The quest for saving money on monthly expenses was a continual process, watching where the outflow was going, and wincing once in a while when I saw how much some things cost. Reviewing how much we pay for prescription medications was one of those cringe-worthy moments.
Over a year ago I realized that Walmart had a great deal on prescription meds. It was costing me $15.00/month for a generic medication from our neighborhood pharmacy, when I could get the same prescription for $10.00 for a 3 month supply. That was a no brainer! Savings: $140.00/yr.
The problem wasn't the generic medications, the problem was the non-generic medication my husband was on, which was $90.00/month and was going up to $98.00/month. Now onboard with my new budgeting blitz, he was bothered his medication was costing us so much money, despite having health insurance. He vowed to go on the generic of his medication the next time he saw the doctor.
Before his visit I did some poking around on the internet, and noticed that in a couple places they said to shop around between pharmacies. I thought this would be a good plan, but he was hell-bent on going generic for the big savings. The doctor, however, had other thoughts on the situation.
Announcing to the doctor that the medication was too expensive, and stating he wanted the generic version, the doctor proceeded to inform my husband that there are certain medications you want the name-brand for, and his was one of them. Seems the generics are not as closely monitored in some way, and may not actually be an exact duplicate. The doctor did know of a way around the cost: get double the dose and break the pill in half, making a one month supply equal 2 months. He called the pharmacist, and it was a done deal. The medication now costs $32.00/month!
Saving breakdown:
Original cost of the medication at the new price of $98.00/month for one year: $1176.00
New cost of the medication: $384.00
Annual savings: $792.00
Total annual savings on prescriptions for both of us: $932.00.
Essential Frugality - Budgeting for a Good Life Without Compromise
