bind.

Could you make do with having $167 or so automatically withdrawn from your account each month on pay day, and put into a savings account? If so, you’ll have your $2K saved in one year, with very little effort on your part. If that squeezes your finances too much, extend the length of time you’re saving. If extended to 18 months, for example, you only need to put aside $111 per month - and so on.

3. Bring food, activities and luxuries in-house.

Nothing blows money like food, entertainment and professional pampering. If you want to cut down on expenses so you can put more of your income toward savings for LASIK, take a look at your spending in these areas.

• Buy coffee every morning? Make it at home instead.
• Go out to eat? Try your hand at cooking a new meal.
• Take your kids to bounce houses, museums or the zoo every weekend? Look up creative and free activities instead.
• Get your hair and nails done every month? Embrace the au natural look, ask a student aesthetician to perform these services at reduced prices or try doing them yourself.

You don’t have to cut costs forever; just long enough to watch your savings grow. When it does, and you’ve paid for LASIK, you can resume any of these more expensive habits once more.

4. Do the (side) hustle.

Sometimes, saving isn’t enough. This is usually the case when your expenses are already so high you’re living paycheck to paycheck, or you can’t save enough as quickly as you want to. In this case, you need to increase the income part of the equation. Depending on your areas of expertise, most people can pretty easily create a side hustle to make extra money.

Look for seasonal work when possible if you’re in retail or aren’t sure what to do, or on freelance sites (like Fiverr and Upwork) if you have a marketable professional skill like writing or graphic design. You can also look into food delivery services for a temporary boost in income, or ask around your neighborhood to see if anyone has a need for yard work.

The options are really endless, if you’re willing to put in a little time figuring out what would work for your schedule and giving it a try. Even bringing in an extra couple hundred dollars a month can get you to your goal much faster, with less stress.

Looking for LASIK in Phoenix? Contact us today to schedule your consultation!