Transitioning on a budget

So it’s pretty difficult transitioning on a tight budget. I’m a full-time student, so I can’t really work if I want to keep my GPA up, and my parents aren’t exactly loose with the purse strings. My dad will pay my student bills and whatever I charge to them (as long as it’s not too ridiculous), and my mom is helping me out with laser hair removal and doctors’ bills, but there are other expenses. For instance, I don’t really have a lot of feminine clothes, which are a big issue. Back when I first came out in 2007, my female friends gave me a bunch of hand-me-downs, but I have gained 50 pounds since then (I was severely underweight most of my life) and now I can’t really fit into a size 0. That means I need an all-new wardrobe, and my mother isn’t really excited about this fact. Her thing is that plenty of women wear men’s clothes and shoes, but clothes are a big part of passing when one is as androgynous as me. It’s really frustrating.

I’m hoping to get out to Wal-Mart and see what they have on the cheap. Normally I hate Wal-Mart and I haven’t been there in several years for this reason, but I’ve been searching their website and they have some cute clothes up there that aren’t super-expensive. Probably not the highest quality, but seeing as how I’m wanting to buy in bulk it’s probably easiest to buy a bunch of cheap jazz and just replace them item-by-item as I am able to save up cash. Saving cash should be a little easier now that I’ve significantly cut down on smoking, and my quit date is now just a week away (eep!). I need at least three tops and a pair of pantaloons; I’ve got a few nice tops that will work for now and still fit me, but all my jeans that fit have revealing holes in them. This surely won’t do. I found a pair of capris that I can sort of squeeze into, but I’m sure they’d get uncomfortable after five hours of class. Le sigh. There should be a fund for broke trannies who need cute clothes.

On top of everything else, I have Planned Parenthood to pay, and soon hormones (my doctor said they usually cost $6-$9 a month, so those won’t be too difficult to swing), and with all of these medical bills I’m about to age out of my dad’s insurance. I’m sure I can get on the University insurance plan, but that only works with the on-campus health center and won’t cover my Planned Parenthood costs. I know they have a sliding fee schedule, so hopefully I can get them to come down on their prices once I’m officially an old hag.

And, of course, in the long run there’s facial feminization surgery, sex reassignment surgery, orchiectomy, possible breast augmentation… Whoever thinks this is a choice is deluded. I would much rather be spending all of my money on video games.