ASK how much the place charges!
In the local Kroger sales paper this week they had a coupon for a $25 gift card with the transfer of a prescription. I also had the same deal for CVS. The Kroger one expired on the 11th, and the CVS one on the 28th.
I decided that I'd go with the Kroger one because $25 at Kroger would get me more useful groceries than at CVS.
The last time I had my scrip filled it cost me $31 at Walgreens. I *assumed* it would be a similar price at Kroger, so I dropped off my bottle to transfer the prescription without asking how much it would be.
Well, today after church I stopped by to pick it up. It was $43!!!!! My jaw was hanging open. There wasn't anything I could do at that point since they'd already filled it .. so I paid for it.
Something interesting that they're doing now. Instead of giving you a gift card with the money loaded on it, they load the credit onto your Kroger savings card.
That is a very sensible cost saving and environmental measure. Too bad that I will probably only visit Kroger one more time to use my credit, thanks to the WAY overpriced meds.
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I have a potentially sticky situation. My dad has been very generous to me, especially since I was laid off in February. Every so often I'll find a letter from him with a check in it. I have never asked for it, and have even told him that as much as I appreciate it, I'm really okay without it.
Well, as I've mentioned before, I will be having a hotel stay near the end of August for school. On Friday I received a letter from my dad with a $300 check in it. That more than covers the hotel expense plus a good bit more.
I called to tell him thank you and for our usual weekly chat. He told me that 200 of it was from my grandma.
Later, he put me on with my grandma. I expressed to her my appreciation and we chit chatted a bit. Then she told me that she'd had some big ideas lately for me. I asked her what those were.
She told me that she thought I should trade my car in under the Cash for Clunkers program. I tried to tell her that I doubted my car would qualify for it, nor that I'd be able to afford a car which would get better gas mileage.
(I have a 97 Honda Civic which gets between 28 and 32 mpg.)
She insisted that even though my experience told me that I get at least 28 or 29 mpg, that I should check out the program. So .. I told her that I would check it out. Then she told me that even if it doesn't qualify, that she really thinks I should start thinking about replacing my car.
I tried to be as polite as possible and told her I appreciated her thinking about me. (She also mentioned that she'd help me out in getting another car.)
Help! My car runs just fine! The last major repair was rebuilding the starter (2 years or so ago). It probably needs new tires and brakes soon, but other than that, it's in great shape. It's paid for, and I know everything that's happened to it since 97.
I know I need to be prepared that I'll have to let go of this car someday ... but it makes no sense whatsoever to me to let go of it now. And I absolutely refuse to make car payments ever again - nor do I want to be beholden to someone else for "helping" me purchase a different car (unless my current car starts going bonkers on me or it gets totaled and I can't find a car for 3 or 4 thousand to replace it). Money for school is a whole different ballgame - but for a car, when I have a good one already?
So, I've already looked into the cash for clunkers program. As expected, my car doesn't qualify. Other than telling her that I looked into it, what would be a good response? Her heart is in the right place ... but I don't like the feeling I'm getting that she thinks she can make me do what she thinks is best because she's giving me money (which I didn't ask for in the first place.)
Should I not cash this check?
Before dropping off a prescription ... & Help!$$$
August 8th, 2009 at 08:14 pm
August 8th, 2009 at 08:23 pm 1249763022
August 8th, 2009 at 08:42 pm 1249764120
Of course, a cash gift without expectations would work just as well!! That is the only kind I would accept.
August 8th, 2009 at 08:51 pm 1249764672
It is really hard for me to know where the line is - how much in cash gifts is it really okay to accept? How much does it take before there are strings attached? (My mom thinks that all the cash gifts have strings attached. I don't tell her anymore when I get the surprise checks because it makes her feel bad.)
I also feel weird accepting money gifts from two people who are living on social security, and in the case of my grandma, investments.
August 8th, 2009 at 10:59 pm 1249772383
I don't think there is any threshold in terms of amounts. A gift can be freely given no matter what the amount;likewise the smallest gesture can be a ploy for control. It all depends on the motivation of the giver.
By the way, with regard to prescription costs, pharmacies will often price match other pharmacies to keep your business. You might check with Kroger on their policy.
August 9th, 2009 at 05:08 am 1249794524
It's really not a problem for the pharmacy.
August 9th, 2009 at 03:07 pm 1249830449
And I too always assumed prescriptions cost about the same price at every pharmacy.
August 9th, 2009 at 05:13 pm 1249838035
Lisa, I'm not sure how that would've worked - they already had the sticker off my medicine bottle.
Thanks gamecock - I like that idea - telling her that I'll put the money away towards a future replacement vehicle.