Before you buy something always ask yourself, do I really need this?

There is SO much you can do, I can’t reply in this forum.

When my husband and I first got married we both worked. However, recently, I became a stay-at-home mom.

I had to learn QUICKLY how to budget and save, and I have found there are MANY ways to do this.

If you really sit down and examine what you spend. You may notice you WASTE alot of money. I know we did.

You may want to start of by sitting down and putting together an excel spreadsheet of your income and your monthly “obligations” and when I say obligations, I mean BILLS. Mortgage/rent, car insurance, note, etc.

If you see that you should have money left over, the next step is to figure out how that leftover money can be used wisely.

You can email me for more, if you’d like.

First and foremost, saving and spending wisely is a mental game.
We overspend not because we are so stupid that we can’t add, divide, subtract or multiply - we overspend because we can control emotions.

But about the tips…I use only cold hard cash.
I divide my monthly available income by 30 and keep that amount in cash in my wallet for the day.
Specialists say that the biggest problem is that “plastic” has made money immaterial; keeping cash, you see what you do.

Also put your credit and debit cards in a cup of water and freeze it, so, when you need it, you have to thwart before you’re able to use.
This way, most of the impulse to buy wears off.

Regarding the bargains, they are usually to way to buy things we don’t need for the best price.

Have fun!

we take two hundred out of each payroll
and put it the back we can’t get it until we
retire

always pay yourself first each pay period and stay out of debt!!!!

Saving Money on Your Prescription Drugs: Good and Bad Ideas
Learn about safe and effective ways to save money: from generic medicine to mail order pharmacies.
By R. Morgan Griffin
WebMD FeatureReviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MDFeel like the bill for your prescription drugs just keeps getting higher every time you go to the pharmacy? You could be right. Since 1990, U.S. spending for prescription drugs has increased by five times. In roughly the same period of time, retail prices of medications have risen almost 8% every year — three times higher than the rate of inflation.

If you’re trying to save on your prescription drugs, you’re hardly alone. The good news is that there are a lot of popular, safe, and effective ways to do it. The bad news is that there are a lot of popular, not-so-safe and not-so-effective ways, too. To help you sort the good ideas from the bad, WebMD got some advice from prescription drug experts.

Good Idea: Talk to Your Doctor About Switching to a Generic Medicine
One of the smartest ways to get cheap prescription drugs is to switch from a brand name to a generic. “Generic drugs can offer a huge savings to patients,” says Kevin Schulman, MD, professor of medicine and business administration at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. On average, brand-name drugs are three times more expensive than generic drugs.

“Depending on the drugs you take, you could conceivably save hundreds of dollars a month by switching to generics,” says Richard Sagall, MD, president and co-founder of NeedyMeds, a Philadelphia nonprofit that provides information about financial assistance for drugs.

There are a lot of generic options, too. “Sixty percent of all prescriptions in the U.S. are generic,” Schulman says. More are available all the time. “Some of the generics we have now were brand name drugs just two or three years ago,” Schulman tells WebMD. So when you go to the doctor next, ask if any of your high-priced prescription medicines now have a generic equivalent.

Bad Idea: Switch to an Alternative or Herbal Medication
The magazine ads and infomercials can be pretty tempting. Why not try out an “herbal” or “natural” alternative to high-priced prescription drugs? But while they might be cheaper, they might also be completely ineffective or, worse, dangerous.

“It’s really confusing for people, because they just don’t realize that herbal products are not regulated at all,” says Schulman. Despite whatever claims are made in the ads, no one is testing these supplements to see if they work.

“Using one of these supplements to treat a serious medical condition could be life-threatening,” says Schulman. Don’t do it.
Good Idea: Get Higher-Dosage Pills and Split Them in Half
Some medications cost about the same, per pill, no matter what the dosage. An 80-milligram tablet of a drug might cost no more than a 40-milligram tablet. This quirky pricing gives you a big opportunity to save. Your doctor could write a prescription for double the dosage you actually need. Once you get the pills, you just split them in half with a pill cutter. And, presto, you’ve got two pills for the price of one — more or less.

However, not all medications can be split safely. For instance, drugs that have special coatings or are slow-release should never be cut in half: you could wind up with side effects or a dosage that’s too high. Your doctor will be very cautious in suggesting which of your pills can be cut, if any.

Bad Idea: Halve Your Dosages
This is another do-it-yourself solution to saving on prescription drug costs, and it’s a really bad idea. People try to stretch out a prescription by splitting their prescribed dose in half, or taking it every other day instead of every day. Sure, they think, it’s not ideal, but it saves money and gives them at least some of the drug’s benefit, right?

Wrong. It might have no benefit. It might even be dangerous.

“Reducing your dose, without talking to your doctor, is really one of the worst ways to save money,” says Schulman. “Some medications can be life-threatening if you don’t take them exactly as directed, or if you stop taking them abruptly.” In some cases, it might be safer not to take the medicine at all than to take half the dose, says Sagall.

You should never stop taking any medication without first talking to your doctor.

Good Idea: Use a Mail Order Pharmacy for Prescription Drugs
Getting discount prescription drugs from mail order pharmacies is another good way to save money. If you have insurance, your health plan might work with a company that provides cheaper mail order prescription drugs in bulk. Other mail order pharmacies cater to the uninsured; provided you meet the income eligibility, you can get drugs at steep discounts. Mail order pharmacies save you trips to the pharmacy, and that’s especially important for people who are homebound.

Bad Idea: Use an Internet Pharmacy Advertised in an Email
You have to be very cautious when it comes to Internet pharmacies, says Schulman. No matter how slick the site looks, it might be phony. Some fraudulent online pharmacies sell expired or counterfeit medicines. The FDA says you should never buy from an Internet pharmacy that is outside the U.S. or that does not require a prescription. And even if a pharmacy meets those requirements, you should still be wary.

Good Idea: Review With Your Doctor All of the Prescription Drugs That You Take
Over the years, it’s easy to rack up a lot of prescriptions. That’s why, every once in a while, it’s important to take stock of all the medicines you take with your doctor, Schulman says. Maybe you don’t need them all anymore.