That's Spendy.

When I first moved to Oregon, I noticed that there were a few words that they use here that us Californians just don't use.

One of those words is 'spendy.'

It means expensive. 

Thank you, Captain Obvious.  You're welcome.

I say 'spendy' all the time now.  It's funny how certain words creep into my vocabulary.  Those Californians always seem to give me a funny look when I say 'spendy' now.

So, what is the most spendy thing that I've purchased in my 32 year life span?  My band.

As I've mentioned before, I was a self-pay patient.  It's kinda funny...I would NEVER spend that much money on a car, yet I paid A BUCKET-LOAD of $$ for something that I have never seen in real life.

I burned a ginormous hole in my Capital One credit card the day that I forked over that piece of plastic to the nice cashier lady at the hospital.  I had NEVER signed a credit card receipt for that much money before.  FIVE FIGURES.  Ouch.  That was about two weeks prior to my surgery.

It was scary.

There was no turning back.

But do you know what?  It was worth it.

If you're a penny-pinching, spreadsheet-making, and cost-conscious gal like me who is thinking of banding, you may be wondering:

What’ll Lap Band surgery cost me?

Perhaps a better question is “What’ll it cost you if you don’t?”

With today’s crazy economy and rising health care costs, it’s only natural to wonder if now is the time to consider banding.

Extra weight on a person often goes hand in hand with extra financial burden.

Obesity can have significant medical costs over time. Weight loss surgery can help reduce the cumulative cost of living with obesity: like weight loss programs, prescription medicine and hospital visits.

Knowing this, you may want to consider these questions:

• What are your current out-of-pocket health care expenses? Are they due to go up?
• What are your current prescription and over-the-counter medication costs? Are they due to go up?
• How many times a year do you see a doctor or specialist? Has that gone up over time?
• How many days have you missed work over the past few years? Has that gone up?
• How much have you spent on non-surgical weight loss programs? (WeightWatchers®, Jenny Craig®, etc.) Did that work?
• How much have your costs for groceries and dining out gone up?
• How much have you spent on additional clothes due to your weight gain?

For those of you who are already sitting on the losers bench (whether banded, sleeved, RNY'd, or other weight loss methods), how are you saving money now that you've lost some weight?  I want to know.