Am I willing to give too much?

[Cory]

Question
This might be a subjective question, but do you all think I'm willing to give too much, and/or should seek help elsewhere?

Context
My self-confidence (like many others here) is heavily dependent on my hair. You could say that not being bald is a minimum requirement for me to live a normal social and corporate life.

I've had a hair transplant that wasn't well-executed, so I'm in need of a repair. My first HT cost quite a lot of my savings. However, I earn an average wage (or slightly above) and I cannot settle for anything less than the absolute best in terms of a new procedure, since there's no more room for mistakes.

Would it be excessive to take out a long-term loan (>10 years) for something like a hair transplant?

[GoliGoliGoli]

From what I can tell, lots of people on this forum have taken out loans in order to get HT's. 

Personally, I think this is totally insane, but it does seem that a lot of guys do it. 

 

[mr_peanutbutter]

how much euros are we talking?

[Cory]

2 hours ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

From what I can tell, lots of people on this forum have taken out loans in order to get HT's. 

Personally, I think this is totally insane, but it does seem that a lot of guys do it. 

 

I try to rationalize it by comparing it to loans for lets say a nice car, which isn't a high priority for me. Or something else expensive that people sometimes buy.

But when do you know you're taking things too far though..

[Cory]

2 hours ago, mr_peanutbutter said:

how much euros are we talking?

All relative in my opinion. I meant paying off a debt for a cosmetic procedure in general..

[mr_peanutbutter]

5 minutes ago, Cory said:

All relative in my opinion. I meant paying off a debt for a cosmetic procedure in general..

tbh people get in debt to buy a car which they often dont really need so i dont see too muvh of a problem

[Cory]

3 minutes ago, mr_peanutbutter said:

tbh people get in debt to buy a car which they often dont really need so i dont see too muvh of a problem

That’s fair..

[Tao]

I didn't have a lot of money when I started HTs but after three procedures, I had spent what I would have on a new car.  My hair has brought me way more joy and contentment than a new car ever would.  Just my experience.  Mileage my vary.  Dr. Konior did all of my surgeries so it was money well spent.

[Belve]

I don’t think is safe and good choice to take a loan for a cosmetic procedure. If you take an average salary you might not be able to pay the debt in the future so it’s too risky. Try to find a good surgeon that fits your budget or don’t do anything. 

[Berba11]

9 hours ago, Cory said:

Question
This might be a subjective question, but do you all think I'm willing to give too much, and/or should seek help elsewhere?

Context
My self-confidence (like many others here) is heavily dependent on my hair. You could say that not being bald is a minimum requirement for me to live a normal social and corporate life.

I've had a hair transplant that wasn't well-executed, so I'm in need of a repair. My first HT cost quite a lot of my savings. However, I earn an average wage (or slightly above) and I cannot settle for anything less than the absolute best in terms of a new procedure, since there's no more room for mistakes.

Would it be excessive to take out a long-term loan (>10 years) for something like a hair transplant?

Is there really much different between taking out a loan versus sticking it on a credit card and paying it off over time that way? 
 

If it’s not going to cause you financial hardship then I don’t see why not to be honest. 
 

What sort of repair work do you require?

[Gatsby]

I'm very anti debt and believe in taking on a second job or waiting longer and saving up. I work two jobs and have done so for years. Was your first surgery that you're not happy with based (partially at least) on price? It always costs more in the long run if that was the case (I'm not saying it was).

[MAIZE1694]

13 hours ago, Cory said:

Question
This might be a subjective question, but do you all think I'm willing to give too much, and/or should seek help elsewhere?

Context
My self-confidence (like many others here) is heavily dependent on my hair. You could say that not being bald is a minimum requirement for me to live a normal social and corporate life.

I've had a hair transplant that wasn't well-executed, so I'm in need of a repair. My first HT cost quite a lot of my savings. However, I earn an average wage (or slightly above) and I cannot settle for anything less than the absolute best in terms of a new procedure, since there's no more room for mistakes.

Would it be excessive to take out a long-term loan (>10 years) for something like a hair transplant?

You borrow from the bank and banks borrow from the fed.

The world runs on loans.

If that's your situation and you know you can make the payments, absolutely play the game and go for it.

Everybody does it.

[donpizmeov]

Taking a loan for a HT is crazy outright if you ask me. What if you get sick for an extended time or loose your job over the next 10 years? No thanks…. 

[GoliGoliGoli]

Comparing it to a nice new car is not fair imo. A car (even though it's a deprecating asset) can be sold whenever needed for its current worth. A hair transplant can't be transferred to someone else in exchange for cash if you need the money in a pinch. 

Edited October 14, 2023 by GoliGoliGoli

[BackFromTheBrink]

2 hours ago, donpizmeov said:

Taking a loan for a HT is crazy outright if you ask me. What if you get sick for an extended time or loose your job over the next 10 years? No thanks…. 

Combine with income protection?

For me, it's about the cost vs benefit for you.

10 years is a long term commitment. You could argue that if you need to use that length of term, then it's not really affordable.

Could you save in the interim, and get a shorter loan when you have?

How you manage your finances is a very personal choice and only you understand your circumstances and how much you think the transplant will improve your life.

If you're going to be miserable for 10 years and your hair will significant impact your life, then I would personally consider a loan. If you do, be very careful about how you do it - find the best interest rate etc.

 

[donpizmeov]

Each to their own obviously. If you need to take a loan, and have to pay it out over 10 years, that is in my opinion absolutely inappropiate because you are paying for something you absolutely cant afford. In the current climate with high interests just make it even more absurd. 
 

A short term loan usually would mean you have less risk involved with fluctuations in the market affecting your job, interest rates etc and you avoid the premium financial institutions absolutely will put on a 10 year unsecured loan.

The problem is people dont realize the consequences on taking all this debt before the envelopes start arriving requiring you to pay off your debt. You might have nice hair, or maybe you have been one of the unlucky with a marginal result, but when you realize you need to work 55 hours a week for 10 years just to survive you might reconsider your priorities and how important that hair is…. 
 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2023 by donpizmeov

[hairman22]

Hair loss fixing is very important for me.

My goal is too always have 50k in savings at all times in my life

Never like to drop below that amount

[Al - Moderator]

Taking out a loan is fine, but 10 years to pay it off is way too long. If you can't pay it off in 2 to 3 years then don't do it. For a $10,000 procedure you'd only be paying about $100 per month for 10 years including the interest. If that's all you can afford then you can't afford it. What you should look into is getting a 2nd job at least for a little while. Right now it's coming into the Christmas season, so if you are anywhere in the USA there will be a lot of stores hiring part time for a couple of months. Any extra money you can make, save it and put it towards the hair transplant. You don't have to wait until you have the entire amount saved, but at least you won't have to borrow as much and will be able to pay it off faster.

 

[Al - Moderator]

3 minutes ago, hairman22 said:

Hair loss fixing is very important for me.

My goal is too always have 50k in savings at all times in my life

Never like to drop below that amount

 

I got myself debt free as fast as I could because I knew I needed to spend a lot of money on my transplant repairs. I have a lot of money in savings and investments, but I still used credit cards because I didn't want to take it out of my savings. I used one card for the cash back and then transferred the balance to another card that was interest free for a year. That worked for me. I paid no interest and didn't touch my savings. Being debt free I am able to save a lot per month, so paying it off over a year wasn't an issue. I don't make a lot of money. I'm only a little above average income..

 

 

[Cory]

Appreciate all your insights.

I get that people advise against taking a loan. Though I can't be the only one debating on being either miserable with my hair, or pinching pennies for 10 years with a happy head of hair.

[Al - Moderator]

34 minutes ago, Cory said:

Appreciate all your insights.

I get that people advise against taking a loan. Though I can't be the only one debating on being either miserable with my hair, or pinching pennies for 10 years with a happy head of hair.

 

As I said earlier, I don't see a problem with taking out a loan. People get loans for all sorts of things. I do think 10 years is too long of a term for this though. Keep in mind that most people end up going for a 2nd hair transplant to add density or fix some things they don't like about it. You don't want to find yourself a year or 2 after the HT wanting to go back for a bit more, but be stuck waiting for 8 more years to pay off the first one. That's just something to think about. If you can get it paid off within 3 years, maybe 4 at the most, you'll just be better off in the long run I think

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by BeHappy

[Berba11]

1 hour ago, Cory said:

Appreciate all your insights.

I get that people advise against taking a loan. Though I can't be the only one debating on being either miserable with my hair, or pinching pennies for 10 years with a happy head of hair.

It would be useful to know what kind of repair you need. If you need grafts removing from the hairline, then this will cost. Most of the best surgeons charge a premium for this. Can you post some pictures so we can see what you're dealing with?

If however you need additional 'filling in', then most good clinics can do this - you wouldn't have to break the bank. As others have said, 10 years to pay off the work is LONG time. Way too long really. If it's small short-term loan or a manageable amount on the credit card then that's a different matter.

[GoliGoliGoli]

3 hours ago, Cory said:

Appreciate all your insights.

I get that people advise against taking a loan. Though I can't be the only one debating on being either miserable with my hair, or pinching pennies for 10 years with a happy head of hair.

I haven't seen your pictures, but you're kind of assuming that you're a good candidate and that you're going to be happy with your "head of hair" after another HT. From your post it sounds like you had 1 bad HT already, so I don't know I kind of don't think it's as simple as step 1. take loan step 2. get ht. step 3. be happy. It's just a big risk to be going into debt for. And eventual further loss will probably mean another one is needed, so what do you do then, take out another loan? 

Edited October 16, 2023 by GoliGoliGoli

[Gatsby]

The big risk is if you take out a loan for this surgery and then find out that for some reason or another you will need a follow up procedure. What then? Again I would rather take on a second job or give up something that you regularly spend on and save. The only scenario when it comes to loans would be if you have a mortgage on your house with a very low loan to value ratio then draw down on the cost for the surgery. Then you are only repaying on a much lower interest rate as opposed to the interest rate of a personal loan. You would then still have to make extra home loan repayments to compensate for the higher LVR. All the best!