Friday, February 15, 2008

Saving Money on Prescriptions

Last year my husband suddenly developed terrible allergies. It took a lot of trial and error to come up with a set of prescriptions that worked for him. He now takes two different types, a pill and a nasal spray that work wonders.

The problem is that they are two of the most expensive co-pays we have with our insurance. We were paying almost $100 a month! That was pretty tough on our budget but he had to have the medicine. Without it he had a fever almost every day, had no energy and had severe cold-like symptoms.

So this year we upped the money we contribute to our Cafeteria Plan or Flex Spending Account. It is designed for medical and childcare expenses. You designate a certain amount (chosen by you) to be deducted from your income PRE-TAX each month. This reduces your taxable income therefore reducing your taxes.

The only caveat is that if you don't use all of the money by the end of the year the government gets to keep it.

I'm sure many of you already participate in programs such as this. If you don't, find out if you or your spouse's employer offers this program.

How do you save money on prescriptions?

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