Back in November Dolittler offered tips on 10 ways to save big on your pet’s Rx bill. Many, many good ideas. I started looking at those $4 prescription lists online, but sadly I NEVER found either the clomipramine or the alprazolam on any of them at the major pharmacies or big-boxes with pharmacies inside. Very discouraging. But, last week, while picking up Lilly’s latest batch of alprazolam at Walgreens, I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask. It turns out … I can save money. Here’s how!
The original prescription was for the 6-week tryout on the alprazolam. We added it to the other drug after our behaviorist realized just how severe Lilly’s sound sensitivity is. So, I’ve been getting 6-week batches for about $26 ever since. In a year, that’s about $224.
BUT, it turns out that by getting a W Card from Walgreens ($35 for the whole family, including the dogs), I can get 180 pills (or three month’s worth) for just $12. In a year, that’s just $48. So, all I have to do is ask our veterinarian to write a new prescription for more pills. That’s it.
Why I couldn’t find this deal myself, I do not know.
It might not sound like much of a savings, but $35+$48=$83 compared to $224 is a lot to me. That’s $141, which will pay for a bunch of training classes, if we continue to take just one a month.
While I was on a roll, I also asked about the clomipramine, but for some reason that would cost nearly double what I’m currently paying through my veterinarian.
Other budgeting measures around here include:
- Keeping most electronic things unplugged (not just off) when not in use
- Drying clothes outside, rather than using the dryer
- Sharing trash service since it’s silly to pay full price for one bag per week (thanks to monster recycling)
- Driving only once per week (as much as possible)
- Dumping a monthly cell phone plan and using pay-as-you-go instead
- Breaking a bunch of long-held grocery shopping habits
- Driving an old car that’s totally paid off and very reliable
I’ve never been a big spender anyway (at least on things I consider frivolous), but I’m always looking for ways to cut expenses. The less I spend, the less stressed I am. It’s just my make-up. I can’t explain. You, therefore, won’t see me sporting fake nails or a salon manicure. You won’t suddenly find that my hair is a different color. And, other than my wedding ring, you’ll almost never see me wearing any jewelry.
Last year, someone recommended I read The Complete Tightwad Gazette. It’s somewhat outdated (having been published in 1998), but it’s interesting. While some of the ideas where WAY out there to me, others are things I’ve always done.
For example, fellow writer and blogger Leah Ingram over at Suddenly Frugal, who offers all kind of good ideas, gave a shout out recently to the humble cheese grater. I had a good giggle over that. It would NEVER occur to me NOT to grate my own cheese.
Heck, when a recipe from Elizabeth Yarnell’s new cookbook Glorious One-Pot Meals called for pomegranate molasses, I did NOT drive to the specialty food store to buy some. I bought a bottle of pomegranate juice at Costco and boiled some down myself, as Elizabeth suggests in the book (that I already touted here and purchased … see I do sometimes spend). It took all of 15 minutes to reduce the juice to the desired consistency.
So, how do you save your cash-o-la?
In case you missed it, here’s a piece I did for Clean Run on how to save money and afford agility expenses. If nothing else, the graphic is worth a look. Very funny. (Their idea, not mine.)
Although I stay within 2 or 3 brands of dog food, I usually buy something that is on sale. BARK magazine often times has $5 off coupons for AvoDerm, which my dogs really like.
Treats & goodies are many times on sale at our pet store & further discounted if you have a member’s card.
The dogs’ beds are usually large flat pillows/cushions I’ve putchased on sale at department stores or at a thrift store. I recently purchased a new bed for them from an online classified posting. It is a West Paws bed & faux suede but I bought it for a fraction of retail value.
I am a big fan of thrift stores. On a recent trip I found several great long sleeve shirts from the likes of J. Crew, Ann Taylor and Gap – around $10 for everything.
In the light of thrift stores, I’ve also taken some items to a consignment store and sold more things on sites like Craigslist.
I know. I was VERY happy to figure at least one of the meds out. Sorry K’s “natural” thyroid doesn’t have the same option.
It’s funny that I didn’t even get into building equipment yourself. That’s what we’ve done too … especially since like you we have a long drive to an agility field and because Lilly typically won’t train at those places anyway.
Thanks for visiting, Leah. I’ve always loved your blog.
Wow, you managed big savings at Walgreens. K’s thyroid med is a very fancy ‘natural’ kind, and we’ve tried the cheaper kind and it doesn’t work for her. So, I called Walgreen’s but they don’t carry it. Bummer.
Also, although I’m not an agility competitor, I love playing agility with my dogs. However, the nearest agility course is more than an hour’s drive away and buying my own equipment is expensive. I didn’t see it in your article – but I’ve saved a lot of money by making my own equipment (with help from someone more handy than I am).
Thanks for the shout out to my Suddenly Frugal blog.
We’ve a CVS kind of town but I’m increasingly impressed with Walgreens. I wrote a recent blog posting how Walgreens + Snapfish allowed me to save big bucks on my holiday cards:
http://suddenlyfrugal.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/belated-holiday-wishes/
Leah