Please give me confirmation!

[momofla]

my husband and I are working to get out of debt. That means we aren't entering into any new debt, right? I am at the orthodontist's office (our oldest I'd getting braces to the tune of $5500). $2000 of that is coming from my flex spending (pre-tax) account. The rest is coming from savings (part from an inheritance). When I said that I wanted to pay the whole bill and receive a 5% discount, they looked at me like I had two heads. I know they offer 0%, but I wanted the discount, and I had the money. Moreover, I don't want ANY MORE DEBT. Am I wrong????

[Angio333]

No, you are 100% right. Keep up the good work.

[bjl584]

You are correct. Keep it up.

[disneysteve]

There are really 2 different issues here. One is about paying off debt. The other is about how best to pay the orthodontist.

On the first question, yes, if you are attempting to get out of debt, you shouldn't be borrowing any more money.

On the second question, that is a separate and unrelated debate. I actually posted this same question a few years ago before my daughter got her braces. We opted to do the 0% financing because a number of people felt paying upfront took away our leverage or negotiating power if we weren't happy with the care for any reason or something happened to the doctor during the 2 years the braces would be on.

[maat55]

I agree with Steve on this. I'm not a big fan of paying large amounts up front for longterm service. It is not worth 275.00,IMO, to give up my exist possibility.

[momofla]

Wow! I was thinking it was a major victory for me. I guess I should have asked first.

[marvholly]

Another thing: you shold NOT consider this debt. It is just another routine bill over the term of service. It's like paying the dentist for an office visit or the electric company every month or the auto insurance every 6 months.

[maat55]

Originally Posted by michael b

I am a newbie here, but I agree with Steve's advice. I recently purchased a car and got 0 percent while buying new. In no way would I want to pay up front for the car, but I am not further pushing myself in debt with taking out a loan and paying a high interest rate. It kinda relates to braces...

Buying a car and buying braces are two different things. With braces, you can go to another provider, with a car, you are locked in(unless you lease, and both may have exit expenses).

BTW, there is no such thing as 0 financing. It is just added into the price. Try getting a cash deal then asking for 0 financing. I see adds all the time for cash back or 0 financing. You can see some who offer both as a gimmick, but your cash price will usually be less overall.

[creditcardfree]

If it helps, I paid upfront for my daughter's braces and received a 5% discount. It was nice not to have that bill on my plate. And I paid less had I paid over time. We had no issues come up that would have needed negotiating power. If you are using an orthodontist with long service in the area and a good reputation, you should have no issues. If you do, you can sue. It is not like you don't have recourse.

[wincrasher]

Another thing to consider is that you could take that cash you were going to pay for the braces and retire high interest debt instead. So in a sense, you are exchanging higher interest debt for 0% interest debt.

[LuckyRobin]

I paid up front for my daughter's braces, $2000, and got a 10% discount for doing so.

[krantcents]

Since orthodontist charge a flat amount that covers roughly four years without interest, why would you want to pay it off? Secondly, the discount has to be more to make it worth your while to pay up front. Consider putting the money in a CD for the period of time.

[snafu]

Since our orthodontist's office does not give a discount, I put the bill on a credit card for the travel miles. Had they offered cash back...I would have chosen that. Of course you must pay the bill in full by the due date to avoid any interest/cost of credit.

[Frugal]

You are not wrong, you are right and this is how it should be done in an ideal world. A lot of dentists offer this discount. We have done it before.

[DRILLINDK]

I'm a dentist and offer a 5% courtesy discount for cash only patients. That includes patients that have no insurance and pay in full at the time of service.

Every office is different and are not obligated to provide any type of discount. Do you ask for a 5% discount when you pay your grocery bill in full at Walmart?

Do not expect the discount everywhere.




In your case, I would pay in installments since they allow payments with 0% interest.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by DRILLINDK

In your case, I would pay in installments since they allow payments with 0% interest.

Just understand that 0% financing isn't really 0% because you could pay 5% less if you paid cash. The reason I recommend the payment plan is to avoid paying in advance for a long-term treatment plan. Would you pay upfront for two years of any other service - cable TV, lawn care, etc.? Probably not. I don't think this is any exception.

[jpg7n16]

If I read this correctly, your options were:

1) full price, and 0% financing for X months;
2) pay cash, get 5% discount

is that correct?

If so, since you're against debt, have enough liquidity even after paying in cash, and probably not risk seeking, you should take the 5% discount. Saves on cost, avoids debt, saves peace of mind.

-------------------------------------------------------

If you were a very aggressive investor (like me), I would pass on the 5% discount to keep my money invested, and hopefully earn more over the financing period than the 5% I would have saved.


But you're not, so your option is clear for your goals - IMO. Take the discount, avoid the debt.

Good job