I relate to this anxiety completely. When I was considering braces, I initially planned to pay upfront thinking it'd be simpler, but the thought of suddenly emptying a big chunk of my savings made me hesitate...a lot. In the end, I chose monthly payments because I felt more secure keeping my savings intact for emergencies. Even though I'm paying a bit more overall with interest, the peace of mind feels worth it. Maybe I'm overly cautious too, but financial stress is something I'd rather avoid if possible.
I totally get where you're coming from with the anxiety over dipping into savings. When I first started looking into braces, I was dead set on paying upfront too—figured I'd just rip off the band-aid and be done with it. But then, as the appointment got closer, I started losing sleep over it. Like, what if my car broke down or something unexpected popped up? I kept imagining worst-case scenarios (typical me, lol).
In the end, I chickened out and went for monthly payments. Yeah, it stung a bit knowing I'd pay more overall because of interest, but honestly, the relief of not seeing my savings account suddenly drop was huge. It felt like a safety net was still there, you know? And funny enough, a few months later my fridge decided to die on me out of nowhere. If I'd emptied my savings earlier, that would've been a nightmare.
I guess some people might say we're overly cautious or whatever, but financial anxiety is no joke. For me at least, paying a little extra each month feels way less stressful than constantly worrying about having no backup funds. It's like paying for peace of mind...which sounds cheesy but it's true.
Anyway, glad I'm not alone in feeling this way!
I completely relate to this. When I got braces, I initially planned to pay upfront too, but the thought of draining my savings made me uneasy. I ended up doing monthly payments as well, and honestly, it was worth the extra cost just for the peace of mind. Unexpected expenses always seem to pop up at the worst times...like when my laptop randomly died mid-semester. Having that financial cushion really helped ease the stress.
I totally get the peace-of-mind angle, but honestly, paying upfront worked better for me. I saved up specifically for braces, and even though it felt rough handing over that chunk of cash, it meant no monthly stress later on. Plus, I found that monthly payments sometimes made me feel like the braces were dragging on forever...like a never-ending Netflix subscription, lol. But yeah, everyone's situation is different—gotta do what feels right for your own finances.
"Plus, I found that monthly payments sometimes made me feel like the braces were dragging on forever...like a never-ending Netflix subscription, lol."
Haha, this is exactly how I felt! I went with monthly payments because handing over that big chunk upfront made me super anxious...but yeah, every month was like, "Wait, still paying for these things?" Glad you found what worked best for you.
