Ranges of transition costs: Voice

Voice is one of the most neglected parts of passing successfully. I am constantly amazed how few people have decent female voices. It's such a dead giveaway. Luckily, getting a voice down can be quite cheap. I spent under $100 on voice stuff, and I never get clocked on the phone. Voice practice is time-consuming and requires a serious commitment over about 6 months. However, it's something you can do well in advance of transition without affecting your male voice whatsoever.

Practice materials: I recommend practicing with a microcassette recorder. For more, see my voice section.

Speech therapy: Some women find having lessons with a therapist help them immensely. If you don't think you can "hear" what you need to do, you should consider this.

Vocal cord surgery: I do not recommend this. I have only heard one decent result from this procedure. Talk to several patients before signing on and see what you think. You will probably be required to do speech therapy before and after surgery. For more on vocal surgery, see Anne Lawrence's site.

Do not base your own budget on these examples!

• Example 1 is the minimum anyone has reported for the category-- best-case.
• Examples 2, 3 and 4 represent standard ranges, with Example 3 as my attempt to show the most typical.
• Example 5 is the maximum anyone has reported for the category-- worst-case.

• ^[1] Read all notes in purple for explanation of estimates.
• The "Your estimate" column will be filled in as part of Exercise 7.

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• ^[1] Includes tape reorder, how-to info, and records to sing with.
• ^[2] Assumes 6 to 12 months of speech therapy (not covered by insurance).
• ^[3] Assumes 12 to 24 months of speech therapy (not covered by insurance).
• ^[4] Including travel. Many vocal cord surgeons recommend or require speech therapy in conjunction with surgery.