I was talking to a friend the other day, about the cost of health care, and was startled to discover my friend knew nothing about the four or ten dollar prescription programs available through several retailers. (How could any friend of mine not know? Apparently I had failed to pass on valuable information. I felt terrible.)

Here's how it works: quite a few generic medications are available for four dollars per month, or if you get them filled in ninety day increments, ten dollars for three months. For instance there is a medication on the list that I take that has a ten dollar per month copay if I buy it through my health insurance at my regular pharmacy. If I buy it at Target, or Walmart, or Sams Club, or any of the others that have this program, and pay cash, I pay four dollars per month. Or I can ask my doctor to write my prescription for a ninety day supply and pay ten dollars, saving a total of twenty dollars over the course of three months. Which may not sound like much but it adds up, especially if you have to take more than one medication or need it for more than one member of the family.

You can find a list of these common drugs at the retailers' websites. If your pharmacy doesn’t have this program ask them if they'll match the price you could get somewhere else. If you're a good customer your pharmacy may be willing to dicker.

Here's an interesting post from Uncle Phaedrus who is responding to a request for depression era recipes. He points out that times change and ingredients that were cheap become inexpensive and vise versa. (Remember how much salt was at one point? Now you can get it for practically nothing.) http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m1226F08.htm#1

One thing I've noticed about depression era recipes is how many of them call for meat. I find that cooking modern vegetarian meals is often more frugal. Even if you haven't planned on eating meatless meals you might be surprised when you sit down and think about what you've eaten recently. For instance did you have peanut butter and jelly? A bean burrito? Mac and cheese? Adding a couple of meatless days a week is not that difficult and pays off pretty quickly.

(There are links to depression era recipes on the link above.)

President Obama has signed the economic recovery bill amidst quite a lot of talk of waste. You can find out for yourself what is going on, where the money is going, timelines, etc at the new website http://www.recovery.gov/. You can also download the bill in its entirety, which I have done, although I'm guessing it will take me a little while to wade through all 407 pages.

Speaking of which, if you still haven't read the TARP bill you can read Paul Muolo's book on the subject called $700 Billion Bailout, found here, http://bailoutbook.com/. You can read the full introduction at that site, which is nice. I always like to try before I buy.

I just finished reading a fascinating book, chockfull of excellent marketing, business and general financial advice. You'll never believe who wrote it, because the author is sort of famous as someone who likes to get the best of others. He's practically a swindler or a conman in some people's eyes, so to see him giving advice about being honest might come as a bit of a shock. I'm talking about master showman P.T. Barnum and his fabulous book Art Of Money Getting or, Golden Rules for Making Money.

Mr. Barnum's advice is simple, to the point and easy to follow. He also gives examples as well as using popular sayings and stories to expound on his suggestions. You can read the book for free online. http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/www/barnum/moneygetting/moneygetting.html

IHOP celebrates National Pancake Day by giving away free short stacks and raising money for children's charities, including the Children's Miracle Network. This year IHOP hopes to raise one million dollars, an increase from the $875,000 they raised last year. You can get more details at the official website: http://www.ihoppancakeday.com/index.html

The deadline for the NEA grants for fiction writers is March fifth, except not really as they want you to finish applying ten days in advance, which doesn't leave much time. Complicated application directions can be found here. http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/Lit/How.html

Eligibility requirements are here: http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/Lit/Eligibility.html

Best of luck.

Here's an interesting article I formatted, posted and mailed out this week as part of the free BrokerUniverse newsletter.

http://brokeruniverse.com/subprime/?story_id=95

It's about reverse mortgages, but not your standard reverse mortgages which are used as a kind of refinance option to keep the senior in their home. This one is designed for purchases instead. If you're a broker you may wish to look into this. If you're a senior you may wish to consult your broker about this option.

Google is working on a program that may save money and electricity. Most of us are working blind when it comes to our electricity use. We don't have an accurate way of telling how much we use or which of our appliances or gadgets uses the most. Google is hoping to change that.

How much does it cost to leave your TV on all day? What about turning your air conditioning 1 degree cooler? Which uses more power every month — your fridge or your dishwasher? Is your household more or less energy efficient than similar homes in your neighborhood?

Our lack of knowledge about our own energy usage is a huge problem, but also a huge opportunity for us all to save money and fight global warming by reducing our power usage. Studies show that access to your household's personal energy information is likely to save you between 5–15% on your monthly bill, and the potential impact of large numbers of people achieving similar efficiencies is even more exciting. For every six households that save 10% on electricity, for instance, we reduce carbon emissions as much as taking one conventional car off the road

You can read more at the website.
http://www.google.org/powermeter/faqs.html

Students and parents of students should be working on their FAFSAs, which is the free application for financial aid. You're going to need your tax information before you start. It's somewhat tedious but you can do it online and it's not so bad, given the rewards.

Take a look at the deadline for your state and your school because some deadlines are very soon. For instance there is a February fifteenth date for some scholarships and I believe March first is another important deadline.

If you are in school this semester, or last semester, and didn't apply for the 2008/2009 school year it's not too late. You have until June 30th.

For details and the form visit the website.

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

The Truth About Cheating by M. Gary Neuman is available on Oprah's website for free download for 24 hours only, until 7 p.m. PST Thursday, February 12, 2009. Details can be found here. http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20080827_tows_bookdownload