Chances are you’ve read multiple articles about saving money on prescription drugs.  Use generics, try the mail-order route on recurring prescriptions, consider splitting pills (accurately), and be sure to run the costs through your health insurance and then your FSA.  It is all good advice, much of which you’ve heard before.

In the scheme of healthcare costs, prescription drugs are generally considered one of the “good” expenses in healthcare.  It is cheaper to treat your high blood pressure than be affected by the consequences of it, for example.  Still, within the vast realm of prescription drugs, there are many variations of choices as well as costs.  Based on reader questions and forum posts at www.healthharbor.com, we’ve compiled a list of three questions that have been asked often as of late.  Below are the questions, along with some thoughts around each issue.

1)  How much do I save by using generics instead of brand name drugs? It varies greatly, and it shouldn’t be a financial decision alone.  Some patients find that they respond differently to a generic than a brand name drug, although it could be the placebo effect at work.  In general you’ll likely save at least 50% on generic drugs, and it isn’t rare to see savings of up to 80%, so it is definitely worth considering anytime it is an option.  In addition, a consumer-friendly trend has emerged in the past couple years - the deep discounting of certain generics by major pharmacy chains to as little as $4 per month - which may make the savings even greater.  The useful interactive Discount Generic Drug Radar at http://www.healthharbor.com/DiscountDrugRadar.php can help point you in the direction of the nearest discount generics in your area.

2)  If I have a prescription for a brand name drug, can my pharmacist prescribe me the generic equivalent instead? No.  Only if your doctor, on the prescription, wrote something to the effect of “Generic OK” can a generic be substituted for the brand name.  A pharmacist has to be very literal when they fill the prescription.   That is why it is so important that you have the discussion about generic alternatives when you are talkING Directly with your doctor.

3)  Can my doctor make me come in for an office visit just to get a new prescription of a recurring medicine I take? Yes.  Doctor’s have a responsibility to make sure your prescription is still the right one for you condition, given changes in your health, other drug interactions, or other factors.  If you have a prescription that enables you to get three refills, you should be able to get your three refills without another visit.  However, when that prescription is done and you need another month’s supply, the doctor has every right (and a responsibility, actually) to see you to make sure the prescription is still calibrated to your situation.

This guest column is from Paul at www.healthharbor.com.  HealthHarbor is a site devoted to helping people be smarter consumers of healthcare.  It provides ideas and guidance on saving money on healthcare, interactive tools for controlling healthcare costs, and hosts an online community devoted to healthcare spending topics.

Short on time again this week as my company goes through its fiscal year end. It’s a busy time, which makes the days go by fast, but I’m finding out I don’t do 12-hour days as well as I used to! When not working I did manage to find a few great articles around the web, including an intriguing video.

I occasionally share small business (or side hustle, as I like to call them) ideas here with you, and found the following video inspiring. Remember when you were a kid? What did you want to be when you grew up? What got in your way? Yourself? It’s never too late to chase your dreams. And it is never too late for the spirit and ingenuity of the American entrepreneur to right this ship. It’s not up to the government; it’s up to us.

Video: Entrepreneurs Can Change the World

The Roundup

We’re In Debt: $150,679 To Be Exact. I admire the writer’s honesty by revealing their debt load, and after reading the post felt anxious for them. I, too, remember being deep in debt, thought not quite that bad. Still, anyone who has lived with significant amounts of debt knows the pressure it adds to every area of your life.   I tell people it’s like being pinned to the ocean floor by a two-ton anchor.  (@ Your Money Relationship)

The Pros and Cons of Joining a Local Food Co-Op. We never got around to starting our garden this year because of family issues and a hectic work schedule. Because of that we are missing our summer vegetables we enjoyed last year. This article presents some pros and cons of joining a co-op, something that can provide lots of local, fresh food, but at a cost. (@ Generation X Finance)

How to Combat Dread and Welcome Adventure Into Our Lives.  This is one I really need to work on. I tend to dread anything out of my routine, rather than looking at these new experiences as “adventures.” (@ My Super-Charged Life)

See How Far Your Salary Goes in Another City. Think you are paying too much for your home, or not earning enough to survive in your hometown? Check out this article which links to a CNNMoney.com tool where you can compare the cost of living in two cities. (@ Life Hacker)

Spending Moratorium Starts Wednesday. I really wanted to join Bargain Babe on this one, but unfortunately July snuck up on me too quickly. It will be interesting following along to see just how many days she can go without spending and money, save the few essentials she mentions in the post. (@ Bargain Babe)

The Cheap Garbage Bag Dilemma. Spending a lot money on garbage bags is hard for me to do. I mean, after all we are simply using them to collect stuff to throw away. But my experiences with cheap bags ripping half way to the garbage cans, or leaking and leaving a trail of rotten food juices all the way through the kitchen and garage. Nope, I’ll pay for my name-brand garbage bags. (@ The Simple Dollar)

The Basics Behind a Budget That Works.  A budget that works in the best kind of budget, which means your options are fairly open.  We budget for major household expenses with every paycheck, but keep things pretty loose when it comes to tracking smaller expenses. (@ Simple Mom)

What Your Moving Company Won’t Tell You Until You Sign the Paperwork. About five years ago we completed an out-of-town move. After making a number of trips ourselves with boxes and small furniture, movers came in to haul away the big stuff. They loaded up the truck on afternoon, and the next morning the stuff was being moved into our new house. I couldn’t help but wonder where my stuff stayed overnight, and I can related to the worries over movers holding your stuff hostage. (@ My Two Dollars)

Last weekend my wife and I took the kids to a local department store for a little back-to-school shopping a couple months early. I recently cashed in some very old credit card rewards from a card we paid off recently in exchange for a gift card to a well-known department store. Combined with a 30% store sales flier we figured we could snag a couple deals before school starts at the end of summer.

I consider myself a fairly patient dad when it comes to shopping. During most shopping excursions my son and I take up our post outside the girl’s dressing room and hold “buy” and “put back” merchandise as my wife scurries back and forth from the dressing room to the clothing racks.

During this particular visit I noticed a garbled announcement over the store’s intercom system every few minutes followed by a rowdy cheer from store employees. By the fourth of fifth time I was curious enough (and sufficiently annoyed by the irrational exuberance) to ask a nearby employee what the celebration was about. “We just signed up another credit card,” she replied enthusiastically. My sarcastic reply was, “And why are we celebrating?” She scowled and went back to folding new shirts to put on the store shelves.

After what seemed like half a day my wife and daughter emerged from the dressing room with a reasonable number of new outfits. We put back those that didn’t fit, or were a little too expensive, and made our way to the register. “Attention associates, Julie just signed up her sixth credit card. Only four more and Julie wins the referral contest!” The store immediately erupted with cheers from store associates. Had I entered the debt Twilight Zone or something?

“Would you like to sign up for a (store name shall remain anonymous to protect the not-so-innocent) card today?” No thanks, I replied. “But sir, you can save 10% off today’s purchases in addition to the sales price.” Again, I declined, and this time added, “I don’t shop with credit cards any more, and we’re paying off our remaining card.”

At this point I could see her preparing her final pitch to add another notch in her credit card sign up belt. It would probably sound something like, “If you are approved for the card you can save 10% and then pay if off when the bill arrives.” Sounds logical, I know. However, she failed to tell me if I was just one day late her department store would charge me 24.99% interest for the privilege of using their store card. No thanks.

While I am not totally “anti-credit card,” I’ve grown less and less fond of them over the last few months. It seems like every day there is a new story out about a credit card issuer raising interest rates, lowering credit limits, doubling minimum payment amounts, and other sleazy tactics. I’ve even experienced some of this myself.

Card issuer’s defense is that the impending credit card reform legislation will eat into their profits, so they are merely reacting months in advance to offset those losses. From a profit/loss perspective I get that, but I still believe a credit card company, or store, that wants to retain customers, should show them the same loyalty they ask for in return.

When I was younger I used to work at a variety of retail stores and had to push credit cards to customers. I didn’t particularly enjoy it, and I would would despise it today. There is nothing more annoying than a store employee greeting customers at the door with a clipboard filled with credit card applications. I respect stores rights to market their card, but a simple stack of applications at the register would suffice.

The following article contains condensed excerpts from $100K to Nothing - Layoff: My journey from a six figure income to the unemployment line in the worst economy of our time by Dan Holt. You can find out more about the book at www.100ktonothing.com.

Hi, I’m Dan and I’m unemployed. But it wasn’t always this way…I used to be employed, borderline overworked, and well compensated for my effort and effectiveness.

One pleasant spring afternoon, while enjoying lunch with my then 4 year old son, I received a phone call from my boss. I was not alarmed, because my boss resides on the West coast and I in Texas, so the 2 hour time difference often led to calls at odd hours. After taking a sip of water, I answered the phone and my boss paused before talking. A pause is never good. When bosses call, they speak their minds quickly so they can get on to other business. I was soon to find out how bad this pause was.

“Your position has been eliminated,” my boss said. Sure, there were some words before and after, but I don’t really remember them because these 5 words consumed my brain for the entire call-and for many weeks following. This was my first layoff, and although I am only 30 and the likelihood of another in the next 37 years is high, I hope it is my last.

After I calmed myself down, I thought about the best way to be laid off: the exit strategy that would be most beneficial to my future. I came up with these guidelines to help anyone else who faces a layoff, which seems to be everyone these days:

1. Ask for an explanation, but don’t expect or demand one. If you are laid off, you deserve a reason from your boss, but you often will not get one. Accept that fact quickly. If you belabor the point, you run the risk of harming the relationship with the person who will be your best reference to future employers-and you stand to gain little more than a vague excuse.
2. Maintain a professional image throughout the ordeal, only letting your guard down when you get home. The people you work with will also be references to give to future employers, and you need their last image of you to be as positive as possible. Crying and cursing as you’re escorted to the elevator would be a perfectly human response, but not a very strategic one.
3. Finally, let it go. Don’t spend your time over-analyzing what happened. A job search is tough, and exponentially so in this recession. You have too much work to do to waste your time thinking about the work you won’t be doing anymore.

As I read these words now, months after my downsizing, they seem simple. But at the time, there was nothing harder to do than suppress my emotions as much as I could and follow these steps. If you face it, this will be hard, but it will be the most advantageous thing you can do.

After all, telling your interviewer that she cannot contact your former employer or colleagues is a huge red flag, and with 14.5 million other unemployed people competing for the limited number of job openings, a red flag can mean elimination from the pool of applicants without even a chance to explain it.

Last week I mentioned that I was reading the book Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream, by Adam Shepard. The book chronicles the real-life journey of Shepard, who upon finishing college turned over all his worldly possessions to his brother, and began a social experiment of his own. Armed with only $25 and a mostly empty gym bag, he hit the streets of Charleston, SC to try to make it out of poverty in one year or less.

In the first 25 pages of the book you are instantly reminded of what it is like to have nothing but the clothes on your back. Actually, I shouldn’t say “reminded” because many of us have never experienced that feeling before. I’m not talking about being down and out for a few weeks, or struggling to make ends meet, I’m talking about having absolutely nothing. No car, no home, no job, no money, no food, no health care, and no network of friends to help. And from this Shepard was to rise to the ranks for the fully employed, find a place to live and sock away a respectable about of money in savings.

Besides an engaging look at what it’s really like to be homeless in America, Scratch Beginnings made me aware of a couple things that I had forgotten since becoming accustomed to a steady paycheck and having all of my basic needs met without giving it much thought. There are many people out there wondering where they will get their next meal, or their next job, or their next opportunity for work. This is especially true in this time of prolonged recession with many people finding themselves unemployed.

Shepard describes his first big win after a day of hard labor netted him $28.61. Combined with the whopping $20.27 he had left over from his $25 starter fund, this left him with $48.88 to start building a personal supply of basic items.

From the book:

Before heading to her home on the north side of town, Cicely dropped me off up the street from the EasyLabor at Family Dollar, where I made my money count. All of it. I bought six pairs of underwear, a six-pack of socks, six white undershirts, a stick of deodorant, a toothbrush, an eight-pack of Ivory soap, shampoo and conditioner, a towel, a washcloth, a roll of toilet paper for emergencies, and a week-long supply of an assortment of potted meat and crackers that I would eat for lunch.

It’s probably safe to assume this list doesn’t represent what most of our lists looked like from our most recent shopping trip. Notice there were no CDs, no bottles of expensive wines, no home decorating items, and no expensive toys. Nope, just basic necessities. Shepard was satisfying those needs for shelter, clothing and food first. Later, he would go on to add transportation, a job, and his own place to stay by sticking to his initial plan of only spending money on things that were absolutely necessary to his survival.

Most reading this are probably in much better situations than those described in the book living in the Crisis Ministries shelter in Charleston, SC. However, that doesn’t mean we cannot apply these same lessons. Intellectually, we all know that savings in merely a function of spending less than you earn. But many people are convinced a requirement for building savings is earning a lot of money. Not true.

In fact, I know plenty of examples of people who earn a ton of money and have very little, if any, savings. Conversely, I know people who earn a modest amount of money, but have healthy emergency funds and long-term savings. Scratch Beginnings really drove that point home for me, and from a frugal living perspective was the major take away from following Shepard’s story.

I would be remiss if I didn’t add a disclaimer for those interested in reading Shepard’s book. The language is raw and unedited from conversations he had with those in the shelter and at various jobs. It did not bother me, but it may not be suitable for young readers (pre-teen or younger). In a way I wish some of that had been left out of the book to expand the audience to younger people, but in the end I was glad Shepard left it in because it added to the authenticity of his experience. An experience that I hope more people will read and learn from in their struggle to lift themselves out of a life of poverty.