I am once again hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights next Thursday, so be sure to get your submissions in!
And now, a followup to my discussion of online pharmacies. Based on a comment from sara, I decided to check out the online pharmacy offered by my insurance plan. It seemed good and easy so I decided to give it a shot.
My prescription arrived quickly and shipped for free. The downside? My local pharmacy always gave me the generic, whereas the online pharmacy used the brand name (and charged me as such). It’s only a little bit more, but the whole point of this was to try to save some money. I debated transferring the prescription back to the local pharmacy, but after weighing the pros and cons, decided it was worth the few extra dollars.
Most notably, the refill process is so much easier. With the local chain pharmacy, I go online, request the prescription, then have to go stand in a ridiculous line, deal with rude clerks, and finally get my prescription. With the online pharmacy, I go online, request the prescription, and then it magically appears in my mailbox in a few days. I really like the ease. And to be honest, I really like the packaging of the brand name prescription. I know that sounds ridiculous, but when you’re getting a prescription that’s supposed to last a few months, it’s nice when you don’t have to worry about the packaging tearing open in your bag.
So that’s my lesson. If you’re going with the online pharmacy option, don’t assume that just because your doc said the generic is okay that you’re going to get it. But other than that, so far, I’m a happy customer.
Megan is a 40-something government employee in the Washington, DC area. She got interested in Personal Finance when she got out of college and realized that her paycheck wasn’t going to go as far as she had hoped. Since starting this blog, she has managed to buy a house and make a solid start on her retirement goals, and hopes to help others do the same. Here is her story:
In 2007, I was a gainfully employed 20-something with no debt but not a lot of knowledge about personal finance. It was a co-worker’s comment about Roth IRAs that sent me to the internet, searching for information. It was then that I realized that I really didn’t know a whole lot about personal finance and that my current financial situation was due a lot to inherent frugal tendencies, generous family members, a fear of debt, and good luck. While that was working for me, clearly I needed a better plan.
While I had no debt, I was also pretty much living paycheck to paycheck and not worrying about going over budget (I say this as if I had a real budget) because I had an emergency fund set aside to cover any overages.
Except that’s not what an emergency fund is for.
So I did a lot of research, read a lot of blogs, and decided that I needed a plan. I needed to budget. I needed to know what I was spending my money on. I needed to prepare for the future.
I decided to create a blog not only to make myself accountable to others but also to share the knowledge that I gained along the way. I’ve learned so much from my fellow bloggers, and I hope that my readers can find something useful in what I have to share as well.
What local pharmacy did you use? I go to Target and it is fantastic! The one I go to is on my way to the gym. Service is amazing (fast, friendly, informative) and I’ve only had to wait once to pick up a prescription. Plus, I can pay for all my other purchases at the pharmacy counter! The online refill process is super easy, too.
Just my 2 cents, haha… 🙂
I used the local CVS, which is on my way home. It’s fine, but it needs work. And personnel training, in my opinion.
Since I use public transportation, anywhere I have to drive to (like Target) becomes significantly out of my way. I would have to make a point to always go on the weekends. I’m all about the convenience.