Tips on Stretching Your Retirement Dollar
Part of planning for the future is keeping track of your spending. I will be posting tips here that may be userful while working, but are often more important to you when you are living on a fixed income. What do I mean, hey, if you are working for the State you are living on a fixed income. At least the retirees get a pay raise each year.
Prescription Drugs: As many of you are aware, there is a lot of info out there about the new drug savings programs. Here is one that they are not talking about because it does not put money into the drug maker’s pocket. Make your individual prescription go farther by asking your doctor to prescribe a dose that is twice the amount that they want you to take. You then split the pills in half. You can pick up a pill cutter at your local drug store. Hey, the VA hospitals have been doing this for ages and they save millions of dollars each year this way. Why shouldn’t you. Keep in mind that you cannot do this with capsules, specially coated tablets, or some time release pills, but you can do it with most prescriptions. The pharmacies generally do not charge you much more for drugs with twice the active ingredient, so you save money and you don’t have to go back to the doctor or pharmacy so often. Discuss this with your doctor. This info came from the Parade Magazine on November 6, 2005.