Tuesday Time to Tackle: Comparing Pharmacies

Often it seems that saving money means spending time. Every so often, though, just a little bit of time spent researching ends up saving both money and time.
Our medical insurance changed recently, and I decided to learn more about their prescription-by-mail program. I had recently filled our prescriptions at our usual pharmacy (Costco), so I had the receipt in hand to compare costs. Also, I learned that Costco has a prescription-by-mail program too, and their prices are listed online. So, I spent a few minutes comparing the costs of our medications. I thought I might be able to save money by filling a 90-day supply online, instead of going to the pharmacy each month. What surprised me, though, was the difference in price between Costco and the insurance company's mail-order supplier:

$133.2--monthly medications picked up at Costco (x3)
$103.01--3-month supply of medications through Costco's mail-order program
$219.17--3-month supply of medications through the insurance company's mail-order supplier

I definitely will not be changing to the other supplier, but I will be switching to Costco's mail-order program. By switching to mail-order, I'll save about $10 a month, or $120 a year. The meds will ship for free, and the pharmacy offers an automatic refill program. I won't have to call in the refills every month, nor will I need to spend time nor gas to pick them up. Not bad for a few minutes of comparison shopping!

Have you every been surprised after comparing prices?

Thanks for choices.

Linking to: Tilly's Nest, Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop

Ten Things of Thankful: Last Two Weeks

Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, as viewed from an overlook I apologize for not commenting on your blog posts this past week; John and I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park, leaving behind our computers and, to a large extent, cell phone service. We escaped the outside world and just spent time in nature. Though we have friends near Yellowstone (who we love to visit) we made this trip just about us, so please forgive us if we were nearby and didn't stop by. The crowds were minimal (though we did mask up whenever we passed someone on the trails) and we spent our days hiking, taking photos, and watching geysers erupt. Today, we are back home and back to work, and, in the case of my computer, back to old shenanigans like not letting me import my photos. (I was able to add the above photo by using blogger on my phone, but that isn't my preferred method.) I want to write about Yellowstone and have photos I want to share, but will leave that for another

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A small snowflake ornament made of clear melted beads hangs on a Christmas tree The rhythm of time passing should not surprise me--after all, that is our experience here on earth--and yet I find myself constantly amazed at how another week/month/year has come and gone. In a blink of an eye, we are now in December and the Christmas season. I love Christmas! 1. I'm thankful for decorations. The tree is up, lights are hung, nativities adorn the house. Stockings are hung in anticipation of little ones visiting. Someone asked me this week what my tree looks like. I'm a sentimental tree decorator. I didn't even realize until not that long ago that some people have themes for their trees that are anything other than "a hodge-podge of ornaments made and collected over the years, each with a history that brings memories flooding back." At this point in my life, I have more ornaments than tree space, so not every ornament goes up each year. I always find room for the sma

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago. I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon. (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this

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