In tough economic times like these, many people cut back on certain expenditures: Weekly movie night falls by the wayside and Saturday dinners out are replaced by cooking at home. But what happens when a person has scaled back on all the luxuries and is still having trouble making ends meet?
Blogger Kerri Morrone Sparling of Six Until Me sometimes wonders whether she will need to stretch the life of her diabetes supplies by taking steps such as wearing her infusion sets longer than recommended or reusing insulin pump reservoirs multiple times—strategies that many of her readers are already using to save money. Fortunately, there are also other ways to get the biggest bang for your buck. As several Six Until Me commenters suggest, coupons, sales, and customer loyalty programs can be a great way to save on food expenses, as can buying groceries in bulk quantities. Taking advantage of public transportation where it’s available is another way to cut corners.
There are also ways to save money on medicines. Over at the American Association of Diabetes Educator’s Side by Side blog, shopping around for the best price and, when possible, purchasing generic versions of drugs are recommended as good ways to reduce expenses. Asking your doctor for samples of brand name medicines you are taking and discussing the possibility of purchasing larger doses of certain drugs and then cutting them in half are also suggested as potential means of minimizing health-care costs.
How are you dealing with the economic downturn? Has your diabetes care been affected? Share your thoughts with a comment below.
This blog entry was written by Associate Editor Diane Fennell.
