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How to Save Money On Doctor Bills
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate was at 9.7% last month. Some local unemployment rates are even higher. When money is tight, many of us are forced to make tough choices. Our natural instinct is generally to start with the expenses that take the biggest bites out of our budgets and work from there. One of those big expenses is, unfortunately, health insurance.
I recently heard an advertisement for a health insurance company on television. They said that their premiums started as low as $100 a month. Since I am self insured I know that is a good rate. I cannot help but wonder, however, how many Americans are trying to decide between that $100 a month health insurance premium and having that money to put towards a mortgage or to put food on the table.
Today I came across an article on MSN Money about places where the uninsured can find health insurance. You can read it here.
In addition to the more affordable health care access options mentioned in the MSN article, some pharmacies will offer a cash discount on prescriptions if you do not have insurance, even if you pay with a debit or credit card. Some also have state sponsored prescription discounts available upon request. It never hurts to ask. Prescription drug company AstraZeneca also offers their own patient assistance program. Read more here. Another way to save on medications is the same way you save on groceries, purchase a generic brand. To do so, ask your pharmacist if a generic brand is available for your prescription.
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How to cook when you are tired.
It's been a long day. You're tired. You really don't feel like cooking, but you know you have to do it. Everyone is hungry because it was another late day at the office for you. What do you do? There are actually several different techniques for dealing with days like this. Here are some ideas....
Slow Cooking
If you have just a few minutes to spare in the morning you can come home to a fully prepared meal. Dust off your crock pot and throw in some meat, vegetables, and maybe some chicken broth or a "cream of" soup (cream of celery, cream of mushroom, etc.). You may need more than one can of soup depending upon the size of your crock pot. I like to use "chunky' type vegetables that cook well for the crock pot. Examples are carrots, celery and potatoes. Allow to cook on low while you are at work.
Here is an example of a crock pot meal that my mother taught me....
Ingredients: A chunk of pot roast beef about the size of a football (Use chuck, brisket, top round, bottom round or rump, whatever is on sale), a one pound bag of baby carrots, 2 or 3 cans of cream of celery soup and two to three soup cans of water (depending upon the size of your crock pot).
Directions: Carefully dump all ingredients into the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.
This recipe will feed me and my husband for two days or more. I use canned or steam in bag vegetables for side dishes. They are quick and easy to fix.
Pizza, wraps or quesadillas
These are great ways to use up leftovers. I have written about these in a previous blog post, but I want to mention them again here briefly. These are my go-to "I haven't planned ahead and don't have time to cook" foods because they are so easy. You can find ready-made pizza crusts and sauce and flour tortillas in your local grocery store. If you are really pressed for time you can even find a loaf of pre-made french bread at your local grocery store's bakery and use that as a pizza crust.
Sub sandwiches.
You can create a buffet-style line in your household and serve sub sandwiches for a very quick and easy meal solution.
Freeze ahead meals
Meals such as lasagna can be pre-made, thawed and eaten. Do a google search for "freeze ahead meals" or "prepare ahead meals" for recipes, tips, tricks and suggestions.
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Plan ahead to save time
Have you ever found yourself wishing that there were more hours in the day? Are you frustrated because you are constantly losing your keys, cell phone, bills, television remote, etc? Have you started your car, ready to race to work because you're late again, only to find that you've used your last drop of gas? If so, rest assured that you are not alone. Many people have trouble with time management because they have not yet found a way to get organized.
Organization may seem like something out of a fairy tale to you right now, but bear with me. It's all about baby steps. Below are a few practical tips to get you going in the right direction
[ Click here to read more ]
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Unemployment and Student Loans
You worked hard, finally made it through college and, at last, landed a job. That job, however, was short lived for whatever reason, or maybe not. Maybe the downward spiral of the economy just made you the victim of corporate downsizing. Whatever the reason, now you are unemployed and still have that student loan payment looming over your head. Well, don't worry. There is hope. You just need to know what to do in order to give yourself a little financial breathing room.
One of my favorite websites for navigating the mayhem of student loan repayment is youcandealwithit.com, a service of American Education Services. It details several options for repaying student loans when you feel like you are in over your head. You can find them here and here. American Education Services also provides helpful tools for getting back on track with your repayment here
[ Click here to read more ]
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Save the Planet and Your Budget
Most of us care about the limited resources in our planet. Not all of us, however, can afford to drive hybrid cars, install solar panels in our homes and the like. There are, however, small things that we can all do every day to reduce waste and pollution. Surprisingly enough some things can be beneficial to both the environment and our wallets.
Many of us have heard the slogan "reduce, reuse, recycle
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Generic Brand Product Lines
Product prices for generic brands are less expensive than those for name brands. Have you ever wondered, however, who manufactures generic, private store label products?
Today I was thinking back to the Wal-Mart Great Value brand peanut butter salmonella recall of 2007. (Click here to read FDA FAQ about the recall). Some of the peanut butter was manufactured by Conagra Foods, the parent company of Peter Pan name brand peanut butter. Yet, when I visited the Conagra Foods brand name page, I could not find the Great Value brand listed as one of the products they produce
[ Click here to read more ]
MPmomof3
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