Braces, part I - Spacers & Payment

I went in for my records appointment today and had my spacers put in. I also paid for the braces. The receptionist told me that some people cry because the spacers hurt; I wanted to cry because of the cost. The total? $5100. My dental insurance coverage? A measly $300. I signed up for the insurance, thinking it was going to cover $3000! It was my own fault; I should have called them and clarified. I really regret not doing this 2 years ago - I would've paid $1500 less.

I had to make a down payment of $1200, and for 9 months, I'll have $450 payments. WOW. I estimated them as $200 in my budget... this will make a huge difference. The payments won't start until November 1st, so I have a little time to plan. I put the 1200 on my credit card, but I returned the $1000 leather jacket that I bought a couple months ago, so at least I sort of break even.

Where am I going to come up with an extra $250 per month? Sell everything I possibly can. Maybe next semester I'll get another part-time job. I'm not sure yet.

Update: Now the spacers are making me want to cry too! Maybe not cry... but it's definitely frustrating, and I want to reach in there and rip the damn things out. It's a dull, aching, insistent pain in the back of my mouth. I don't like taking too much Tylenol, so I've only taken two so far (one this morning and one at 2pm), but I think it's time for a third. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow. Along with the aching in my teeth, I have a headache behind my left eye! It's very distracting, but I'm going to try to get some studying done and then go to sleep.