Saving on Perscriptions

I heard about this today on the news in Wichita. They just started the $4 drugs here. Here's more info. from a reader.
Tawra


Hi Tawra and family---

Thank you AGAIN for all the wonderfully helpful info we get from your stuff! What a gift form the Lord!

Just wanting to check on whether this deal is in your family’s area, or others……and to humbly request that it be posted to all of your readers if it’s new info:

!. At Wal-Mart in our area (Indiana), they’re giving Prescriptions for only $4 for ALL GENERICS:

And,

2. At Meijer in our area, they’re seeing that program drain their business so much that they’ve started giving 7 kinds of Antibiotics FREE to anyone with a doctor’s prescription for ‘em.

The list is: Amoxicillin; the generic for Keflex; the generic for Cipro; Bactrim’s generic; Ampicillin; Penecillin VK; and Erythromycin.

It worked just fine for family yesterday…..we proud owners of a free antibiotic today. Praise God!

Praying for Him to bless and protect you---and all your loved ones.

In Him,

Mrs. K. Rhoades

Birthday Presents

Check out our Halloween E-book special. Halloween On A Dime on $3.00 until Oct. 27.


Mom came up with a cute idea. She found a Furby book for BJ whose birday is in two weeks.

Well, he already had the book so she tore it apart and decoupaged a box with it. Then she is going to fill it with Furbies for him. He will have the furbies and a furby box to store it in!

The only problem was she put a plastic grocery sack on top of it and the red ink rubbed off on the box. Now she is having to go with a Q-tip and take it off with mineral spirits.

The moral of the story... if you do this project don't set a grocery sack on top!

Tawra

We are on a quest!

Ok, we are on a quest to get the rest of our debt paid off! I have no idea how it's going to work but we are going to go for it!

We had medical bills from the year David was born and then we foolishly bought a car for more than we could afford the same year.

That was a really bad year and honestly my defenses were down and I didn't feel like "fighting" anything anymore So..... I caved in and we bought a car for $6,000.

We did think about it and look for several months and did get an excellent deal. Mike was supposed to be hired on his new job in 2 weeks so we thought we would have it paid off in no time. Well, the new job decided they would pay him $30,000 instead of the $40,000 like they had said when they first hired him (he was working part-time getting ready to go full-time).

He went ahead and took the job because we thought it was the lesser of two evils at the time and they said they would give him the $40,000 we needed in 3 months. Of course they never did and we foolishly believed that they would.

It's been on 0% interest the entire time but we have decided it's time to get it gone. We started at $9,000 for both the car and medical bills and we are down just below $5,000 now.

Then we have the camera to pay off that Mike broke and some video equipment. We have to pay that as personal debt now if Mike is going to get a permanent job and not do independent stuff. Another 7K there.

How are we going to do it? Hum.... good question. :-)

First Mike sold the dead camera on e-bay and got $500! Yeah!

Second Mike is going to work as many hours as he can at the station right now while they need him.

Third I think we are going to be putting a bunch of stuff on sale on the website until Christmas. I think we will also give some really good deals on some new e-books that we are producing.

I have no idea how much either of these things will bring in and help us pay it off or how we are going to do it. Right now we are meeting ourselves coming and going as it is.

It's funny we don't do anything extra, no kids activities, no church right now, no hobbies, nothing and we are just overwhelmed. Part of the problem is Mike is working at the TV station, working on Living On A Dime and trying to apply for jobs all while taking care of the kids when I'm sick. He's having to be a one man band almost.

I do know that we just feel this prompting from God that we are supposed to get it paid off and get out from under it. So.... I am going to trust Him that he will bring in the funds to do it for us!

If nothing else maybe we will put out a plea on the newsletter for everyone to send us $3! You always hear about people doing that. Maybe it would work for us! LOL

Wish us luck!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com


Check out our Halloween E-book special. Halloween On A Dime on $3.00 until Oct. 27."! Our special price is only going to be until Oct.27 so get it today while you can!

GIFT-GIVING WITH AN ATTITUDE!

GIFT-GIVING WITH AN ATTITUDE!

By Shelly Burke, RN

Author of Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom’s Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home.

www.homeiswherethemomis.com

It’s that time again--make a list, check it twice . . . and try to squeeze out something for everyone--on a limited budget. This year, I’ve resolved to change my attitude. Instead of “Poor me, my finances are limited so I’ll have to shop only clearance tables . . . “ my attitude is, “It’s a fun challenge to find a great gift for my friends and loved ones--and stay within my budget!” Here are some of the techniques I’m going to use.

Re-gifting. Formerly a dirty word, now it’s a standard in our family--everyone must give at least one re-gifted item. We all know about it, so it’s not like we’re trying to sneak it in. Our stipulation, and the challenge, is that it must be something the person will like. I’m going to give a book I’ve read to one sister (I loved it and she will too), an organizer to another (it wasn’t right for me), a Christmas CD to my mom (I have too many to play during any one holiday season!), and scented lotion to my dad (he‘s a practical joker so this time the joke‘s on him!). It’s not too late to make re-gifting part of your gift-giving this year!

Photographs. I’m a scrap booker, so I have many, many extra photos in my craft room. Some of them will be put in to collage frames (bought on sale!). Some will be made into refrigerator magnets. Some will go into scrapbooks (bought on sale at craft stores)--casual pictures of a granddaughter’s wedding for my grandmother, special ones of grandchildren for other grandparents, funny pictures for my dad. Other not-quite-scrapbook quality pictures will be made into calendars for relatives so they can enjoy our activities all year (purchase blank calendars at craft stores, office supply store, or make your own on the computer). My children are in charge of making the calendars, and they love looking through the pictures taken during the year.

If you don’t have a lot of extra pictures but want to give one of these gifts, pick a day to take a bunch of pictures of your everyday family activities. Let the kids take some for a view of family life from their perspective, too. Some photos can be posed, some funny. Don’t forget the pets! Grandparents and other relatives love to receive photos of their loved ones.

Gift certificates with a twist--they’re free! Give loved ones gift certificates for things like foot rubs, an afternoon “off” (for a busy mom), a box of cookies or muffins every month (perhaps for an elderly person who doesn’t bake), or an outing of their choice (for your children). Or, teach a skill--we gave my mother-in-law a camera along with gift certificates for “camera and photography training.” Kids can give their parents gift certificates for “cleaning the kitchen” or other household chores.

Recipes. Share your favorite recipes with a new bride or recent college graduate. Print or type them on fancy recipe cards and put them in a nice recipe box. Or, collect favorite recipes from all family members, young and old. Print them in book form and give a book to every member of the family.

Jar mixes. Soup, cookie, flavored coffee, hot chocolate, and brownie mixes are fun to put together and great gifts for teachers. Choose several recipes try (search “jar mixes” on the internet) and make a list of the ingredients you’ll need. Search for coupons for the ingredients or watch for sales on them. For a group project, assign a group of friends to bring different ingredients and spend the afternoon assembling the mixes. Kids will love to help with this project. Make a few extra to have on hand for hostess gifts or last-minute gifts. If you don’t give them away, enjoy them yourself!

Clearance racks--with a twist! Don’t just search the clearance tables at discount stores. I’ve found office supplies and fancy coffees and mugs on the clearance shelf at grocery stores. At an upscale clothing store I recently found a fancy jacket, originally priced at $90, marked down to $14.99--with another 30% off! You might have to search a long time to find that great of deal, but they’re out there if you have the patience to look.

Use these tips for gift-giving with an attitude--a fun, money-saving attitude.

Shelly Burke, RN, is the author of Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom’s Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home. To read an excerpt or download a FREE goal-making guide and goal-sheet, go to www.homeiswherethemomis.com. Shelly works to bring encouragement to all moms, especially at-home moms. Home is Where the Mom Is provides Godly inspiration, encouragement, and “real life” advice to all moms. Shelly believes that moms need to take time to care for themselves, so they can better care for those around them, and that although “experts” can offer valuable advice, moms know what they and their family need better than any expert. These points are carried throughout her book. Shelly’s next book, What Should I Say? Finding the Right Words for Life’s Stickiest, Trickiest, and Most Uncomfortable Situations, will be available in the spring of 2007.

Cheap Treat

I was dropping David off at Mom's Day out today and drove by Wendy's. They had a sign for their trick or treat gift certificates. It was 5 Frosty's for $1. Wow, that's a good deal!

I was thinking I may get some just for us to use as a "special treat" sometime!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Save Money by Preparing for Sick Days!

Save Money by Preparing for Sick Days!

Cold and flu season is upon us! If you are not prepared you face spending outrageous amounts of money making a late night stop at an all-night convenience store, and/or shopping with a sick, cranky child. Stock up on “sick day” supplies to save your sanity, time, and money.

Medications

Make a list of the medications you prefer to use to treat pain and fever, cold symptoms, diarrhea, constipation, nausea and vomiting, and so on, and purchase them in the age-appropriate form (drops, liquid, chewable, tablets) for every member in your family.

Become familiar with the ingredients in combination medications (those that treat several symptoms--sore throat and cough, for example). Acetaminophen, for example (more commonly known by the brand name Tylenol) is an ingredient in many combination medications. If you give the combination medication along with a separate dose of acetaminophen, you may be giving an overdose of acetaminophen.

Go through your medications once or twice a year to make sure they have not passed their expiration date, and to make sure they are still in the age-appropriate form for your children.

Be sure to have an ample supply of prescription medications to treat chronic illnesses like diabetes or asthma. When a child or adult with a chronic illness becomes sick, he or she might require more medication, or medication of a different kind.

Other Pharmacy Items

Electrolyte replacement fluid and/or Popsicles for infants and toddlers who have diarrhea and/or vomiting.

Thermometer and probe covers.

Humidifier and distilled water.

Tissues.

Lotion for sore noses.

Throat-numbing spray.

Comfort foods

Soup, mashed potatoes, rice, applesauce, jello, pudding, Popsicles, ice cream, toast, animal crackers . . . anything that will help your children, or you (when you are the sick one), feel better.

Sanity-Preserving Items

These items will keep your children occupied when they’re on the road to wellness, but bored, or when you are sick and need to keep them busy.

When they’re on sale, purchase a supply of DVDs, coloring books, markers, crayons, stickers, pads of blank paper, simple craft projects, electronic games, and so on. Keep hidden until they’re needed!

When you hear that a bug is going around school, or your mother’s instinct tells you that your children are on the verge of getting ill, check these supplies and stock up as necessary! You’ll be as ready as you can be to cope with the next sick days.

***
Shelly Burke, RN, is the author of Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom’s Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home. Home is Where the Mom Is is the most comprehensive resource for all moms, especially at-home moms. The above article is an excerpt from Home is Where the Mom Is. Shelly believes moms need to care for themselves, first, so they can better care for those around them. To read an excerpt of Home is Where the Mom Is, go to www.homeiswherethemomis.com. Shelly’s next book, What Should I Say? Finding the Words for Life’s Stickiest, Trickiest, Most Uncomfortable Situations, is due out in the spring of 2007.

Wow How God Works!

I hadn't mentioned this to anyone yet but our garbage disposable broke two days ago. After spending 2 hours tearing it apart, putting it back together and then having it leak all over we had to get a new one. (Mike lost 4 hours of work messing with it! ) It's one of those things that you can go without but we had a huge plumbing mess and it was going to be about the same to get a new one or re-do the plumbing to go without.

Now our "new" toilet is messed up and we have to get a different one! The story is below. :-)

We really didn't want to spend the money on that and we wanted to use it to pay off debt. We even decided that we wouldn't buy each other an Anniversay gift (it's this weekend) and instead would use the money to put toward our debt. (Well, I will be getting a candle. Oops! :-)

We went ahead and had to fix it and just said "God will take care of it!" Well, He did alright!

We recieved a check in the mail that we hadn't expected from someone who just wanted to give us a Love offereing! It will cover both expenses!

Wow! Yet another lesson in Trusting God!
Tawra

Heads up for Aldis shoppers!

Last October I got a jar candle at Aldi's. It was the BEST smelling thing! It was just like a Yankee Candle but only $5.95 instead of $20!

Well, they never got anymore in, until this week! Yeah!!!!!!

I was so excited I bought three different flavors and will have Mike give them to me for holidays that are coming up! :-) (yes, I do buy gifts for myself and have him save them until later to give. :-)

If you like Yankee Candles give them a try! The ones I got at Aldi's were 3 layers in each jar and YUMMY smelling!!

Tawra

www.LivingOnADime.com

Boys clothes for .10 each! Yeah!

This weekened we went to a garage sale. They had tons of boys clothes but they weren't in any kind of order.

I just breezed past them because I hate looking through a bunch of clothes all mixed together.

Well, we knew the lady and we were talking to her and she said "you need any clothes?"

I said "yes, what size do you have?"

Well, she had 4 and 5T for David. A TON of winter clothes for him. We sat and dug through then and then I asked her how much.

She told me ".10 each!" Can you believe it!

That was my bargin for the weekend!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

I am returning a toilet.

Ok, I can't believe I am going to do this but I am going to take out the new toilet we put in a couple of weeks ago and return it!

Our toilet broke a few weeks ago so we decided to get a new one and not repair it. Well, with Mike applying for jobs in Colorado we weren't sure how long we were going to be in this house so we just bought a cheap one. It was called the "Toilet to Go".............................. Done laughing yet? :-)

Anyway, the "Toilet to Go" had everything included, so supposedly you didn't have to buy the extras like the seat and the wax ring etc.

Well the stupid thing is the worst toilet I have ever seen! Augh! First we have to unclog it about 3-5 times a week, even being careful, if you know what I mean. Second, when you flush it and the lid isn't down it sprays water ALL OVER THE PLACE!

Mike said I should tell the people I'm returning it because it's squirts water in your face! LOL

What's even funnier is my sister in law works at the store we got it at. She said "bring it back, but not between 9 and 2! hehehe

I simply can not believe that I am going to return a toilet! LOL

Tawra
(who hopes Oprah doesn't decide to show up the day she does this. :-)

www.LivingOnADime.com

New site.

This might be a good site for some of you.
Enjoy! Tawra


SAVING TIME AND MONEY AT THE GROCERY STORE
…in the electronic age

Most experts agree that customer loyalty in the grocery sector is virtually dead. Ten years ago it was somewhat unusual for a consumer to drive past the closest grocery store to shop at a competing store. Today, within a few mile radius, eight supercenters and chains can be fighting it out, in a market, which the experts might say can only support three or four. So while the chains struggle to find their niche and battle on price, the price conscious shopper benefits.

It’s a critical juncture for the grocers. Food price inflation has softened and along with flat demand, has caused profit margins to decrease in the supermarket channel. Many industry observers believe that the supermarket industry has failed to believe that the so-called “time-crunched” shopper will, in fact, travel to a number of stores to find the deals and products they are looking for. And gas prices be damned, they will do so even if it means extending the overall duration of their shopping trip. Today, the fragmentation of the grocery-shopping trip is an undeniable trend in the industry. So, today’s grocery shopper is prepared to use their feet and cars to save money but more than ever they are using their fingers, their laptops and even their handhelds to save significant dollars, every week.

In general, today’s consumer has turned into the “pre-shopper extraordinaire”. Whether it’s clothing, electronics, automotive or computer, the consumer will do her homework first, on-line. Comparison shopping sites rule the internet allowing shoppers to learn more about the products they wish to purchase and then find the best price. With the growth of e-commerce, price comparison has become the dominant theme for on-line shoppers. So the comparison- shopping world has become the focus of a new breed of buyer,” the prosumer”, the proactive consumer.

Now it’s time to welcome the grocery “prosumer” to the electronic age. For ions, the sharp grocery shopper has saved by comparing prices in the weekly flyers/circulars that arrive on your doorstep, via your daily newspapers. Flyer production is a multi-billion dollar business and research indicates that an amazing 67%(Newspaper Association of America) of female heads of households use the flyers to plan their shopping trips. Similarly, manufacturers across the United States offered $375 billion, that’s right billion, in paper coupons last year, everything from peanut butter to laundry detergent.

Until recently, the planning component required effort to manually sift through the weekly circulars to identify the best deals and to prepare the shopping list.
But things are changing and changing fast. Free on-line services are now available
where weekly advertised deals are right at the consumers fingertips with the shopping list only a few keystrokes away.

Consumers can select the stores they shop at, make a list of the products they want and then search for the best deals or they can simply skim the flyers by store, similar to the way they used to look at the paper flyers. They can also search by brand or category. The output is a shopping list that breaks down the purchases they wish to make by store and shows the savings at each store, as well as the overall savings.

So for grocery savings in the electronic age, it can be as easy as “click, pick and save”.


Paul Davis, CEO, mygrocerydeals.com
www.mygrocerydeals.com

Can't win for loosing! :-)

Well, after 6 hours of trying to find a pharmacy that would carry the bedwetting drug and 3 calls to the doctor for perscription mess-ups I got the meds!

I was so excited. BJ would have it for camping at school and I wouldn't have laundry the next morning.

Wrong!

Poor kid, he said "Dad I woke up and everything was soaked. I smelled it and it didn't smell like potty it smelled like rain water."

It had rained and flooded the tent he and two other boys were in. They were in 3 inches of water and slept right through it! LOL

My excitement over more laundry quickly left when Mike called and said to come and get the wet stuff.

It wouldn't have been so bad but I am sick again (actually I don't think I ever got totally well) with a sinus infection or bad cold.

Thankfully my mom came up and helped out cause I was just so sick I couldn't get off the couch.

Augh! The good news is, is last night at home he took the meds and (DRUM ROLL PLEASE)......... He didn't we the bed!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!

I am a new woman!

Tawra

Ask and Recieve.

The kids went to VBS at a friends church this summer and just loved it. They have been listening to the CD and going to the webiste all the time. It was called Artic Edge.

Well, BJ wanted an Artic Edge T-shirt for his birthday, in 3 weeks.

I just can't bring myself to pay full price for it so I looked on e-bay. I found 3 for $7 plus $4.50 shipping. Elly said she wanted one too and my neice would like one so that wouldn't be too bad.

Well, I called my friend and told her how I found it and she said "wait a minute I have one." Sure enough she had one that I could have that she never wore! So I can get a free one for BJ at least!

Yeah!! That makes up for the shoe flop! (see below)

I am going to call the church and see if they have any extras they are going to get rid of for the other two kids.



Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Job Hunt.

Well, we decided to have Mike look for a job again. He was "sort of looking" and applying as things came up but now he is going to be looking as if he is unemployed. :-)

We just aren't bringing in enough from the book stuff to make it worth him doing that. Beside we are driving each other crazy! :-) We love each other but realize that living and working together 24/7 just isn't our cup of tea.

He is going to be looking for video producer postions in Colorado and see what comes up.
Keep your fingers crossed!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Took BJ to the doctor.

We say the P.A. who is much nicer than the doctor we normally see.

Anyway, she gave us a perscription for the nasel spray to help stop bed wetting. We are going to try it and hopefully it will work.

The bad news is out of about 100 pharmacies in our city not one has it on hand! I am franticly trying to get ahold of the P.A. who of course is at lunch right now to see if he can take the generic. I don't know why he couldn't, I think it was just a mistake on her part to mark "generic ok".

I need to get it in the next few hours because they have an overnight camping trip for school and he would really like to try it for that. Poor kid, I can't tell if it's really bothering him or not or how worried he is about it. I just know that it would be hard to know that you do that and then have to go on a camping trip for school.

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Big Flop!

I bought a pair of tennis shoes at Walmart and the silly things only last 2 months! Augh! $14.95 down the drain.

Well, I was excited because I found a pair brand new shoes at the DAV, right size, right color, brand new perfect but they were $7. I never pay that much for shoes at the thrift store but since they were new and I really needed them I went ahead and got them.

I wore them the first day and the leather cracked into pieces! Augh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So now I'm out $7. They must have been sitting in someone's closet for awhile and dry rotted.

Oh well, I guess I have more than made up for it in other savings but it just the idea of it!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Print Versions of the new booklets.

I had a couple of people ask when the print versions will be available of our new budgeting, how to transfer credit cards and mom's story booklets.

It kind of depends. We are having a slow time right now and the business isn't giving us as much income as we need. Thankfully Mike is working part time to cover it but that means we don't have as much to spend on printing new stuff.

We have made the decision to not take out a loan to pay for the new books so it will depend on how long it takes to raise the money. I am "hoping" that we can have them out by the first of the year but not sure.

That's why we are going to run the big sale. For the folks who want the e-book version that will give them a good deal and hopefully give us the funds to print the others.

Tawra
www.Livingonadime.com

HUGE SALE SOON!!

This is just a heads up to let everyone know we are going to be having a huge sale on our e-books in the next few weeks.

We are going to be releasing our new budgeting e-book and to celebrate and raise funds for a print version we are going to give a great deal on some of our other e-books.

The e-book on budgeting is how to get your finances in order. We are giving advice from Mike and I who have a higher income and then also how mom does it with just $500 a month.


We will put it on the website, on the blog and our newsletters so be watching for it!

Tawra
www.livingonadime.com

Is buying name brand expensive clothes worth it?

I was so excited! I found Mike some new Eddie Bauer jeans for $4.98 at the thrift store. (check them out here.)

Wow, they look so good on him I think I'm going to try for that brand all the time!

They had a segment on TV this morning about "does cheap things last as long as expensive". They did shoes and T-shirts in their experiment.

No, they didn't last as long but the $16 shoes lasted long enough that it wasn't worth paying $160 for the Addis.

I keep saying this over and over but once again, why pay more? I will just trash it and get a new pair! I can get 10 pairs for the price of one. That would be 5 years worth of shoes for me new at retail. (I'm hard on them and most don't last more than 6 months). More than that if I get them at the thrift store!

Of course the moral I got from this story was buy the good stuff from the thrift store and get the nice clothes for 1/10th of the price! :-)


Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Thanks for all the bed wetting help!

I'm finally out of bed! Yeah! Wow, I got hit hard this time. I was in bed for 5 days straight with strep and then a bad cold. Last two days I have been up, still kind of week but at least I'm not flat in bed anymore.

I finally got caught up on some of the laundry.

I will get pull-ups for our 3 year old. I'm not oppssed to using them it's just that when we used them before he treated them like a diaper. He wouldn't go poop in the toilet and would hold it for his diaper or pull-up so that's why we went cold turkey 4 weeks ago.

Right now I'm waiting to make sure that it's ingrained in him and then I will try them again.

My oldest I'm not sure what to do. I don't think he would go for the Good Nights but he might. I am going to try some of the other suggestions and see if that helps.

Thanks so much for all the help!!
Tawra

Bed Wetting Help!

My almost 9 yr. old still wets the bed. He will go 6 months and not do anything and then start again and go every night. It's usually the worst after school starts (he's worn out) and when the seasons change or he gets sick.

He is a VERY deep sleeper.

We have even been getting him up in the night and he still wets it.

I am at my wits end! I am so sick from my strep and now I have a cold that I just want to collapse.

Now I have 4 days worth of bed wetting from two kids! Augh! In the last 30 days I have had at least 2 wet beds at least 25 days! I am going insane! (My 3 yr old won't stay dry at night either yet.)

What can you do beside getting them up. I had heard of a med and an alarm do they work?

I hate to do the alarm because we don't get much sleep around here as it is and the way our house is set it up it will wake up all five of us.

Help!!!!! Any ideas?

Tawra

Dining On A Dime: Eat Better, Spend Less!

www.LivingOnADime.com