Kathryn Vercillo

Dryer Savings Tips to Reduce Laundry and Energy Costs at Home

August 23, 2019 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

There are so many great dryer savings tips. If you’re not implementing them, then you’re really missing out on savings. When you implement these tips, you reduce energy waste in your home. Therefore, you’re saving the earth at the same time that you’re saving money on your energy bills. When you fail to implement these tips, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to green your home and save more green.

First, Try to Stop Using Your Dryer, Period

Fun Fact: The average clothes dryer uses 5000 watts of energy. That’s likely more than your home air conditioner. It is one of the most expensive appliances in the home to operate.

All of the dryer savings tips in the world aren’t as good as just not using your dryer to begin with. I stopped using my own home dryer a long time ago. I confess, I did that out of necessity. At first.

I live in an apartment building. Therefore, I have to pay quarters to do my laundry. For a long time, the dryer in our building didn’t work properly. It would eventually dry the laundry inside, but each load would take four or five times through the dryer. It simply didn’t make sense to feed $10 or more into the machine just to dry my laundry. After all, it would dry just fine without the dryer.

I live in a damp, foggy city. Plus, I live in an apartment. Therefore, line drying outside doesn’t really work for me either. My sister knew of my apartment’s dryer situation. She kindly sent me an indoor laundry drying rack. It’s the number one best present I’ve ever received. I use it all of the time now. It has a bunch of different racks and hooks to easily dry all sorts of laundry in a really compact way.

My landlord eventually did repair our dryer. However, I’ve gotten used to using the air dry method. I prefer it. Why would I go back?

Therefore, I strongly suggest that before implementing any other dryer savings tricks, you try giving up the dryer all together. If you can adjust to not using it, you’ll save yourself a lot of money. Plus, if you realize that you don’t need your dryer, then you might even decide to sell it. That will put a nice chunk of change into your savings account.

Top 7 Dryer Savings Tips

Fun Fact: Drying one load of laundry per day typically adds up to $200 per year spent on using your home dryer.

That said, you may find that you want or need to use your dryer some or all of the time. If so, then you’ll want to use these top seven dryer savings tips to reduce costs:

1. Dry Them Before You Dry Them

In other words, don’t put sopping wet clothes directly in to the dryer. Here are some alternatives:

Use 1-2 extra spin cycles in the washing machine to help dry thick clothes like towels, jeans, and blankets.
Let the clothes sit in the washing machine or in an open-air basket for 1-4 hours before you put them in the dryer.
Dry the clothes on a rack. When they’re almost dry, run them through a short dryer cycle just to smooth out wrinkles.

As a bonus, remember that clothes will continue to dry a small bit as they cool down in the dryer. Let them sit in there, absorbing that heat and completing their dry cycle.

2. Load the Dryer Properly

There are three key dryer savings tips for properly loading the dryer:

Don’t overload the dryer. The whole load won’t dry which means that you will have to run the clothes through again.
Don’t underload the dryer. Make sure not to waste space. If you only have one towel to dry, it’s better to air dry it than to pay money to run the dryer.
Sort your clothes before loading the dryer. Separate lightweight items from heavy ones. Dry the light ones first to heat up the dryer in preparation for the heavy ones. This way, you run each load for the minimum time necessary to get the clothes dry.

Bonus tip: add a clean, dry towel to an almost-full load of heavy clothes. It will absorb the moisture, reducing the total amount of time necessary to dry that load.

3. Clear All Lint

Hopefully you already know that you should clear your lint tray every single time you’re about to use your dryer. If for some reason you have to run the same load through twice (for example, you made the mistake of overloading the dryer), then you should still clear the lint tray between those loads.

Most people do clear the lint tray regularly. However, a lot of people get lazy about clearing their outside dryer vent. This can clog up the vent with lint. When that happens, clothes don’t dry as quickly in the dryer. Perform those regular lint checks to prevent problems.

4. Set The Dryer on the Least Heat

Whenever possible, use settings with the lowest heat. Delicate and permanent press are two great options. You can use them on any lightweight clothes. Of course, you won’t easily dry a thick blanket with delicate settings. However, you may not need the highest heat setting either. Play around with your dryer to figure out the coolest setting that properly dries each load of laundry.

5. Know Your Settings

By the way, if you don’t pay much attention to your dryer settings, now is the time to learn all about them. Some dryers have dozens of different options. Make sure you understand what each setting is and how to best utilize it.

For example, does your dryer have an automatic censor option? If so then you should use that instead of setting a timer. This will tell your dryer to shut off as soon as the clothes are dry, rather than continuing to run unnecessarily for whatever set period of time you may have chosen.

6. Pay Attention to the Temperature of Your Laundry Room

Your dryer heats up the place. Therefore, you want to think about how hot that room gets. More importantly, you want to think about how that affects the rest of your home heating and cooling.

In the summer, your dryer can make the house even hotter. Therefore, you would spend more trying to cool it down. In that case, close the laundry room door to confine the heat to that room. Use the dryer during hours when you don’t mind the house getting a bit warmer.

In contrast, take advantage of the dryer’s heat in the winter by leaving the laundry room door open so the heat will spread to the rest of the house.

7. When It’s Time to Buy a New Machine …

You don’t want to replace your dryer before it’s necessary. However, once it becomes less cost-effective to keep using it than to buy a new one, it’s time to invest.

First, ask yourself if you can go without. This goes back to rule number one: not using a dryer is better than any dryer savings tips you can implement when using one.

If you do decide that you need one then you want to choose a gas-operated machine. Gas dryers are less expensive than electric dryers, so if that’s an option in your home, then choose it.

If you have to buy a washing machine at the same time, then make sure that you choose a side-loading washing machne. This will dry your clothes more effectively in the spin cycle than a top-loading washing machine can. Therefore, you’ll save on dryer costs over the long haul.

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Is Sam’s Club Open On Labor Day 2019?

August 20, 2019 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

Labor Day is very early in the month this year so make sure that you’re prepared. It’s always the first Monday of September, and this month that means it’s on the 2nd. Labor Day is a popular day for shopping, but many stores opt to close for the long weekend. Is Sam’s Club open on Labor Day 2019?

Is Sam’s Club Open on Labor Day 2019?

If the question that you came here to get answered is “Is Sam’s Club Open on Labor Day 2019?” then the answer that you’re looking for is YES. Sam’s Club warehouses are open on Labor Day this year, just like they are every year. Sam’s Club is a store that prides itself on customer satisfaction. Customers aren’t going to be very satisfied with stores that close frequently. Therefore, Sam’s Club stays open on most holidays including Labor Day.

Is Sam’s Club Open Regular Hours on Labor Day 2019?

Sam’s Club regularly opens at 10 am Sunday-Friday and at 9 am on Saturdays. The store regularly closes at 8:30 pm Monday-Saturday and at 6 pm on Sundays. Therefore, Monday store hours are usually 10 am – 8:30 pm.

However, on Labor Day 2019, Sam’s Club changes their hours slightly. The store will open at 7 am and will close at 6 pm.

Are All Sam’s Club’s Open the Same Hours on Labor Day 2019?

Almost all Sam’s Club stores will follow these hours. However, it’s important to make sure that you double-check your own store location. Occasionally, local stores will use different hourse than those provided here. Therefore, you should call your local Sam’s Club in advance to check what time they open and close on Labor Day. They will be open on Labor Day, but their hours may differ in some instances.

Also, if you are a Plus member, then make sure to ask about special hours. The store generally opens early for Plus members. For example, Mondays from 7-10 am are usually for Plus members only. If you’re planning to do some early morning Labor Day shopping then ask your location if all members are allowed during those hours.

Sam’s Club Labor Day Sale

Labor Day is a great sales weekend. If you’re looking to get some good prices on Sam’s Club items on September 2, 2019, then you’re in luck. In fact, their Labor Day sale isn’t just on Labor Day. It’s not even just on Labor Day weekend. They celebrate the holiday with Labor Day deals that run from 8/22/19 – 9/10/19. That’s almost three weeks of affordable shopping available to you at Sam’s Club. The sales prices are good both online and in the store.

5 Big Ticket Items at Sam’s Club Labor Day Sale 2019

There are five key areas of the store that are going to have huge deals this year:

Appliances
Furniture
Mattresses
Outdoor Living
Tech

Therefore, if you’ve been needing to update these pricey parts of your home, then Labor Day is a great time to do so. Here are just a few examples of Labor Day sales prices:

Dining table sets starting at $499
Huge discounts on Serta and Beautyrest mattresses
New electric range easy-clean ovens for under $700
65″ VIZIO Smart TV for under $700

All appliances on sale include a two-year warranty. Children’s stacking chairs, industrial bookshelves, outdoor grills, and outdoor spas are just a few of the other items available at the Sam’s Club Labor Day 2019 sale. Many prices are member-only prices and you’ll have to sign in on the website to see the exact deals or simply visit your local store.

Big Discounts on Items for the Holidays

In addition to big-ticket items for your home, you’ll also find some great deals on less expensive items. Many of these Labor Day sales items will be perfect to gift to others when Christmas comes around. They even have some great discounts on gift cards for Krispy Kreme, Steak ‘n Shake, Macaroni Grill, and other restaurants. For example, pay $37.50 for $50 worth of Krispy Kreme gift cards during this Sam’s Club Labor Day sale.

What Holidays Does Sam’s Club Close For?

Sam’s Club typically only closes for four holidays out of the year:

New Year’s Day
Easter
Thanksgiving
Christmas Day

Therefore, Sam’s Club is open on Labor Day. The next holiday on the calendar that you can expect it to be closed is Thanksgiving. However, it’ll be open immediately after for Black Friday, during which the store will have extended hours. In fact, Sam’s Club offers extended hours several times throughout the year. Rather than closing early, they like to stay open as much as possible to meet all customers’ shopping needs.

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Stash App: Investment App Review

August 15, 2019 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

As a Mint user, I periodically receives offers to try out a variety of different financial services. Usually I just skip them. However, when I saw the deal to get $10 to try the Stash app, I figured it was worth a second glance. The terms seemed simple: start using the app with an investment as little as $5 and then they’d give me an additional $10 to invest. That seems fairly low risk to try something new, so I gave it a go.

What is Stash App?

Stash is an investment app. It allows you to invest in stocks and EFTs. You don’t have to invest in full stocks. Instead, you can invest in partial stocks in a system called fractional share investing. Basically, a larger company buys the full stock then divvies it up and people like me are able to invest as little as $5 for a partial share of the stock.

What to Know About Fractional Share Investing

I wanted to make sure that I knew what I was doing before I went any other further, so I did some research into fractional share investing.

Doing my research, I quickly learned that it’s extra important to pay attention to fees. This is always important when investing, of course. However, it is particularly important with fractional share investing. That’s because if the fee is a flat rate per trade then it can amount to a really large percentage of your investment. A $1 fee isn’t a big deal if you’re investing $1000 but it’s a big percentage of your $5 investment.

You can buy stocks that are doing really well and have high share value. In regular investing, those shares can get very expensive. You might not even be able to buy one share. However, with frational share investing, you’re allowed to just buy a “fraction” that you can afford.

As a newbie investor, I like this idea. It seems like a good way to start learning about popular stocks. Plus, you can easily invest in multiple stocks and EFTs without spending a lot of money.

A Little Bit About Stash

Before heading to the Stash website, I did some research into what others are saying about this investment app. Most people seem to have positive things to say. Here are the key things people report liking about the site:

Accounts start at just $1 per month.
Investments start at just $5.
You’re allowed unlimited trades.
You get access to advice from an online coach.

Moreover, people have frequently mentioned that they like the Stash app because it makes it easy to invest in themes that you want to support. For example, I ultimately chose to invest in green companies and women-led businesses.

Spend $5 to Get $10: Using Stash App

All of that seemed really legitimate. It was at least worth giving a try. So I clicked the “get my $10” promo offer that I’d received from Mint. That took me to the Stash app website. I set up an account (which was super simple, just name and password to get started).

Setting Up A Stash App Account

It took me to a page to start entering more info. Before beginning, I saw a happy little star character telling me “I’m Stash Coach.” Apparently you do certain tasks then you get rewarded with stars. While I think that this kind of gamification is a little bit silly, it’s popular across all different types of websites, today, so I wasn’t surprised to see it, and I’m sure some people like it. I appreciate the message behind it which is that I’ll get investing tips and website help along the way. From there I entered:

First and last name
Birthdate
Citizenship status
Level of investing experience
Conservative, moderate, or aggressive risk preference
Time frame for when I’d like to use my investment money
Tax filing status
Income range
Employment status
Marital status
If I have a retirement account
If I have children
Do I rent or own my home
Approximate net worth
Phone number
Address
Social security number

That all took about ten minutes.

Choosing a Stash App Investment Plan

Then I learned that there are three plans to choose from:

$1/month beginner plan, which is the basic personal investment account, with debit account access, financial education tools on the site, and the opportunity to get “stock back” rewards when you use that Stash debit card.
$3/month growth plan, which adds a retirement account to the beginner plan
$9/month Stash+, which adds investment accounts for two kids, a metal debit card with additional Stash Back rewards, and a monthly market insights report.

I went with the $1 plan. You easily link your bank account to Stash so that you can fund your stash account.

Editing My Plan Details

Stash sets things up to make saving and investing really simple for you. Based on the questions answered previously, it gives you a plan. However, you can edit that plan.

For example, it suggested that my automatic savings account plan should be “set aside $10 every week for my Personal Brokerage account.” It tells me that I’ll have saved $520 per year if I do that. However, I didn’t want to do that right now.

You can easily edit the dollar amount and choose to invest that amount every week, every other week, every month, or just one time. Once I agree to my plan, the money starts to move. Note that you don’t have to create a savings plan at all.

Build a Portfolio

Finally, it’s time to start building the investing portfolio. Like with the suggested savings, Stash provides a recommended portfolio. Then you can easily add and remove investments. Stash clearly explains how each change likely affects the portfolio. Once you’ve built the porfolio you want, you can invest.

They recommend that you start with $20 or more. However, I wanted to see if it was true that I could invest with as little as $5. So I started with that. Indeed, it worked. The Stash App quickly recommended a set of 6 different EFT categories:

$0.10 to “Small and Mighty” companies which are a set of little businesses poised to grow
$.25 to “Up and Coming” which are emerging markets
$.30 to “Happy Medium” – “medium-sized U.S. companies, generally worth under $10 billion” with room for growth
$1.10 to “Foreign Heavyweights” outside of the US and Canada
$1.47 to “an all-in-one fund for bonds … issued in US dollars from around the world.”
$1.76 to “Match the Market” which “tracks the S&P 500—a grouping of America’s largest companies.”

You can click on each one to see detailed information about the EFTs performance including inception date, last price, dividend yield, YTD change and, of course, exactly which holdings are in that investment.

It is easy to edit each one, changing the amount of investment or deleting it altogether. You can also add other investments. As you do, the green-to-red slider at the top tells you how those choices have changed how balanced your investment is. For example, I added “clean and green” investmensts and the slider indicated that I was taking more risk with my money.

It’s important to realize that if you add investments, the amount you’re investing goes up. You have to edit the amount of each investment accordingly. However, it’s clearly indicated how much you’re investing in each item and what the total is. You have to agree to the final total before you make a payment. It’s all really simple.

Once I set up my portfolio, I could easily view it. And immediately, I saw that there was a $10 payment pending. I set up an account, invested $5, paid $1 for a month for the account, and they really did give me another $10 to invest. That seems like a win-win. I’m happy that I gave it a try.

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TV Shows About Money: Docuseries and Reality Shows About Finances

August 14, 2019 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

I love watching television. Some people consider it low-brow but I think that there are some great educational, informative shows on the little screen, especially coming out in the past few years.

I’m the first to admit that I love reality TV and docuseries. Yes, they can be over-the-top and ridiculous. I don’t necessarily think that they’re “true” in the sense of being unedited or exact. However, I do think that they give us an overall true picture of a variety of different topics. Money is one of those topics.

There are so many great TV shows about money. These are not your Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman educational shows about money management, but you’ll be surprised to discover that you can learn a lot from them anyway.

TV Shows About Financial Crimes

These are TV shows about money and how it can go wrong. More specifically, they’re about how greed can lead people to commit financial crimes that ruin not only their lives and the lives of those closest to them but also unsuspecting victims. These television shows can teach us about how to avoid problems with money by sharing the warning signs of scams.

American Greed

Somehow I had gone years without hearing about American Greed. My brother had the show on at his house and as soon as I saw it, I was hooked. I headed online and watched all eleven seasons in short order. This is about the dark side of money. It’s a true crime show and each episode shares 1-2 stories about someone whose greed has caused them to commit scams, fraud, or even violent crime.

Many of us want “a little bit more” or occasionally feel the pull of a “get rich quick scheme.” American Greed shows us what can happen if we give in to those urges. Watching it can help keep our own greed in check. Plus it can make us aware of the most common types of scams out there so that we can avoid them. That may help protect our own finances. After all, if you know the warning signs for Ponzi schemes, religious investment scams, and other types of financial fraud, then you’re less likely to become a victim.

Pink Collar Crimes

If you like American Greed then you’ll probably also like Pink Collar Crimes. They’re similar tv shows about money in many ways. This one, however, focuses specifically on the stories of average women who end up committing financial crimes. This is another true crime TV show that reveals what led up to the woman committing the crime, how the crime played out, and what happened next. In one episode, a financial planner convinces almost everyone she knows to let her “help” them with her money only to end up stealing it from them. There are also stories about embezzlers, fraudulent psychics, and coupon scams.

Dirty Money

This is a Netflix Original and each episode reveals one striking example of corporate corruption. For example, one episode tells the story of how big pharmaceutical companies, including Valeant Pharmaceuticals, immorally hike the rates of important medications up to exorbitant prices that regular people simply can’t afford. Watching shows like this can make me angry sometimes. However these TV shows about money help me better understand important national and global issues related to finances. With more information, consumers can call for change.

TV Shows About Finding a Deal

There are a lot of docuseries or reality TV shows out there that involve spending money, usually in an effort to get a really good deal on something. Each one takes its own slant on the topic.

Storage Wars

People store their things in storage lockers. Then they fail to pay the bills. When they do, the items inside those bins go up for auction. There are people all around the nation who go to those auctions. They implement a variety of tricks to figure out what to bid on. Sometimes they get great deals. On the other hand, sometimes they end up with a bunch of junk. This reality TV show lets us see all aspects of that.

Pawn Stars

When people need money, sometimes they pawn their items. If you’ve never thought much about this before, the history of pawn shops is actually a pretty interesting aspect of finance. It’s basically a form of credit. This particular TV show is about one family-owned pawn shop. They come across some interesting things, and we as viewers get a chance to see what different material items are “worth.”

Antiques Roadshow

Thinking about Pawn Stars automatically makes me think about Antiques Roadshow. It’s probably the longest-running TV show about money out there. Like Pawn Stars, it’s about the worth or value of things. Specifically, this one is about antiques. People dig into their attics or buy things at estate sales hoping they are worth a lot of money. The folks at Antiques Roadshow appraise the items.

Extreme Couponing

These people take grocery shopping with coupons to the next level. They stockpile. They buy hundreds of items and barely spend a penny. It’s astounding. And although most of us won’t make couponing a full-time job, we can certainly learn a few tips about money-saving from each episode.

Extreme Cheapskates

If you want to learn about taking frugal living and minimalism to the extreme then this is one of the best TV shows about money for you. From dumpster diving for wedding decorations to using test-ride equipment at sports stores to forego the gym, these people do everything possible to pinch a penny.

TV Shows About Rich People’s Lives

I don’t watch too many tv shows about how rich people live. However, there are a lot of them out there. If you’re interested in seeing how people with wealth and status enjoy their money then there are plenty of options out there. Almost any reality show about celebrity lives will show you that.

The Real Housewives of New York City

I will make note of one specific show in this category because it’s one I’ve watched: The Real Housewives of New York City. I mention it because what I like isn’t just that it’s about their fancy lives. It’s also about how these women earn their own money. Several of the women start or run their own businesses during the duration of the series. While they certainly have connections and opportunities that not all of us may have access to, I do think it provides insight into some aspects of entrepreneurship. I haven’t seen the other Housewives shows but I assume some of them offer this type of insight as well.

Other TV Shows About How Rich People Live

Just a few additional examples of these types of shows include:

Keeping Up with the Kardashians and all of the family’s spin off shows
Vanderpump Rules
Shahs of Sunset
Southern Charm
Basketball Wives and WAGS (about people married to famous athletes)
#RichKids of Beverly Hills
Below Deck

Plus, of course, we can’t leave this category without going old school and mentioning the 1980’s show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

Other TV Shows About Money

Some tv shows about money don’t fall into any of the above categories.

Hoarders

Hoarders isn’t about money per se. However, it touches on money in several ways, not the least of which is the problem of consumerism. Hoarding is a mental health issue, and the people in this show are severely mentally ill. They literally hoard themselves out of their homes because they can’t bear to get rid of their stuff. Sometimes they are compulsive shoppers so there is a debt element to the show. Other times, they have plenty of money, but they simply can’t ever let go of anything. It speaks to important questions about material items, consumption, what we consider valuable, and so forth. It also digs into the psychology of “stuff” and how that impacts (and is impacted by) our closest relationships.

Marrying Millions

This is a new reality TV show. It somewhat falls into the category above because it does showcase the lives of some very rich people. But it’s really more of a relationship show so it’s not quite the same as those other reality TV shows. This show is all about people who are super rich and are in relationships with people who aren’t. Usually the poorer person is also much younger. So, this reveals a lot about the power dynamics of money in relationships and what our culture values in terms of money in marriage.

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How to Save Money on Prescription Medication

August 13, 2019 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

I’ve seen some tragic situations over the years when people can’t afford their meds. For example, I’ve met organ transplant patients who couldn’t pay for their anti-rejection drugs and ended up losing the organ they had struggled so hard to receive. I, myself, have dealt with some terrible withdrawal symptoms when I couldn’t access my mental health medications. Therefore, I know firsthand how important it is to learn how to save money on prescription medication.

Talk to Professionals to Save Money on Prescription Medication

The first step to take if you’re struggling to pay for your prescription medications is to ask for help. There are several different types of professionals that you can talk to about how to save money on prescription medication.

Talk to Your Doctor

Your first line of defense against expensive prescription medication is the person who prescribes the meds. Talk to your doctor. In fact, you may need to talk to multiple doctors: a general doctor, a specialist, a psychiatrist, etc.

Be very upfront with these professionals about how hard it is for you to pay for your prescription medications. Ask them what the options are. Oftentimes, they’ll be able to provide solutions. It might be as simple as changing the prescription to something more affordable that still works for you. Alternatively, they may be able to write a letter explaining to your health insurance why you need that specific medication.

Furthermore, your doctor may be able to offer samples and coupons to help you save money on prescription medication. At the very least, when your doctor knows that you are struggling, you’ll have someone there to help you manage symptoms related to not accessing your medication.

Talk to Your Pharmacist

Your pharmacist is another great resource to help you find ways to save money on prescription medications. They are familiar with all of the meds. They know what type of discounts are available, which insurance covers certain costs, and what generic versions of medications are available.

They may or may not be able to actually offer you a discount. Perhaps they’ll know of certain tricks, such as saving money by getting a 90-day supply instead of a 30-day supply. However, even if they can’t solve the problem, they can often point you in the right direction to find someone who can help.

Ask Your Health Insurance How to Save Money on Prescription Medication

Oftentimes, the biggest problem is that your health insurance doesn’t cover the medication that you need. Or it doesn’t pay very much of the cost. Therefore, you can go straight to your health insurance provider to get help.

If you have the option to visit your health insurance provider in person, then that’s your best bet. If not, then be prepared to wait on the phone for a significant amount of time before you reach the person who can help you. If you are persistent, they are often able to find some resolution.

You may need to discuss getting a different plan with your health insurance provider. Alternatively, they may be able to tell you what some other drug options are to reduce your costs. Then you can take that information back to your doctor to see if those medications would work for you.

Contact the Drug Manufacturer

There are certain prescription medications that are just very expensive. However, the drug manufacturers know that they have customers who can’t afford those high fees. Therefore, they often offer ways to reduce the costs of those medications.

For example, they may offer a discount program. They may provide samples or coupons. You never know unless you ask. Therefore, you should ask.

Find an Advocate

If you have tried all of these different outlets and you still can’t afford your medications, then it’s time to look for an advocate. Your therapist could be an ally in this. If you have a case manager, then they might be able to help. Alternatively, look for a lawyer, a local group, or a friend who has knowledge about how to deal with the prescription medication and health insurance industries. It helps to have someone in your corner who knows the language.

Common Ways to Save Money on Prescription Medication

Talking to professionals is your best route to save money on prescription medication. However, it helps a lot if you know what to ask for. Moreover, there are some things that you can try for yourself. Here are some of the most common ways that people save money on prescription medication:

Change the Medication

When talking to these professionals, find out if you have the option to switch to a more affordable medication. If there is a generic version of the same pill, then try that. If there’s a similar medication that’s cheaper, then try that. Always work with your doctor when switching meds, of course.

Change the Amount of Medication

Sometimes you can save money on prescription medication just by changing the number of pills that you order. A 60-day or 90-day supply may be cheaper per pill than a 30-day supply. Furthermore, it can reduce the number of times you pay a co-pay.

Also, ask about getting a stronger dose that you can split in half. For example, get a prescription for 45 days of a pill that’s twice the strength you need then cut those in half and you have medication for 90 days.

Shop with Coupons

Drug manufacturers offer coupons to reduce the cost of medications. You can also sometimes find other coupons online for various meds. Take a look at what’s out there before you pay full price.

Shop Around with a Tool Like GoodRx

How much you pay for your prescriptions depends on a variety of factors. One of those is the location where you buy the pills. Therefore, you can save money on prescription medication just by shopping around. You can use a comparison shopping tool such as GoodRx to easily find the least expensive option near you for the medications that you need. You may discover that you need to visit a few different pharmacies to get the best price if you have multiple prescriptions. Given the high cost of meds, that can be well worth the effort.

Make Sure You Have the Right Health Insurance

If you haven’t reviewed your health insurance options recently then make sure that you do so. Find out whether you have the right plan in terms of the medications they cover, your co-pays, and your monthly payment. Moreover, see if you qualify for any low-income programs in your area to help you save money on prescription medications. In addition to Medicare/Medicaide, there are often state programs that help pay the premiums and/or co-pays for people with limited income.

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Credit Card Apps: Organize Your Rewards Points, Balances, and More

August 12, 2019 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

I use several different personal finance apps. However, I recently realized that I don’t have any credit card apps. I’ve heard about them here and there. I hadn’t ever really researched them, though. I wasn’t sure if they could serve any purpose for me, but I decided to do some research.

Types of Credit Card Apps

As it turns out, there are lots of different types of credit card apps. There are apps for individual credit card companies; such as the Capital One app or the Discover Card app. There are apps to accept credit cards via your phone.

However, what we’ll be looking at here are apps that help people track the details of their credit cards. You can use apps to track your balances, due dates, rewards point, and all of the other little details on a credit card. I always track these on paper, so it’s been helpful to utilize credit card apps to simplify that process.

How Many Credit Cards Is Too Many?

Of course, many people would suggest that perhaps you shouldn’t have so many credit cards that you require apps to organize them. I’m not in that camp, though. I believe that there is no magic number of credit cards that you should or shouldn’t have.

If you’re the kind of person who will use up all of the credit that you have, then you should definitely limit your available credit. If you’re the kind of person who gets flustered keeping track of multiple accounts, then it’s best to limit your number of credit cards. However, if you’re able to responsibly use a large number of different cards, then I see no reason not to have a variety of them to choose from.

After all, some cards have better rates for balance transfers whereas others have the best rewards for travel. If you want to maximize the benefits of credit cards, and you’re able to do so without overspending, then a number of credit cards is fine. However, it’s obviously important to keep them all organized. That’s where these credit card apps come in.

Best Credit Card Management Apps

Ideally, you’ll find just one or two credit card apps to organize the details of all of your cards. After all, downloading dozens of apps just makes things more confusing. Here are some of the best credit card management apps to choose from.

1. CreditCards.com Wallet

This is one of the most detailed credit card apps available if you want to maximize your rewards. It uses mapping features and algorithms to tell you exacty which card is going to be your best bet to get the most rewards at any given place.

You simply search for the store you’re shopping at (whether it’s in person or online) to get an organized list of all of your credit cards sorted by best to worst in terms of rewards value for that store. For example, right now I get 5% back on restaurants on my Discover Card. Therefore, chances are that if I’m in a restaurant, the tool will tell me to use that card. But if another one were to be better, then I’d easily know that.

In addition to providing suggestions for the best reward points, the Wallet offers a variety of other tools including:

Information to help you minimize interest fees
Tips for improving your cash flow
Tools to assist with budgeting and understanding where your money goes

Plus, this is one of the credit card apps that will show you card-by-card information. You can look at each card you have and see a breakdown of your spending. You receive notifications of suspicious activity to help prevent credit card fraud. Moreover, you’ll see missed rewards by transaction to help you maximize credit card rewards in the future.

2. Travel Freely

If you love to use credit cards that give you travel rewards including airline points and hotel stays, then you might want to use Travel Freely. This is one of the credit card apps that is very specific to the niche of travel.

Once you enter your credit cards into this app, it’ll tell you a variety of information including:

Each card’s travel benefits, which is something that is easy to forget but so useful if you have a travel mishap
The bonus categories that will help you maximize travel rewards and the deadlines when bonuses expire
Upcoming annual fee charges, so you can cancel the card in advance if it’s no longer serving you

Moreover, this is one of the credit card apps that will use your current information to help you in the future. It will recommend the best travel rewards credit cards to apply for based on your personal spending. It will even tell you the best time to apply for new cards.

3. AwardWallet

If you’re looking for credit card apps that tell you about all rewards, not just travel rewards, then try AwardWallet. If you’re the kind of person who signs up for everything from store credit cards to multiple frequent flier programs, then this is the app for you. It’ll help you track not just your credit card rewards but other types of rewards programs as well.

It tracks your points. It also tracks bonuses like free nights at hotels that might not be calculated as points, per se. Moreover, it tracks when your points are going to expire. If you’ve ever wondered, “should I stay at this hotel or that one to best use my points?” then this app gives you the answer.

As a bonus, it also has flight tracking features to make travel easier.

4. Tally

If you’re having trouble managing payments across multiple credit cards then you can look for debt management credit card apps like Tally. They provide you with a line of credit. Then the utilize that line of credit to make the best payments to each credit card. This helps you minimize costs and fees. Of course, you should always read the fine print when accepting new lines of credit. You want to make sure that this tool works for you instead of against you.

5. Debt Manager

The other apps on this list are free, but this one costs 99 cents. It may be well worth the cost. It’s a debt management app that helps you easily see how to better pay off your credit cards. You can choose from different repayment strategies such as paying off the highest interest first or paying off the lowest balance first. The app will then tell you exactly how much to pay to each credit card to meet your goal without missing any payment minimums.

Moreover, you can select to pay monthly, weekly, or fortnightly. Furthermore, you can add extra payments that are entered one-time, annually, or monthly. This app tell you what date you will be debt free if you follow the plan. It will show you how much interest you save by making different choices. If you’re struggling to pay down debt, a plan like this can be useful.

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