Stretching Your Healthcare Dollar

Healthcare costs like everything else these days are on the rise. There are things that you can do that will help lower the medical costs for you and your family. Here are a few the majority of them to me are common sense but you be the Judge.

Medications over the counter or prescription are very expensive. Generic drugs can save you money. Wal-Mart and even supermarket chains offer great deals on generic drugs for 30 days and some for 90 days. If you have a prescription and need a lower cost alternative ask your doctor if they will increase the strength and have you spilt the pill in 1/2. Higher strength medication can be less expensive or have the same co-pay as the medication you are currently taking.




Many of you I know have your children and yourself wear helmets while riding bikes, scooters and skateboards to protect your heads if you fall. My grandmother told me many times that everything of importance is in your head. Broken arms and legs will heal. You may not be so lucky if hit your head so be careful. (Common sense keeps showing up)







According to Teri Cettina of Parents Magazine

"Americans plunk down big bucks every year on cold remedies and flu treatments when the best preventive medicine is plain old soap and water Teach everyone in the family to scrub their hands for about 20 seconds before eating, after playing outside, or after being in contact with someone who's already sick."

Having been a preschool teacher 17 years I am convinced that frequent hand washing greatly reduced my sick days during the year.






Having a good relationship with your doctor is very important for many reasons including being honest about treatment you can afford. So push your pride aside most doctors are more than willing to find more affordable options for you including free drug samples of medications you need. There have been several times when I have had no health coverage and had to pay for the office visit myself, by letting the doctor know I have actually saved about 40%. Doctors will charge insurance companies the highest amount allowed for the service/treatment. With or without health coverage your honesty about your money situation could result in a discount for you.





Besides having a good relationship with your doctor you also need to be your own advocate. First review your doctor and hospital bills even if you have insurance incorrect billing codes and account info can cause problems,


"Up to 50 percent of your doctor or hospital bills may contain mistakes that end up costing you money, says Jane Cooper, president of Patient Care, a consumer-advocacy group in Milwaukee."




Second make sure that you understand the options for any treatment you are receiving and what your doctor recommends. You can always get a second opinion or bring a friend or family member with you to listen to the options and ask questions that you might not think of. In the past I have doctors that would have run a lot of tests when questioned they admitted that most weren’t really needed. Please remember the more the insurance company pays to doctors and hospitals the more likely it is that your next year's premiums will rise. Bottom line trust your doctor and yourself. Keep asking questions until you have enough information to make the best decision for you. Regardless of the state of the economy and what the government may or may not be doing about healthcare you still have some control over your healthcare. Don’t let anyone take that away from you.


A Link to Teri’s Cettina’s Article “25 Ways to save Money on Healthcare” is available on this blog under Quick Links

How and Why to Build an Emergency Cash Fund

Like many of you I have been laid off at times during my career and each time my emergency cash fund has definitely helped me out.

An emergency cash fund is a savings account that will cover your living expenses i.e. rent/mortgage, utilities, food for several months in case your income stops due to layoff accident etc. The goal for my fund has always been 8-12 months. Financial experts like Suze Orman are really stressing the importance of an emergency cash fund An emergency cash fund is a savings account that will cover your living expenses i.e. rent/mortgage, utilities, food for several months in case your income stops due to layoff accident etc. The goal for my fund has always been 8-12 months. Financial experts like Suze Orman are really stressing the importance of an emergency cash fund "If you do not have an emergency savings account that can cover up to at least eight months of living expenses, you need to get very serious about funding that
account ASAP"

If you don’t have an emergency cash fund and still have income coming in, live on half of your salary and put the other half in the emergency fund. Besides needing the cash for your emergency fund if you lose your job your unemployment benefit will be half of your salary. Learning to live on ½ your salary now will help you if you do lose your job in the future.

If you have credit card debt and a low or no emergency cash fund experts say “If you have an unpaid credit card balance and not much saved up in emergency savings” “only pay the minimum due on your credit card balance, and instead, make it your top priority to build as much of an emergency cash fund as you can.”

There is another advantage to just paying the minimum balance on your credit cards that I never realized before. . If you carry a balance on any card and close down another credit card you will actually reduce your FICO score or your credit rating. Your total debt in relation to your total available credit line - will affect the credit rating –for instance, total debt is $2000.00 you have 5 credit cards with $2000.00 each lines of credit total line of credit is $10,000. If you close down a credit your card your available credit is reduced to $8,000.00.

For those of you who an emergency Cash Fund and have credit card debt Suze Orman states ‘For those of you with a fully-funded emergency account, please make it a priority to pay off any credit card balances as soon as possible.” Payoff the credit card with highest interest rate first and don’t add to the balances. Pay cash or check for everything.

An Emergency cash Fund is something we hope we never need but in this economy it is becoming a necessity.

Money Saving Tips

Today everyone is looking for ways to save money. The best place to start is to look at what YOU are actually spending your money on.

Step 1- track your expenses for 1 month. Write down everything you buy (include cash, credit/debit card and check expenses) from Gas for the car to a pack of gum.

Step 2- Review your Expenses. You don’t have to wait till the end of the month, in 1-2 weeks you will see your spending patterns. Identify your spending habits. For instance, how many times do you do to the grocery store a week? How many times do you eat out or order in? Do you buy a coffee every morning at work? Is your closet full of clothes and yet you still say you have nothing to wear? Adding up just the expenses from 1 week can show you one or two spending habits that should be changed.

Tracking your expenses for an entire month will give you a more accurate picture of your spending habits and show which ones need to be changed. If you don’t find at least one or two spending habits that need to be changed, take each monthly expense and times it by 12. When you look at your expenses on a yearly basis you will find a few habits to change.

Step 3- When you have identified your spending habits you can then work on changing them. Keep in mind that changing you spending habits doesn’t mean you have to give up everything. Remember “Everything in moderation is fine”.

Improving your time management skills can actually assist in changing your spending habits and help you save money. For Instance, go to the grocery store just once a week. Plan out your weekly meals especially the dinners before you go. Use the store circular to find the specials and to plan your meals. First by planning your meals and buying the food you are less likely to eat out or order in. Second, by decreasing the number of trips to grocery store you less likely to buy items that you really don’t need.

If you love to buy clothes give yourself a monthly budget and stick to it. Also for each new item you buy you donate 2 pieces of clothing or better yet find a consignment/Thrift shop to donate or sell them. Most consignment shops are non profit and clothing in good condition are in high demand. Donating or selling items at a consignment shop is a win win situation for you and the shop.

This last item is something I’ve been doing for years. When you purchase something especially with cash check or debit card round the purchase up to the nearest dollar. The food you bought was $18.42 give the cashier $19.00.Take the change and put in container. If you have a credit card, put the change toward your monthly payment. On average I deposit $25.00-$30.00 a month, that’s over $300.00 a year for spare change!