In this economy, it pays to take control over your finances and work to find ways to save some coin when it comes to your family’s medical bills. Check out these top tips for saving money on healthcare and get started with the money saving today!
Consider a High Deductible Health Insurance Plan
It may be nice to only have to fork over $20 for each doctor’s office visit, but you may find that you will save more in the long run if you switch to a high deductible health insurance plan. These plans will have a lower monthly premium (sometimes they will only cost half as much), but these high deductible health insurance plans will have a higher annual deductible. If you and your family are relatively healthy, this can be a great way to save money and keep costs lower. An added benefit is that most high deductible plans offer the option of saving extra money in a health savings account. These accounts allow you to save money for your family’s healthcare needs tax free – both on the way into the health savings account and on the way out of the account. You can literally save thousands over a lifetime by going the high deductible health insurance plan route.
Get Regular Preventative Health Checkups
Getting regular preventative health checkups is one of the best ways to save money on healthcare over the long run. The key to keeping yourself, and your family, healthy while saving money is early detection and prevention of any health related issue. Nearly all preventative health checkups are covered by your insurance, so there really is not a good reason to skimp in this area. If you or a family member are overdue for a preventative health checkup, go schedule one now!
Get Your Glasses Online
Did you know that you do not have to buy glasses directly from your optometrist? Federal law mandates that these eye doctors give you a written prescription immediately after diagnosis so that you can shop around for the best deal on prescription eye glasses. This allows you to get an up-to-date checkup on your eyesight and then purchase your glasses from anywhere you would like. Online glasses retailers typically offer much larger selections and discounts of 50%+ vs. brick-and-mortar glasses retailers! So, once you have your prescription in hand, head over to an online glasses retailer website like GlassesUSA to save yourself a bundle.
Buy a Generic Multi-Vitamin
When it comes to taking a daily vitamin, research is divided whether or not they actually do much to improve your long term health. Without getting into a huge side-discussion on the benefits of multi-vitamins, let us just assume for the sake of argument that you and your family routinely take a daily multi-vitamin. I will assume if you are using them then you would like to save money in this area. There is no point in paying for those high priced multi-vitamins from places like the GNC. Buy a cheap generic multi-vitamin from WalMart, Sams Club, or the like and save yourself a bit each year.
Take Care of Your Teeth
Your teeth can be one of the largest health expenses to hit your wallet as you age. Even kid’s dental bills can really pile up when their teeth are not properly taken care of. It is very important to begin taking care of your teeth at a young age by developing proper dental hygiene habits. Check out these top tips to prevent cavities in kids. A couple of minutes each and every day can help to save you thousands in the long run!
Wash Your Hands Properly
Washing your hands properly is very important. No seriously – learn how to wash your hands properly to prevent the spread of colds, viruses, and other nasty stuff. A couple of prevented colds (or the flu) each year in a household can add up to hundreds of dollars of savings each month. No need to talk about saving money at the doctor if you can prevent a doctor’s visit altogether! Check out these tips from the Center for Disease Control on when and how you should be washing your hands.
Top Tips for Saving Money on Healthcare – Final Thoughts
If you can implement even just one or two of these top tips for saving money on healthcare, then you are sure to save yourself hundreds of dollars (or even thousands) over the years for yourself and your family. These are my top tips for saving money on healthcare that have worked for us over the years. Check here if you are looking for even more money saving healthcare ideas. What are your top tips for saving money on healthcare?