Using Time Wisely

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Archives for May 2012

2012: Happy Mother’s Day!

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Congratulations, Mommy, on managing your household, feeding your family, and using time wisely to care for those near you.

Those exhausting days, sleepless nights, and the never-ending to-do list are worth all your time and energy. Investing in the lives of your family cannot be reduplicated.

On this special day honoring you, look past the messy house, cluttered closet, and piles of laundry to those smiling faces you love. Enjoy spending time with your family and investing in their lives.

All the time spent making beds, meals, and the hurt go away are worth every second. Love the distractions because they tighten your bond together.

Thank you for your investment of time into our next generation. In using time wisely, may you feel honored on your special day.

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Prescriptions: Free Savings Cards

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

After a week of quick tips, I will return to the fifth category within my insurance filing system.

In part 1, I shared which documents I keep in my file regarding our paid prescription coverage.

In concluding this file opening, I will share some documents to keep in this file, including free savings cards.

If your family does not carry prescription coverage, you can still save at the pharmacy without paying full price. Yeah!

You have many options for saving including free samples, no-cost programs, $4 generic prescriptions, manufacturer saving cards, and free savings cards.

Free Samples

When visiting the doctor’s office and needing a prescription, I ask for samples. One time, I received a 3-month supply of a prenatal vitamin which saved our family over $150.

I have also received samples of allergy nose sprays and fish oil supplements. Many doctor’s offices keep a supply of samples, and they willingly share them.

No-cost Programs

The free medication program offered through Publix has saved my family lots of money. I have used the free antibiotics many times with a 100% rate of success.

During seasons of illness, you may get your needed antibiotics for free through Publix’s free medication program. I always ask our physician if he or she can prescribe an antibiotic that is free through Publix, and my requests are usually granted.

$4 Generic Prescriptions

Companies like Wal-Mart and Target offer certain generic medications at a cost of $4 for a 30-day supply or $10 for a 90-day supply. These programs can significantly stretch your dollars.

Manufacturer Savings Cards

Some manufacturers offer savings cards. I received a manufacturer’s card from my OB for prenatal vitamins. By using the card, I received the first fill and 2 refills at no cost. Combining these savings with the samples from the doctor’s office, and I received a 1-year supply for the cost of a 6-month supply. Love the 50% savings!

If your doctor’s office knows of no manufacturer discount, then check the web site of the prescription manufacturer. I have called manufacturers asking if they have a discount program. The worst they can say is, “Not at this time,” but they could also send you savings. You never know until you ask.

Free Savings Cards

These free savings cards, recommended for individuals without prescription coverage, offer deep discounts.

TRACY’S TIP: Per our CVS pharmacist, if you have prescription insurance and use a savings card, then the prescription insurance will refuse to pay.

Since I get a huge discount from our insurance company, I do not use these free savings cards.

Just checking the discount price flags the medication, so be careful and ask your pharmacist if using a free savings card will hinder using your prescription insurance.

My favorite free savings cards:

TRACY’S TIP:  If none of these options offer a discount on your prescription, then try checking the price at Costco. You do not need to have a membership to use the pharmacy.

Just let the front employee know you are going to the pharmacy, and you will get your own escort. If you don’t have a membership, you will need to pay with cash.

I know this might be a hassle, but Costco‘s prescription costs are lower than other pharmacies. Just check your prescription on-line before visiting the store.

With these prescription savings options, keep a copy of your cards or bookmark these links for easy access when you need them. I keep mine in this seventh file opening of Box 2 of our important documents.

Though you may not use all these savings, knowing your options can help in making decisions to save you money, energy, and time. Happy savings!

Question: What other prescription savings can you add to this list?

2012 Quick Tip Week: Subscribe to Daily Deal Sites

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Mike Lewis)

Today concludes this quick tip week. It has been a catch-up week, and I’m still a little behind. But in moving forward, I am making progress. Yeah! 🙂

If you have missed any of quick tips this week, click on these links to each tip:

The last quick tip this week looks ahead for your travel plans to help in stretching your dollars.

Quick Tip #7: Subscribe to Daily Deal Sites

The value found at daily deal sites is far better than using a coupon. Almost all daily deals are 50% or more off from the regular price.

If you are planning a family vacation or will be traveling for a wedding or anniversary, then subscribe to those destinations at your favorite daily deal sites. For our family, I subscribe to the main cities in South Carolina and then certain cities in Florida, where we plan to spend our vacation with my extended family. As I see deals for activities that fit within our budget, I snag them.

Since the daily deal sites send an e-mail daily with the new deal, I choose to subscribe using my junk e-mail account. I then check my e-mail every other day to view the deals. Usually, the daily deals have a 48 to 72-hour time limit. By checking my junk e-mail account every other day, I can still snag a day-old deal.

My favorite daily deal sites are Groupon and LivingSocial. With so many deal sites popping up, I know of no exhaustive list. However, Biz Tech Day listed the Top 50 Daily Deal Sites as of June 2011.

In using time wisely, I subscribe to my two favorites and one local daily deal site. For these sites, the e-mail subject line identifies the type of deal. If you are not interested, you can just delete it without wasting time checking each e-mail.

As you prepare for your summer travels, use the deals at your favorite daily deal sites to stretch your dollars. By subscribing, I found an annual membership to a garden near a children’s museum that we plan to activate on our trip this summer.

I continue to watch for deals and plan to have a great family vacation while stretching our dollars. Continue using time wisely by subscribing to one or more deal sites. By doing so, the deals will come to you. Happy savings!

Question: What are your favorite daily deal sites?

Free Rainy Day Activities – Part 2 of 4

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During this week of quick tips, I continue with part 2 of our free rainy day activities series. Besides having an indoor picnic on rainy days, my children enjoy an indoor adventure with paints.

With many types of paint, we get to choose our paint, project, and then experiment and create. Making the choices becomes part of the learning process as my children develop and exercise their creativity.

Some paint types we enjoy include the following:

Paint with Water

These pages only need water. The water combines with the colors on the page to paint the pictures. These pages are great for little ones. The pictures are fully colored, and the mess is minimal.

Watercolors

Using a little water to activate the colors, my children learn to rinse their brushes between colors. We have used plain paper, coloring book pages, and watercolor paper.

Finger Paints

These are quite messy and need a larger page for lots of fun in a small amount of time. These paints are better for outdoor play, but can create a quick, fun activity on a rainy afternoon.

If used indoors, plaster newspaper all over your space, floor, and chairs. We also make sure there is a straight path to the sink since all fingers get quite messy.

Acrylic Paints

These paints are fantastic for all the projects we build at Lowe’s and The Home Depot. Upon getting a special project, we choose to paint it to protect the wood and preserve the project for years to come.

When we use these paints, I place a little paint on a paper plate. As each child finishes his first color, he cleans the brush. Then I place a little dab of another color on the same paper plate.

After completing our projects, we rinse out our brushes, dump the water, dry off the brushes, and toss the newspaper, paper plates, and paper towels in the trash.

Paint by Numbers

Though my children have a couple of these projects, we have not tried painting them yet. At this time, I cannot sit and help one child while the other two paint on their own. All three need constant attention, and the paint by numbers projects wait for an individual activity.

As the colors change outside on rainy days, grab paper or canvas and paints to create masterpieces. With a few supplies (newspaper, cups, water, paintbrushes, paper plates, and paper towels), your family can enjoy a free rainy day activity filled with lots of colors. Happy creating!

Question: What painting activities do your children enjoy?

2012 Quick Tip Week: Butter Bread Before Toasting

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Our week of quick tips is over halfway complete.

If you missed any of the four quick tips from this week, you can click on these links:

#1 – Designated space for “to be filed” paperwork,

#2 – Use disinfecting wipes for quick cleanings,

#3 – Keep your brainstorming notes, and

#4 – Power off your phone.

The fifth tip comes from my children’s food preferences.

Quick Tip #5: Butter Bread before Toasting

In teaching my children to eat the entire slice of bread, including the crust, I have learned to keep the crust soft.

When bread gets toasted, the hard crust makes eating difficult. With their little mouths, my children enjoy soft bread with melted butter.

To keep the crust soft and still get a light toast to the bread, I butter the bread before toasting in my toaster oven. The butter keeps the entire slice of bread soft, and my children willingly eat the entire piece of bread.

This little tip helps to save our family money since my children are receiving the nutrients from the entire slice of bread without wasting food.

In using time wisely, I butter bread before toasting. By eating the entire slice, my children do not need extra slices which saves me money, energy, and time.

As you feed your picky children, who do not like the hard crust on toast, butter bread before toasting. If your children are like mine, then they may eat the entire slice which will save you money, energy, and time. Happy savings!

Question: Do your children eat the entire slice of toast?