IVF loans

racheyt0227 · May 2012

If you are/did take out a loan for IVF, who did you use? (Bank? their suggested lender?, credit card?, something else?) I am just looking into options here.

DoublePortion · May 2012

racheyt0227 · May 2012

I do work for a very small company, but cash is limited right now. I don't think that would be possible =(

Brummy14 · May 2012

I know many on here have used CCs with 0% interest over 12 or 18 months -- a great option if you plan on paying off the balance in full by then.

LuvWIfootball · May 2012

We took out a personal loan through our credit union. For anything extra (ex. meds, extra ultrasounds) we would have put it on our credit card.

ETA: Another option is a home equity loan. We couldn't do this because we owe about as much as our home is worth, but I think the interest rates are usually better than they are on a personal loan. We were also told we could try to do an equity loan on our vehicles, but they're only worth a couple grand, so it wasn't worth the hassle.

BzeetyD · May 2012

We didn't use a loan but I have some advice anyways.

Be cautious of clinic's preferred lenders, the interest rate can be much higher than at a credit union or big bank.

A credit union or smaller bank branch (not wells fargo, USbank and the like) is likely your best bet for a low interest rate.

Also feel free to shop around. When we did a home improvement loan we looked at a few places.

Best of luck!

delino · May 2012

Here's what I know:1. I researched and found the Chase Slate card. No fee for transfers or advances in the first 30 days and no interest for 15 months. 2. You can also borrow from your 401k if you have one. This way the interest you have to pay is paid back to yourself. 3. A home equity loan is a good choice because you can deduct the interest on your taxes.

BzeetyD · May 2012

delino:
Here's what I know:

1. I researched and found the Chase Slate card. No fee for transfers or advances in the first 30 days and no interest for 15 months.

2. You can also borrow from your 401k if you have one. This way the interest you have to pay is paid back to yourself.

3. A home equity loan is a good choice because you can deduct the interest on your taxes.

If you can, avoid pulling from your 401k or retirement fund for any scenario. The amount you lose over time (the amount that the 401k $ would grow in the next 30+ years) is way more than the loan you need now. It's a bad idea unless you have absolutely no other way to pay.

solarflare · May 2012

I also got a Chase credit card - I opened it up with a business account but it gave 0% interest on all purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. They gave me 20k to work with.

delino · May 2012

BzeetyD:
delino:
Here's what I know:

1. I researched and found the Chase Slate card. No fee for transfers or advances in the first 30 days and no interest for 15 months.

2. You can also borrow from your 401k if you have one. This way the interest you have to pay is paid back to yourself.

3. A home equity loan is a good choice because you can deduct the interest on your taxes.
If you can, avoid pulling from your 401k or retirement fund for any scenario. The amount you lose over time (the amount that the 401k $ would grow in the next 30+ years) is way more than the loan you need now. It's a bad idea unless you have absolutely no other way to pay.

It's not the best option...but it's an option.

jessi1988 · May 2012

We took out a line of credit, almost like a home equity. The bank offered us a great interest rate.

lynn0926 · May 2012

We are going to our credit union on Sat to apply for our loan for DE. It is $32k in all. Our back up if not approved is going to DH's 401K which he will pay back at a steady pace with bonuses. We just paid off DH's car so are only carrying my car payment now, so hopefully it will get approved. We also know that his parents are going to give us money towards this, wr just don't know how much yet. We don't want to say, hey, by the way...

firesiren · May 2012

We used Springstone Fertility loan. It was cheaper than a personal loan through our credit union.

MandaS08 · May 2012

We took out a loan from our 401k. It is different then just cashing out part of your 401k. Its a low interest loan (4.5% for us) and I'm paying myself back the cash every month plus the interest, which also goes in to my 401k (it comes straight out of my paycheck by my 401k administrator)

If you just take the money straight out you have to pay a penalty and taxes on it, and that is something you should avoid. But by taking the loan out the only money I am losing is the money that it would be earning in the market, right now. In 3 years in will all be back, with interest, so its really not a bad option.

MandaS08 · May 2012

BzeetyD:
delino:
Here's what I know:

1. I researched and found the Chase Slate card. No fee for transfers or advances in the first 30 days and no interest for 15 months.

2. You can also borrow from your 401k if you have one. This way the interest you have to pay is paid back to yourself.

3. A home equity loan is a good choice because you can deduct the interest on your taxes.

If you can, avoid pulling from your 401k or retirement fund for any scenario. The amount you lose over time (the amount that the 401k $ would grow in the next 30+ years) is way more than the loan you need now. It's a bad idea unless you have absolutely no other way to pay.

This really isn't true unless you're cashing out your 401k. If you're just taking out a loan, that money has to be paid back in a few years (not 30), so the only growing you lose is in the immediate future. If you actually cash out part of your 401k that is true.

racheyt0227 · May 2012

Thanks guys. We do have the cash to pay for it, but we are looking into trying to buy a new home as well,s o we don't want to tie up our cash assets. I have looked into the 12 month 0% interest credit cards, but I also don't know if I want to pay the balance off in a year either. I was hoping to have a couple years to pay it off. I have been calling & it seems the big banks don't do personal loans!

Do you need certain credentials to go to a credit union?

racheyt0227 · May 2012

I cant dot he line of credit/home equity thing either. I am going through a re-fi right now & it was crazy with the appraisal, etc. We barely got the re-fi & had to do a line of credit as well in order to get it (& the line of credit is maxed out at this point)

LuvWIfootball · May 2012

racheyt0227:

Thanks guys. We do have the cash to pay for it, but we are looking into trying to buy a new home as well,s o we don't want to tie up our cash assets. I have looked into the 12 month 0% interest credit cards, but I also don't know if I want to pay the balance off in a year either. I was hoping to have a couple years to pay it off. I have been calling & it seems the big banks don't do personal loans!

Do you need certain credentials to go to a credit union?

Nope. Usually they just require a saving account to be opened. Ours required $5 in savings. We've done several loans through them, both personal and a car loan. I find CU's are better to work with than banks usually.

racheyt0227 · May 2012

LuvWIfootball:
racheyt0227:

Thanks guys. We do have the cash to pay for it, but we are looking into trying to buy a new home as well,s o we don't want to tie up our cash assets. I have looked into the 12 month 0% interest credit cards, but I also don't know if I want to pay the balance off in a year either. I was hoping to have a couple years to pay it off. I have been calling & it seems the big banks don't do personal loans!

Do you need certain credentials to go to a credit union?

Nope. Usually they just require a saving account to be opened. Ours required $5 in savings. We've done several loans through them, both personal and a car loan. I find CU's are better to work with than banks usually.

Thanks! I will look into this. I just got quoted 13% at a local bank. Nuts!

tst1998 · May 2012

racheyt0227:
Thanks guys. We do have the cash to pay for it, but we are looking into trying to buy a new home as well,s o we don't want to tie up our cash assets. I have looked into the 12 month 0% interest credit cards, but I also don't know if I want to pay the balance off in a year either. I was hoping to have a couple years to pay it off. I have been calling & it seems the big banks don't do personal loans!

We had one 0% interest card last year for IVF. Once we got close to the expiration of the 0% interest, we got the Chase Slate card, did the balance transfer and now have another year of 0% interest. It's a bit of a gamble, because there is always the chance you won't be able to get a 2nd 0% interest card, but it has worked well for us. Also, my credit card through our credit union has always had a pretty low rate, even non-introductory, so might want to look into a credit card through a credit union as well.

We have also gotten 2 round trip business class tickets to Europe with the miles earned with our IVF credit card! So that's one advantage to using a CC for all this. Smile

hootie123 · May 2012

MandaS08:

We took out a loan from our 401k. It is different then just cashing out part of your 401k. Its a low interest loan (4.5% for us) and I'm paying myself back the cash every month plus the interest, which also goes in to my 401k (it comes straight out of my paycheck by my 401k administrator)

If you just take the money straight out you have to pay a penalty and taxes on it, and that is something you should avoid. But by taking the loan out the only money I am losing is the money that it would be earning in the market, right now. In 3 years in will all be back, with interest, so its really not a bad option.

I did this a few years back (for something else - not IVF) and it worked out great. I was actually during a time where my retirement account was losing money more than gaining. I had it all paid back within a year too - so I really don't think it affected my overall savings very much.

racheyt0227 · May 2012

tst1998:
racheyt0227:
Thanks guys. We do have the cash to pay for it, but we are looking into trying to buy a new home as well,s o we don't want to tie up our cash assets. I have looked into the 12 month 0% interest credit cards, but I also don't know if I want to pay the balance off in a year either. I was hoping to have a couple years to pay it off. I have been calling & it seems the big banks don't do personal loans!

We had one 0% interest card last year for IVF. Once we got close to the expiration of the 0% interest, we got the Chase Slate card, did the balance transfer and now have another year of 0% interest. It's a bit of a gamble, because there is always the chance you won't be able to get a 2nd 0% interest card, but it has worked well for us. Also, my credit card through our credit union has always had a pretty low rate, even non-introductory, so might want to look into a credit card through a credit union as well.
We have also gotten 2 round trip business class tickets to Europe with the miles earned with our IVF credit card! So that's one advantage to using a CC for all this.

Yes, thats what I was thinking too!! I love my cc rewards.

Temp878586125009588 · May 2012

Brummy14:
I know many on here have used CCs with 0% interest over 12 or 18 months -- a great option if you plan on paying off the balance in full by then.

This, and there is a possibility that we will find another card with 0% transfer and 0% interest and we will roll it into that.

racheyt0227 · May 2012

Daysie:
Brummy14:
I know many on here have used CCs with 0% interest over 12 or 18 months -- a great option if you plan on paying off the balance in full by then.

This, and there is a possibility that we will find another card with 0% transfer and 0% interest and we will roll it into that.

Thats what we decided to do. At least the 1st part. If we don't pay in full by then, we will look into transferring it to another 0% interest (with 0 transfer fee) card.

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