This week Chris advised someone whose husband needed oral surgery ($7k) to consider using savings. Two things that might take a "bite" out of that situation. First, if the surgery could be delayed awhile, maybe the family could take advantage of the pre-tax dollars from a flexible health savings account. Second, it pays to shop around and they might want to consider going to Latin America. Ask any of their family or friends who've been to Mexico and they'll tell you that dental procedures are often 1/4 the cost of those performed here. I am a physician who's seen some patients go abroad for elective surgeries with very good results.