Tips like these helped us pay off $127K in debt. You can read our story in Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After.
Welcome to 31 Debt Free Missions! A new feature this year on Queen of Free, during each day in January, I will provide 31 concrete missions or challenges for you to take on to #SlayDebt and take charge of your finances this year. Each mission will take you less than an hour (some will only require 15 minutes). Whereas, 31 Days to Kick Debt in the Teeth (which I’m reworking this year and reposting in January, too) focused on some of the philosophical changes you need to make in order to be successful with money, 31 Debt Free Missions are action steps to put into place after you have your thinking straight. Even better, during the month of January, I’m revisiting each of these challenges in order to sharpen my money saving and debt slaying skills.
Are you ready? Your mission is as follows:
Day 14: The Prescription Switch & Save
Let me begin by saying that this debt free mission is not medical advice nor do I know your specific health situation. It might apply to some but not others. That being said, let’s begin.
Do you know if you’re really getting the best deal on your regular prescriptions? Have you counted the cost of your pharmacy? Is there a discount available you weren’t aware of? Today’s debt free mission is designed just for you! Spend just an hour today and see if you can’t scratch up some more cash on a monthly basis with these simple ideas.
Prescription Savings Cards
So you may or may not know that many drug companies (especially name brand) offer discount cards for their specific products. If you have a standing script begin by searching the name of the drug and the word “discount” or “savings” or even “coupon.” Or simply go directly to the manufacturer’s website and search for a discount card or multi-use coupon. I quickly found a $20 off coupon for Nasonex that can be used up to six times with qualifying purchase. Or here’s a savings card for Crestor that could make it as little as $18 per prescription. Once again, be sure you are on the actual website for the specific drug. Also, open a dialogue with your doctor about finding the most affordable prescription for your condition. An over the counter or generic drug might be able meet your medical needs with fewer dollars spent. BUYER BEWARE: There are plenty of Prescription discount cards that are scams so again, be sure you are on the site of the actual drug company and not a third party seller.
FREE Antibiotics & Vitamins
Oh how I love free. To entice consumers into the store, many pharmacies offer perks like free antibiotics for kids or even prenatal vitamins. Ask your pharmacy if they participate in such a program.
Prescription Rewards
Does your pharmacy offer an incentive for regularly filling your prescription there? I love Meijer’s mPerks Pharmacy Rewards because I get a $10/$10 for every five prescriptions we fill. Other pharmacies offer similar programs.
Call Around
Again, if you have a regular prescription, the cost can vary pretty dramatically from pharmacy to pharmacy. It is worth your time to make a few phone calls to see if that amount is lower somewhere else.
Consider Hidden Costs
Think about your shopping habits while you are in the pharmacy. Are you buying extras that you could eliminate from your budget? Do you walk out with a cart full of things instead of just the small prescription bag? Then you might need to make a switch. Are you driving a longer distance than necessary? That could mean you need to make a switch, too. Your purchase has many facets involved so try to think through each one of them.
Finally, even though we have transferred prescriptions to get the $25 gift card incentive that some offer before, I would not recommend this for everyone. If your medical history is complicated or you have allergies or drugs that could interact with each other negatively, you would not want to go this route (I love you my pharmacy friends who are concerned about patients hopping from place to place). However, evaluate the best pharmacy for your needs and then sticking with is a great way to cut back on a regular expense and free up more funds for you to continue your path to becoming debt free.
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
We just did the google search for my husband’s Predaxa and found that the manufacturer would give us a free savings card to print out making his Rx no more than $10 each time for one year (12 times). It showed logos for participating pharmacies and i saw the Target bullseye! Hubby was skeptical but took the card with him to pick up his refill.
Target accepted it and told him he could use it each of the next 11 months so that our copay would only be $10 each time.
Normally, the co-pay is $60 so our savings this year will be $500 just on this one item!!!!!!
AWESOME. I am doing a happy dance that I put $500 back in your pocket. This is why I write this stuff. 🙂