Raising money: I put my head down, worked hard and saved whatever I could. Financing transition is tough but it can be done.

Side effects of T: http://www.ftmguide.org/tandhealth.html
Also see: http://www.nickgorton.org/

Yes, start working out because 1) T tends to cause weight gain; 2) having more muscle definition in your chest will improve surgery results.

You do not need to be on hormones to have Top Surgery!

Quote:Do I need to be on testosterone before I can get top surgery?
No, WPATH Standards of Care do not require hormone therapy to be eligible for top surgery. (An exception to this is if you are trying to get U.S. insurance coverage for top surgery, in which case you may find that 1 year of HRT is required by the insurance company.) One benefit of being on T prior to surgery is that it can help you develop larger chest muscles, giving your surgeon more of a contour to work with, which can improve surgery results. However, this can also be achieved with push-ups and no testosterone.
http://www.topsurgery.net/faq/

Local support:
http://www.njsg.org/
http://www.gardenstateequality.org/issues/transgender/
http://www.pridecenter.org/

My Top Surgery experience:
https://genderoutlaw.wordpress.com/2008/...xperience/

I'm aware of a couple of surgeons in NJ but they don't have the experience of Dr. Rumer who's next door in PA: http://www.transhealthcare.org/kathy-rumer/

Hope this helps!