the price of being a pre-service volunteer

So, I've become increasingly irritated with the lack of information for pre-service volunteers. I have been scouring through blogs of current volunteers and I have found very little on their experience with paperwork and the entire process of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer.
Considering I'm starting this months before we even receive an invitation, I will be documenting my experience as a pre-service volunteer. I have thus far talked about emotions, but I think it's important to talk numbers here.

I had no idea that going to the doctor while not having insurance was going to be so costly. Because we don't have full time jobs with benefits, we've had to foot the bill for all of our exams, shots, blood work, and dental work. We will be getting reimbursed, of course, but it is only going to cover about one-third of our costs.

Desaree's bills
Physical: $257 + $50 for filling out the paperwork
Blood work: $230
Urinalysis: $25
Boosters: $175
Pap: $47

We were able to go to a dentist who does free exams and x-rays for Peace Corps applicants, so that was free. On the other hand, this particular dentist told us that we had several cavities (9 between the two of us) which would have been well over $1000, so I got a second opinion.
Second opinion: $100
Cleaning: $80

Eye exam: $119
Extra frames: $140
I am unsure on how much a new set of glasses will cost, but the frames I chose were approximately $140. Then I will have to pay for the lenses, as well.

Alex's Bills
Physical: $190
Blood work:
Urinalysis:
Boosters:
He goes to a different doctor than I do, so his prices are different. He just scheduled his blood work and boosters today, so I will fill those in when the bills come. On another note, we tried to get him in to the Health Department, where bloodwork would have cost $48 and boosters would have been $140, but they refused us because he was not a patient and they couldn't (or didn't want to) fax his results to another doctor. We tried!

Dental cleaning: $80
Dental work: $350
While he did not have any cavities that needed to be filled, the sealant that was on his teeth had worn down. This is more preventative care, but we chose to do it.

Grand Total: $1843


The thing I'm having trouble with now is whether or not we need to send the receipts from our appointments in with our reimbursement sheets. I think I will do so for good measure, but no where can I find if it's absolutely necessary. I've made copies to keep for our records, and I'm sending them the originals.

I hope that this helps any pre-service Peace Corps looking for answers on how much everything is going to cost. It's tough in this position, especially not knowing if you're actually going to get an invitation for an assignment or if you even want to make the leap into this commitment. I figured that since we already started, we might as well just continue our progress to ensure we don't have regrets later.

All I can say for now is thank god we live with our parents, or we'd never be able to pay for all this stuff. And really, I hope it pays off in the end.