Have a great weekend everyone! I am still on vacationing visiting family for another week, so thanks for sticking around!

Money Quote Friday - Something Perverse About More Than Enough Edition.

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1. Money Quote Friday - Let Us Rise Up And Be Thankful Edition.
2. Money Quote Friday - Halloween Edition.
3. Money Quote Friday - Live The Perfect Day Edition.
4. Money Quote Friday - True Bliss Edition.

• Go generic. This should be an obvious one, but there are millions of people paying for brand name drugs that are available in cheaper generic versions. Before you leave the doctor’s office, make sure he or she is giving you a script for generic drugs, and if he isn’t, ask why and request that he only give you generic prescriptions when he can.
• Get a prescription discount card. Although you will have to pay a yearly fee, you could save 20-30% on your prescriptions. There are many to choose from and I am sure some are better than others. Ask your plan manager for information about which one to choose.
• Get your medicine from the less expensive pharmacies. Wal-mart and Target now offer a lot of generic prescriptions for $4 or $5 dollars a month, and although I don’t shop at Wal-mart, I am glad they are helping out those who cannot afford their prescriptions.
• Ask for free samples from the doctor. When I was going through a bad bout with hives, my doctor gave me $500 worth of steroids…for free. They were a sample pack of something not available in generics yet, and they did their job. It never hurts to ask.
• Order your medicine through the mail. If possible and if your insurance plan covers it, ask your doctor for a 90 day prescription, and then check with your benefits manager at work as to where you can get scripts by mail. Take a look at prescription benefit managers online like Medco and Caremark.
• Take a trip to Mexico. I didn’t tell you to do it, but medicine is definitely cheaper down south.
• Stop taking them. This is, of course, not for those medicines that you NEED. I am talking about making lifestyle changes that could take you off the drugs. If your high blood pressure is from sitting on the couch each night eating Doritos, then maybe you could get some exercise and eat an apple. Just a thought - it’s much cheaper to exercise and eat right than it is to pay for medical care!
• Order them from Canada. Sure, the legality is questionable, but if I had to have a medicine that I could not afford here in the States, I would definitely either order it from a Canadian pharmacy or drive over the border to get it. There are even bus trips for seniors to get the drugs they need, which is just shameful that they even have to do that to afford them.
• Ask for assistance from pharmaceutical companies. Many companies have programs in place to help those with affording the medicines they need.
• Search for natural alternatives. There are many natural herbs and foods that do the same thing that some drugs do, so it might be worth it to check with a homeopathic doctor to see if there is one that will work for your condition.
• Have your doctor prescribe you higher-dosage pills and split them. That way, you get double the amount of medicine for the same price. If you require 100MG pills of something, ask if he or she can prescribe 200MG pills instead, and just cut them in half.
• Put some money in a flexible savings account, which is money put aside for medical expenses BEFORE taxes, saving you a little bit of cash for things you are going to have to buy anyway.

So what am I missing here? Anyone have any other ideas for saving money on prescriptions?

How To Save Money On Your Prescriptions.

You might also like:

1. Everyone Deserves A Health Insurance Plan Like This…
2. My Neighbor Has Gone Without Health Insurance For 30 Years.
3. It’s Health Insurance Open Enrollment Time - Choose Wisely.
4. The Best Investment You Can Make Is In Your Health.

Some people talk about ‘climbing out of debt’ like it’s a pit, while others say they’re ‘buried under a mountain of debt’. Either way, the top can seem a long way off when you’re right down at the bottom, peering up at the promise of a debt-free future.

Perhaps the most off-putting thing about our debt problems is the sheer scale of them. It’s hard to stay motivated long enough to reach the top, unless you learn to:

• take it one step at a time
• appreciate what your sacrifices are achieving
• stay focused on (but not daunted by) the big picture.

This should make it easier to stay focused, leading to a ‘virtuous circle’ of better results and higher levels of motivation.

One step at a time

Let’s say you’re paying off four separate debts: you’re managing the minimum payments and overpaying wherever possible.

Whether you focus those overpayments on the highest-interest debt or the smallest one, you’ll probably make better progress if you focus on realistic, short-term goals.

Make sure you write down exactly how much you owe at the start, and set yourself concrete targets. If it helps, draw up a ticklist – things like:

• 10% of my entire debt gone
• $500 paid off this debt
• only $1,000 left on this card
• just three debts left.

When you tick something off, reward yourself.

Appreciate your sacrifices

Eating out, buying CDs, taking holidays… whatever we want to spend our disposable income on, it isn’t easy to give it up, especially when each small sacrifice has such a tiny impact on the overall debt. Denying yourself a luxury once or twice might not be hard, but doing it for years takes a lot of discipline.

So keep track of the sacrifices you make. More important, keep track of what they’re helping you achieve. If you stay away from the mall or turn down a night out with friends, figure out what you would have spent, and put it aside there and then, whether you’re moving numbers between bank accounts or putting real cash in a box.

You’ll be able to say things like:

• “Not going skiing last week let me pay off 20% of my credit card bill.”
• “Not going to the bar tonight will take my overdraft down under the $1,000 mark.”
• “I can pay my dad back if I just take a smaller holiday.”

The Big Picture: life after debt

In the days before debt, your entire disposable income was yours to use as you saw fit. Next time you’re tired of economizing, just picture how good it would feel to be like that again.

However good it feels to go shopping, buy music, eat take-aways, and so on, being debt-free is sure to feel a lot better. So remember that every single luxury you give up is taking you one step closer to a debt-free existence.

The closer you get, the better you’ll feel, so set yourself targets and stick to them. When your debts are gone and your savings account’s looking healthy, you’ll be glad you did.

Guest post written by Melanie Taylor, of Think Money

Fighting Your Debt, From The Small Steps To The Big Picture.

You might also like:

1. Fighting Debt - From Small Steps to the Big Picture.
2. Do It Yourself Debt Reduction.
3. Balancing Good Vs. Bad Debt In This Economy.
4. Paying Off Debt And Saving Money Can Be Done At The Same Time.

Keep that in mind every day when you think buying “stuff” will make you happy. As you probably know, I am away for a while but there will be a few posts next week to keep you occupied. Hope you guys have a great weekend!

Money Quote Friday - Pleasures Are The Cheapest.

You might also like:

1. Money Quote Friday - Let Us Rise Up And Be Thankful Edition.
2. Money Quote Friday - Hearing A Different Drummer Edition.
3. Money Quote Friday - Benefits Not Essentials Edition.
4. Money Quote Friday - The Real Measure Of Wealth.

Back when I was in the hole of tens of thousands of dollars, I still managed to save money. Was it the best decision? Probably not - if I had sent that money to my debt I could have been debt-free earlier (if, of course, I had stopped spending, which I hadn’t). But still, I am glad I did it as having some savings in the bank is always a comfortable feeling that can stop you from whipping out the credit card at the first sign of trouble. How did I manage to save money while still carrying debt and trying to pay it off?

I took 10% of every dollar I received and put it in the bank.

This was before I paid bills, paid myself, moved money into retirement funds, etc - I took a clean 10% off the top of every single dollar that passed through my hands - and put it in a savings account. You would be surprised how quickly 10% of everything you ever touch can add up! Still to this day, even after my credit card debt has been paid off, after putting money aside for retirement (not as much as I should by some standards, but I still do it - I also believe in living my life), after taking 25-30% out of each check I get to pay my taxes (the life of a freelancer!) and after putting as much as I can towards the new house fund, I still do my best to put 10% of every dollar into our general fund.

Saving money frees you from having to worry about money.

When you have savings, you don’t have to worry about a flat tire. You don’t have to worry about replacing your broken air conditioner. You don’t have to worry if you kid gets a cold and needs to go to the doctor. It doesn’t have to be a ton of money in order to make you feel a little more comfortable - just having even $1,000 set aside for emergencies can help you sleep better at night. 10% is not much, and chances are that you won’t even miss it once you get into the habit of setting it aside. To help you save 10% of every dollar that crosses your path, try these ideas:

• If paid in cash, immediately take 10% of the total amount, put it in an envelope, and set it aside to be deposited in the bank. Putting all the cash in your wallet guarantees that you will spend it all before you can save any of it!
• If paid by check, deposit the check inside the bank to your checking account, and if you have enough already in there, have the teller transfer 10% of the check amount over to your savings. Alternatively, if you deposit it in the ATM, don’t be so quick to press Exit after the check goes in. When the machine asks if you want to do another transaction, make sure you say YES and then do a transfer of 10% of the amount from your checking to your savings.
• If you are receiving money by direct deposit to your bank account, make sure you watch for when each deposit clears and immediately take 10% of the amount and put it in savings. This also helps you keep an eye on when and how much money is being deposited directly, which is sometimes hard to monitor if you are not paying close attention.
• For payments received through a service like Paypal, I always immediately transfer 10% of each deposit to a savings account outside of Paypal. For the rest of the balance, I either pay myself to my checking account, or send it to my housing fund or my taxes fund at ING.

The key to saving money is to make it so you don’t notice it happening. Getting into the habit of immediately putting aside 10% can really add up to some serious savings, and after a bit you won’t even notice the “missing” money. But it sure will come in handy should you need it; being able to pay cash rather than using a credit card is a very freeing feeling!

Saving Money The Easy Way.

You might also like:

1. Following The Rule Of 10% Is Easy And The Savings Add Up.
2. What Happens When A Bank Fails.
3. Paying Off Debt And Saving Money Can Be Done At The Same Time.
4. To The Rescue Again: The Importance Of An Emergency Fund.

Just for fun, let’s do some math and look at the work vs. “stuff” exchange rate, shall we? (And this is not taking into account taxes being taken out, so the real numbers are even more)

• Let’s say that a new decent-sized LCD flat-screen TV is $1,000. If you get paid $20 per hour at work (more than the national average), you have to work 50 hours just to pay for that TV… with cash. You have to work even more if you buy on credit and pay interest. How much better does the TV you already have look now?
• BMW’s are great cars, don’t get me wrong. I love the way they drive and the way the look. But at a minimum of $33,600 for a 4 door 3 Series, they aren’t cheap. Using the same $20/hour rate, paying for that car in cash would take 1,680 hours of your working life. That’s 42 weeks of work just to pay for that car! (And way more if you finance it) Is it worth it? Not for me. As much as I love cars and driving fast, owing that much isn’t in the cards for me anymore. A Honda Civic is much more my speed, as it’s more reliable than the BMW, can still seat 4-5 people, easily cruises at whatever speed you want, gets good MPG, and still looks nice. Plus, it’s starting price is about $18,000 less than the BMW is. At $15,000 it would take you 750 hours to pay cash for that car - or 18.75 weeks. That’s like getting 23 weeks of vacation just for buying the cheaper car!
• Let’s talk about clothes for a minute. Clothing is one of the biggest “extra” expenses of many people, as most don’t need designer duds to go to work or see a movie in. 99% of the time I do just fine in my $15 t-shirts and Gap jeans for $39. And when I used to have to look nice to go to work, I still bought my clothes at places like Gap, Target, Express Men and Macy’s. Nothing high-end for me! However, some people I know spend $200+ on a single pair of jeans or $250+ on a pair of shoes - it’s crazy! I have never (and never will) spending that kind of cash on a pair of jeans! Who wants to work 10 hours just to own jeans? Not me, thanks. I have better things to do with my time!

photo credit: Jeff Karpala

Imagine how much less you could work if you considered how much you have to work to pay for your stuff? More time for hobbies, for family, for friends. More time doing the things you love to do instead of working to pay off your $200 jeans. I stopped trading my time for “stuff” years ago, and now mostly buy the things I need, with an occasional splurge on a wanted item now and then. When I go to make bigger purchases, I take into account how much work it is going to take to pay for the item in question, and I ask myself if it is worth the time put in. If the answer is yes, than I go ahead and buy it. But oftentimes, the answer is no - and the item gets denied entry into our house. Do you do anything like this to control your spending? If so, let us all hear about it. And if not, well, give it a try - I bet it will keep your spending and consumption habits down!

Cut Spending By Looking At Hours Of Work Put In To Pay For Stuff.

You might also like:

1. If You Could Pick Your Benefits At Work, What Would You Pick?
2. Layoffs At Your Company? More Work For Same Pay, But It’s Not Necessarily A Bad Thing.
3. The Best Companies To Work For in 2009.
4. How Do You Know When You Have Enough?

Saving For Serenity asks the question “Affluence and Poverty: Where Do We Belong?”

Money Ning talks about something I plan on doing soon - A Volunteer Vacation.

Gather Little By Little writes about some things that are worth spending money on…and I agree with him on these items!

Five Cent Nickel wants you to Avoid Do-It-Yourself Disasters.

Moolanomy wants to help you Achieve Financial Freedom One Expense At A Time.

Debt Free Adventure writes about following through on your financial goals. Everyone needs help with this one!

Mrs. Micah talks about the new income-based student loan payment plans.

Almost Frugal wants to help you Take a Vacation from High Prices on Travel.

No Credit Needed talks about Breaking Bad Financial Habits. You know you need help with this one!

Weakonomics finishes out the roundup this week with a post about The Fascinating World Behind Credit Cards And Fraud Detection.

See you soon!

Sunday Money Roundup - Taking A Short Break Edition.

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1. Sunday Money Roundup - Home Again Edition.
2. Sunday Money Roundup - Top Off The Jeep Edition.
3. Sunday Money Roundup - Balmy And 60 Edition.
4. Sunday Money Roundup - First Snow Edition.

If you are depending on your “stuff” to make you happy, you are setting yourself up for a life of misery. True happiness comes from who you are, not what you own. Have a great weekend, and enjoy the 4th tomorrow!

Money Quote Friday - True Bliss Edition.

You might also like:

1. Money Quote Friday - The Real Measure Of Wealth.
2. Money Quote Friday - A Cultivating Gardener Edition.
3. Money Quote Friday - Kindness Of The Back Roads Edition.
4. Money Quote Friday - Perish Under A Dungheap Edition.

First off, you should have a copy of your credit report from each of the three big credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. Keep in mind that you are entitled to one free credit report from each per year, and you can get that from www.annualcreditreport.com. This is the only legitimate place sponsored by the credit bureaus themselves where you can get a free credit report online, so do not be fooled by other services who offer you free credit reports in exchange for signing up for credit monitoring and the like. I get my 3 reports a year from that site - one every 4 months so I can see my report throughout the year. If you already got your free ones, you can pay for another copy from the agencies themselves.

photo credit: TheTruthAboutMortgage.com

Search carefully through all three reports for the mistake(s) that you think might exist. Be sure to check for open and closed lines of credit, credit cards you don’t have, bank loans that might not be yours, addresses that you never lived at - anything out of the norm that you don’t recognize could be a sign of an error.

When you find any mistake, file a dispute claim with each credit bureau online at their website. Explain to them what you think the issue is and provide any backup information that will help them verify your claims. The credit bureaus will then contact the bank/lender/credit card company and see what information they can get back from them either agree with your claim or deny it.

If the company denies your claims, you will have to take the issue up with them directly. So if the problem lies with Visa, you will have to deal with them to try to get some resolution. If the company agrees with your claims, then the credit bureaus will remove the error from your credit report.

It is always good to monitor your credit report all year, and that is why I pull one of my free ones every 4 months so I can keep track. If you have not already started doing that, go ahead and get a copy of one of them from www.annualcreditreport.com. and start monitoring your reports!

How To Fix A Mistake On Your Credit Report.

You might also like:

1. Settlement Gives Everyone Free Copies Of Their Credit Report & Score.
2. Test Your Credit IQ By Taking This Quiz.
3. Stop The Flow Of Credit Card Offers To Your Mailbox.
4. Credit Card Companies Cutting Credit, Rewards; Upping Interest Rates.

Alabama

August 7-9, clothing - $100, computers - $750, school supplies - $50, books - $30, http://www.ador.state.al.us/salestax/SalesTaxHol.htm

Connecticut

August 16-22, clothing and footwear - $300, http://www.ct.gov/

District of Columbia

August 1-9 & Nov. 27 - Dec. 6, clothing - $100, school supplies - $100, http://otr.cfo.dc.gov/otr/

Georgia

July 30 - Aug. 2, school supplies - $20, clothing - $100, computer - $1,500

Georgia

October 1-4, energy and water efficient products - $1,500

Iowa

August 7-8, clothing - $100, http://www.iowaccess.org/tax/

Louisiana

August 7-8 , all TPP - $2,500, http://www.revenue.louisiana.gov/

Mississippi

July 31-August 1, clothing & footwear - $100

Missouri

August 7-9, clothing - $100, computers - $3,500, school supplies - $50, http://www.dor.mo.gov/tax/

New Mexico

August 7-9, clothing - $100, computers - $1,000, school supplies - $15, http://www.state.nm.us/tax/

North Carolina

August 7-9, clothing - $100, school supplies - $100, instructional material - $300, computers - $3,500, other comp. - $250, sports equip - $50, http://www.dornc.com/

North Carolina

November 6-8, energy star products, http://www.dornc.com/

Oklahoma

August 7-9, clothing - $100, http://www.tax.ok.gov/

South Carolina

August 7-9, clothing, school supplies, computers, other, http://www.sctax.org/

Tennessee

August 7-9, clothing - $100, school supplies - $100, computers - $1,500, http://tn.gov/revenue/

Texas

August 21-23, clothing and backpacks - $100, http://www.window.state.tx.us/

Virginia

August 7-9, clothing - $100, school supplies - $20, http://www.tax.virginia.gov/

Virginia

October 9-12, energy star products - $2,500, http://www.tax.virginia.gov/

West Virginia

September 1 - November 30, energy star products - $5,000

Find The 2009 Sales Tax Holiday For Your State.

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1. Planning On Shopping? Find The Sales Tax Holiday For Your State.
2. Massachusetts To Vote To Remove State Income Tax.
3. State Excise Taxes On Cigarettes - What’s Your Take?
4. American Recovery & Reinvestment Act Benefits For 2009.