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Book I: Taking Charge of Your Finances
offers low interstate rates. Some plans allow unlimited long-distance call-
ing on weekends, in the evenings, or 24/7.
Consider a family plan for your cell phone service if multiple people in
your household have wireless phones. Also ask your teens to pay for the
cost of having a cell phone.
Get rid of your landline if you have a cell phone with an unlimited calling
plan.
Review the extras you're paying for, like voicemail, call waiting, caller ID,
call forwarding, and so on. Do you really need them?
Minimize or eliminate your use of directory assistance.
Saving on prescription drugs
If the cost of prescription drugs is taking a big bite out of your budget, don't
do without -- follow this advice for reducing what you pay for your pills:
Ask your doctor for free samples whenever she prescribes a prescrip-
tion drug for you or someone in your family.
Ask your doctor if a generic or less-expensive alternative to a drug is
available. Many newer drugs are more expensive than their older equiva-
lents, but they're not necessarily better.
Buy 90-day supplies of drugs when you order, to save on the dispensing
fee that many pharmacies charge each time they fill a prescription.
Talk with your doctor about prescribing a higher dose of the pill you
normally take, and use a pill splitter to split it in half. You pay for fewer
refills this way. However, your doctor should have the final say on
whether this is a good option for your particular medication.
Shop around before you get a prescription filled. You may be surprised
by the range in prices from drugstore to drugstore.
Purchase prescription drugs from an online pharmacy -- one licensed
by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy through its VIPPS
program. (The VIPPS seal of approval will be prominently displayed on
the site.) Go to www·nabp·net for a list of the online pharmacies it has
licensed. Reputable online pharmacies include www·costco·com,
www·drugstore·com
, and www·familymeds·com·
If you take medications regularly, buy in bulk from a mail-order pharmacy.
Find out if you qualify for a drug-assistance program. Some programs
are income based, but others, like Merck's, offer prescription drug dis-
counts to consumers who are uninsured, regardless of their incomes.
Partnership for Prescription Assistance at www·pparx·org offers an
online databank of drug-assistance programs.
