<prompt> Human: Long story short, I have gynecomastia, or the development of breast tissue on the chest. Im an otherwise fit and thin 18 year old male, yet I have to live with this everyday. Surgery to get it removed cost about 7200.I have about 1200 saved in my bank account and 6000 in mutual funds. The mutual fund money is mostly from grandparents over the years giving me money for birthdays and holidays. It is just a perfect coincidence that the cost of the surgery is equal to both of these savings combined.So heres my understanding. In four years I will be 50k - 80k of college debt depending on where I go. What difference would spending 7k now make?On the other hand, my father said that my mutual fund may even double in value by the time I graduate college, and should just be left alone for as long as possible.The big question then is, if I spend my 6k of mutual fund money now, how much potential money am I losing down the road? Is the value of my potential money lost or the value of my potential happiness lost from having to live with this condition?Im am losing sleep over this, and could really use some advice. I know it is impossible to measure my happiness gained from surgery in terms of money, and it is also impossible to say for sure how much my mutual fund will grow. I know little about personal finance and this subreddit may not be the perfect place for this question, but any advice would be appreciated.TL;DR : Want surgery for gynecomastia, should I spend mutual fund money to pay for it?Edit : Thank you for all the replies everyone, its been incredibly helpful. I am currently looking into insurance and learning more about my mutual fund. I will respond to more replies in a bit...  <response>: I had Gynecomastia since I was in middle school. They started forming right about that time. I started realizing I was different from the other boys. I couldnt dress like the other guys, I couldnt play sports for the fear of the other kids seeing my man tits. Gynecomastia scarred my childhood. I was a skinny kid and had these male breasts. It was total hell. It was so bad, I looked forward to winter because I knew I would get to wear my jacket all the time. I started getting scared and sweating when I realized spring was around the corner and I would have to wear light shirts. I had gynecomastia surgery last year on April 12, 2011. In 2010, I finally said enough was enough and I will not go another year living in fear, living in my own personal hell. I scheduled the appointment and in 3 months I had gotten rid of them. I had them done in April, so I could experience my first summer of happiness and zero shame. I never looked back. I have been so happy. I have been running, joining the gym, taking part in life activities I would dare not do in the past. There is simply no price tag you can put on this feeling.There is no pricetag you can put on this freedom. I borrowed the 8K, went into debt to get this surgery and I do not regret it at all. Money is of no value with what you get in return. I walk around with my chest pumped and I am no longer slouching. Sometimes you cannot let money rule your life. In many cases like buying a new car or a house, money rules must apply, but not in this case. I would go into debt 3 times to be the way I am now. To go back to how I was would be sentencing me back to prison.I am telling you to take this surgery. It will change your life. Here is my proof. Honestly, for those who have not been in our shoes, they do not know the pain we went through. So they are looking at this from a different point of view. I have been where you are. I am so glad I took the step to get surgery. 