Generic vs Brand Name Prescriptions: Tip-of-the-Day #306

Most people think that generic prescriptions are going to cost less than named prescriptions. I know I've always assumed as much. Today I learned better! 

I called Walgreens to refill a prescription and the pharmacist asked me if I'd like the brand name instead of the generic because my insurance "likes" brand names better. Wait, what? She went on to tell me that my generic prescrip would run me $84 but the brand version was free. FREE! I couldn't believe it. I mentioned that when I picked this particular prescription up before I wasn't informed of this. She said that's because she happens to know better. Huh.

What this means for you: you may not get someone as informed at the pharmacy counter and it's up to you to ask! Who knew that different insurance companies have preferences for the drugs they cover? I didn't. Or, I just always thought that generic was better.

Given that you can be saving a considerable chunk of change, it's definitely worth asking.

Share Your Daily Deal and Get it Free!: Tip-of-the-Day #305

Today I saw that Living Social was featuring a super deal for Lyft, a San Francisco-based ride share program commonly identified by a bright pink mustache on the front of the participating vehicles. For $5, I was able to buy a $20 credit. Great! Especially because I work downtown and always need rides - home at the end of a long day, to a nearby restaurant, happy hour across town, etc. I quickly bought the deal (only 1 per customer) and then shared the news with my colleagues at work and my friends on Facebook.

Within minutes, three of my friends had also purchased this great deal and that made my deal FREE. Yup. If three friends purchase a deal that you shared, you get the deal for free. Brilliant right? In this case it was a no brainer. Everyone wants free ride credits. Another no brainer is when Starbucks offers a $20 credit for just $5. Doh!

All you have to do to share the love is copy the personalized link that's provided to you once you purchase your deal and then send that link to your network. I wouldn't necessarily count on getting your deals free every time because not everyone is going to share your enthusiasm for mud baths in calistoga - but for the universally loved offerings, go for it!  

Skip the Fitbit - Use Your iPhone 5S: Tip-of-the-Day #304

Fitbit, the small, attractive device that has taken over the nation and made everyone walk more steps each day (10,000 if you can) is now even easier to get your hands on.

My colleague just turned me onto the fact that iPhone 5S has motion tracking built into its internal hardware. You can get nearly the same activity tracking using just your phone, in the same interface that you're familiar with, completely killing the need for the Fitbit wearable device ($100 savings!).

The internal hardware, known as the M7 chip, is pretty solid at tracking your motion. The iPhone 5S has been compared as a fitness tracker with that of the Fitbit Force and Jawbone Up24 and the results showed the iPhone 5S to offer very comparable performance for exercise sessions, but in order to perform at tracking day-to-day activity one needs to have the phone on them at all times. I keep my phone in my purse so that isn't always top of mind for me, but when I go on long walks I have my phone on me so that I can listen to music. If you keep your phone in your pocket, this is a no brainer for you.

How to get started? Just go to the app store on your iPhone, search for Fitbit, download it. You'll be prompted to register with a few easy pieces of information and you're off to the races!