Saturday, January 31, 2009

Frugality

I think I've mentioned before that we are frugal, some of us [read Tim] more than others. We were both taking out our contacts last night at the same time, and I remembered talking with a friend at work about prescriptions.

When my friend's prescription passes the expiration date, she actually throws it out like you're told to do. I never do. I've got stuff from over 10 years ago. You never know when you might need that Hyrdrocodon/Apap from Tim's back surgery in 1999. There's the 1 doggy valium left over from when a friend moved out of state in 2006 and I took their dog to the airport and put him on a plane to Florida. There's a chance one of my dogs may need it someday (I'm thinking porcupines). So I save it. Just in case.

What got me thinking about how cheap we are though is the contacts. We both wear them and Tim has a high prescription that has to be ordered...they never have it in stock. Mine is a bifocal prescription so it is never in stock either. We've found that we can greatly extend our contact life and lower our costs by wearing the "daily" contacts for two weeks and the "weekly" contacts for a month. Really. Just because it says to throw it away doesn't mean you have to. I know, I know....there's someone out there who works in the medical field that will tell me that I run the risk of eye infections or worse! I'm not recommending this to anyone, I'm just saying. That's what we do. And we buy a lot fewer contacts than you probably do.

By the way Kris - I still have three of the red/gray/blue capsules labeled TR 500. They were in one of the film canisters from the cabin. Are those doggy arthritis pills for Abby or something for you?

When it says to take 2 advils every 4 hours. I take 3 or 4. This is the only way I feel comfortable living dangerously. I'll never bungee jump, skydive or jump my snowmachine more than 2 inches. But I will take 4 advils.

4 comments:

tainterturtles said...

For me personably, I don't like taking prescriptions or over-the-counter medications, so I always take half the amount it says.

I am also like your friend, when a prescription expires, I throw it out. I'd rather be safe than sorry!

Aunt Krissy said...

I think that was previsaid (sp)
I would toss that.

K. said...

I'm with you! I hang on until long after the expiration. There was some cough syrup we had in the fridge that I didn't throw away until it separated. Oops.

And, if I have a really, really bad headache or pain I do take three or four Advil. I figured when I had my wisdom teeth removed, and my Rx for ibuprofen was for 800mg four times a day, I can take 600mg every once in a while (maybe once every month I do that).

Also, you can use this to identify your mystery pills.

crochet lady said...

I have some old pres. I've saved too. I just make sure they always stay in their original bottle.

K. wears his contacts longer than they say to also, but he doesn't wear then everyday so they really last a long time.