How to Get Financing for a Tummy Tuck

Go to your favorite Internet search engine and type "free tummy tuck." You'll get a page full of results that have those words in it, but if you read a little further you'll find that, like the elusive free lunch, there's no such thing as free cosmetic surgery. If you want your tummy tucked, you'll have to pay for it. There are a number of creative approaches to get you to that flatter tummy.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Internet connection

Show More

Instructions

• 1

  Find out what a tummy tuck procedure (formally known as an abdominoplasty) costs in your area before you search for cash to pay for it. A full-blown tummy tuck can run between $5,000 and $10,000, depending on location, surgeon's fees and costs incurred while in the hospital. If your situation isn't extreme, a partial tuck may cut the projected cost down to a more manageable figure.

• 2

  Ask your plastic surgeon whether his or her office offers no-interest payment plans that will allow you to pay a portion of the cost directly to the doctor each month. If your surgeon has no financing plan for patients, find one who does. Anticipate getting a coupon book or signing documents that allow monthly withdrawals from your checking account if you strike this type of arrangement.

• 3

  Consider a nationwide credit company established specifically to underwrite medical and dental procedures. Compare the terms and conditions of CareCredit™, a subsidiary of General Electric Credit, with SurgeryLoans.com (see Resources) to figure out the best option for you. CareCredit offers no-interest financing, no annual fees and no pre-payment penalties in most cases. SurgeryLoans offers low-interest financing with fixed payment plans.

• 4

  If you can secure a personal loan or line of credit, pack your bags and head abroad for surprisingly affordable---and often luxurious-- treatment. Find board-certified plastic surgeons from prestigious medical schools at state-of-the-art hospitals around the world at AllMedicalTourism.com (see Resources). Compare the average U.S. tummy tuck price ($8,750) with what you'll pay in Mexico ($4,000), Bolivia ($2,200), Argentina ($2,990), India ($2,397), Poland ($3,121), Dominican Republic ($3,000), Thailand ($3,700), Singapore ($4,000), or Norway ($4,320).

• 5

  Ask family members for a loan. Return their generosity over time once your tummy tuck surgery is done. Formalize the arrangement by signing an agreement to pay the money back by a certain date, with or without interest. If you use the money to go abroad (see Step 4), make this promise to yourself: Once you heal up and return the money you've borrowed, you'll return to the site of your transformation with a bikini in your suitcase.