How to Budget for Upcoming Doctor Trips?
Now that we are several days removed from our trip to Cleveland Clinic, I have decided to look at future trips. The last one cost about $1150 for airfare, hotel and extras. The expense is very tough when trying to climb out of the debt that we are in. Also, every time we are out, it is missed earning for my wife. Her earnings are hourly, so she losses out on pay. She missed 2 days last week, which translates to about $150 after taxes. This makes the trip valued at $1300.
Of course, since we don’t have that amount of cash lying around, the expense had to go on our credit cards. See the cycle we are in? The next appointment is scheduled for mid March, but could be earlier. My goal is to cut that expense to below $1000. The Clinic Shuttle driver told us about the local Ronald McDonald House that offers room for out of town families. We never thought of that. It would be a $150 savings. I am also looking to chop off $100 of the flight. If we can stay an extra night and return on a Saturday, we can non stop flights for $35 less per ticket. This would be a money saver as well as lessen the flying time.
As to the extras, most of it was on 2 taxi rides to and from the airport. Food came to less than $50 for 5 meals, so we did well there. I do hope the we can swing the Ronald McDonald House savings. That would allow us to stay the 2 nights to get the airfare savings. I will update as we get closer to the trip.
Filed under: Budget, Journal, Kids
