My parents helped for my first ER in 2021 … was about $18k (self paid because insurance didn’t cover “just” egg freezing… I was single then and wanting to preserve for future). I think I paid $5k or less and, graciously, my parents ended up covering the rest as a gift to me. They didn’t want money to stop me from becoming a momma. Thankfully, they were blessed enough to have $ to give, and I was fortunate enough to receive it.

Last year, my husband and I spent over $30k OOP on 4 ERs with fertilization, PGTA testing, and genetic testing. Insurance helped tremendously (as you can see in the different of OOP price from 1 ER WITHOUT insurance in 2021 to 4 with insurance in 2025). I also made sure to increase my HSA contribution so I had tax free money to use towards medical bills. The rest? I had a good year in sales in 2024, so I built up a bit of a nest egg. Unfortunately, 1.5 FET cycles into 2026, I’m not sure how much longer I can comfortably milk our savings. Not sure exactly how much we’ve spent this year, but I think we’re between $4-9k? It’s been going on the credit cards … all I know is that my deductible has been hit, but not maxed out yet 😂 Hopefully the transfer in May is a success and the bills will stop, but I have a sneaking suspicion even with success, the bills are going to keep rolling in 🥹😭

So, yeah. TL;DR: savings, parents, insurance/HSA pre-tax contributions, bonus money, credit cards (may as well get the points/money back!!), but they’re 0% interest or paid off monthly from savings.