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| 2/4 Groceries |
We had more rain, this morning, but, it stopped raining in the afternoon and there was sunshine! I decided to take advantage of the sunny afternoon to run some errands.
First, to the pharmacy to see if I could buy my diabetes test strips without a prescription from my doctor, since I am having trouble getting through to her. The pharmacist was very nice and checked my insurance and noted that they no longer cover the type of machine I have! I have to get the doctor to prescribe a different type of machine (there were two types listed) and the test strips and lancers that go with it. Well, I don't think I will have any success getting that message across to her! However, I do have an appointment coming up with her at the end of this month; I will speak with her, then, and explain the situation. In the meantime, I asked if I could buy the smallest package of test strips they have for the type of machine I have and I will pay out of pocket for it. It would cost me about $100 she said. I said it was OK, I was prepared to do that. Then, I went to the pick up window and that pharmacist must have felt sorry for me, because she said she will see if she can get me a discount. She checked and got me a discount and I paid one third of what it would have cost me! I was so happy! I know that I sometimes have problems with this pharmacy, but there are some caring people working there.
After that, I decided to go to the dollar store, next door to the pharmacy, to do my grocery shopping! I wanted to get some salad ingredients because I had finished my cucumber and carrots and only had a small wedge of lettuce left.
I bought:
1 variety pack of 4 small lettuces = $1.00
1 bag (2lb) carrots = $1.00 (they didn't have smaller bags of whole carrots)
1 bag of 4 cucumbers = $1.00 (that's a lot of cucumbers, but one had to buy a whole bag)
1 container (2lb) of low fat plain yogurt = $1.00
1 box crackers (unsalted tops) = $1.00
Total = $5.00
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| 2/4 Receipt |
I feel I need to explain the box of crackers, since I am supposed to be on a low-carb diet. But, some of my medications, especially the one I take as part of my cancer treatment, cause nausea, and when that happens, I find that saltine-type crackers (I prefer the unsalted tops) help. It's all a bit of a balancing act, for me.
My February grocery budget is $75. Plus, I had $5.55 leftover from the January budget. So, my February grocery budget is $80.00 (I am going to ignore the $.55).
Spent to date: $5.00
Balance remaining in February grocery budget: $75
I didn't buy any meat or fish, today. I have roast beef, roast chicken, and cooked salmon steaks in the freezer.
For lunch, today, I had some of the leftover beef pepper steaks, I had cooked earlier, with sauteed zucchini. For dinner, I cooked a mackerel curry, using a can of mackerel. I ate it with rice, lentils, and green beans from the freezer.
On the way home from the pharmacy and dollar store, I stopped by the post office to mail my payments for the gas bill and the water and power bill. When I got home, I took the trash cans out to the curb for pick up in the morning. Then, I had a cup of tea, watched the news, and had my dinner. Later, I watered the indoor plants. Need to clean the litter box, before I go to bed.
It rained, again, in the evening! More rain is in the forecast for tomorrow!
Today, I am grateful for:
- Caring pharmacists
- Discounts on my test strips
- Rain for the garden
- Sunshine in the afternoon
- Phone calls from family and friends
How was your Monday?
Your garden must be so happy with all that rain. I find even if I water, nothing works better than rain.
ReplyDeleteI think the garden feels a bit water logged at this point, but it is soaking up all the rain it is getting. I am hoping that it will soak deep down where it won't evaporate on the first sunny and warm day we get.
DeleteI'm so glad they were able to give you a discount. How ridiculous not to be able to get hold of her and that the insurance no longer covers your machine. Hope you things get sorted soon!
ReplyDeleteI know. When I see the doctor next, I am going to ask her what is happening to the messages I leave for her that I don't get a response. I guess the different insurances have different contracts with the different manufacturers of these machines? I don't know. But, yes, I am very thankful that the pharmacist was able to get me the discount. :)
DeleteWow! All that food for only $5? I am so amazed. You had quite the haul.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you are having so much trouble getting through to your health care worker who is supposed to be available to you for your diabetes. That shouldn't happen. But great that you were able to get a great discount on your lancets and testing strips from the pharmacy. It is also a good thing that you have the resources to buy those things. Others would not be able to afford them.
More rain in the forecast? This is so unusual. Are you starting to get tired of it yet?
Yes, that's a lot of food for that amount, isn't it? I hope I can eat all those cucumbers before they spoil! I see a lot of cucumber salads in my future! LOL.
DeleteYes, I will be talking to the doctor about all this when I go to see her, next. I know what she's going to say - just come in to the clinic. Well, the clinic is downtown and I don't always want to drive down there, especially without an appointment, because they have given me a hard time on the few occasions I've done that.
I know I am blessed to be able to pay out of pocket for these supplies. If I hadn't been able to pay for them, I suppose I would have gone to see the doctor in person and explained the situation to her. Or, waited without testing until I saw her and been extra vigilant with my diet!
Yes, more rain! Very unusual, indeed! I think I would have got tired of it if I was still having to drive to work and back, every day. As it is, I am looking forward to a reduced water bill!
That sounds really frustrating to not have your doctor get back to you, especially when that causes you extra money out of pocket. That was nice of the pharmacist to look for a discount.
ReplyDeleteYes, it really is frustrating that the doctor is not responding to my calls. I really think she's not getting my messages, but I don't know that, for sure. I suppose I could have gone to the clinic, in person, and requested to see her to get a prescription for a new machine. It would have been inconvenient, but, I would have done it if I had to. But, thanks to the kind pharmacist who was able to get me a discount, I was able to get the test strips for a little more than what it would have cost me to see the doctor ($20 copay per visit + $10 parking).
DeleteI hope you will be able to sort out the insurance soon, Bless. It was nice of the pharmacist to give you a discount, but those prices are outrages.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to have a dollar store that sells produce. I haven't seen any that carries vegetables.
Yes, I hope, when I see the doctor at the end of this month, I can get it all sorted out. Seems like a waste of a good monitor, to me, but...maybe a new machine is a good thing.
DeleteYes, it was very kind of the pharmacist to make the effort to look for and get me a discount. She could have just charged me the full price and I'd have been happy!
This dollar store is called the 99 Cents Only store (although it now sells a few things that are more than 99 cents!), but they sell fresh produce. According to their website, they operate in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas. My daughter goes to the one that is located across the street from her apartment building and does the majority of her grocery shopping there!
Bless, I just noticed that your blog web address appears as a not secured one.
ReplyDeleteYou can change it by going to Settings --> Basic , and under HTTPS select YES.
Thank you for alerting me to that, Nil. I went and changed it. Hopefully, it is fine, now. :)
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