IVF treatment is one of the biggest miracles of medical science to come out of the past 50 years. Because of this treatment, thousands of babies are born to parents who, at any other time in history, would never have had a chance to have children. But, like many medical procedures, it comes at a high cost, and insurance rarely covers any form of fertility treatment. So, how are you to pay for this treatment? There are a few options out there, some that are commonly known and some that are a little newer. Here is a look at some choices:
Borrow from Retirement
One option is to borrow from your 401K retirement account. You can either cash out of some of the money in there, or you can give yourself a loan, and pay yourself back with interest. This medical treatment may or may not be covered as an acceptable treatment under the guidelines for retirement withdrawal, so speak with your HR or finance department about trying to make it work.
Get a Loan
Another choice is to find a loan from a bank. There are a few different kinds of loans that you can take out, depending on what you own. One of the most common choices is a personal loan. These loans can be taken as unsecured debt, but are paid back with fixed payments, usually over a period of about fifteen years. These loans are usually enough to cover IVF treatments, and if you are concerned about medical bills with childbirth, then you can even take out a little extra to be prepared. The second kind of loan is collateral based. The best of these is a home equity or second mortgage. This allows you to borrow at a low interest rate to fund your IVF treatment. Often, these loans come with the ability to take out more or less, depending on how many tries you end up needing for IVF, and come with a lower interest than a personal loan or credit card.
Crowdfund
One of the newest ways to raise money for things is crowdfunding. If you have been public about your troubles in getting pregnant, and you have a lot of people who are rooting for you, consider getting donations to help pay for the cost of medical care. This can be from friends and family, through awareness programs put on by your church or other organizations, or it can go a lot further into the country online. If you want to crowd fund but don't have a lot of local resources, consider starting a blog and discussing some of the difficulties. If you get a loyal readership, then place a contribution widget on your blog page to see if others will help you achieve your dreams.
