It seems like consumers are struggling to get away from the continually increasing costs of goods and
services. You go to buy a soda one day and the following week when you go back the same soda cost
even more money. When did products sitting on the shelf start fluctuating in price like gasoline? The
fact is that inflation along with one of the craziest economies any of us have ever seen has created a bit
of a challenge for consumers, especially when it comes to regular medications.

OTC medications are not immune to the challenges of this economy. Unfortunately, these products may
not seem like they are as in demand as other products we routinely use but you can bet that anyone
who relies on them routinely throughout the month is hoping that they can find an affordable supply as
soon as possible. If you are taking something as simple as an antacid medication, not having access to
the brand you prefer can be a major inconvenience. Forget the rising costs for a moment, you are willing
to pay what you have to but why is it not on the shelf? This is another part of the problem that people
are getting frustrated with.

Why Costs Of OTC Medications Are Going Up?
Perhaps there’s an allergy medication that you can get over the counter that works great for combating
seasonal allergies. Spring is right around the corner and people are already starting to have allergy
problems. Now imagine you go to your local pharmacy, and you go to the place where the allergy
medication is, and you notice that it’s $4 more a bottle and that they are completely out. Why are your
medications more expensive and not even on the shelf?

There is a combination of reasons that include inflation, labor and material shortages and companies
having to keep up with higher demand. Consider the fact that a manufacturer of an over-the-counter
medication now has to supply not only almost every pharmacy and grocery store in the country, but
now online stores as well. Production may not even be the reason for your frustrations. It could simply
be because there’s more shelves for that medication to be sold off of now.

Best Ways To Save
The fact is that you rely on this medication throughout the month whether it’s a functionality thing or
just a simple comfort thing, you need this medication. While your hope is to save money when
purchasing these over-the-counter options, you may need to buy whatever is available even if it’s more
expensive. Availability needs to be considered over price, unless there are alternative options that are
more affordable and are easily available like generic brands. If availability is solid, then consider these
options for saving:

Order online: One of the easiest ways to access the over-the-counter medications you need
during the week is to go online. We’ve become so used to using online shopping, but the irony is
we still do not consider it as an option for a variety of products and services including some of
our medications. Not only can you order most of your OTC medications online, but you can have
them shipped directly to your house and based on availability you can buy as much as you want.

Buy in bulk: Another one of the best ways to save on your medications is to buy in bulk,
especially if a product is on sale and well stocked. If you go to the pharmacy or the grocery store
and they are running a promotion on the allergy medicine where if you buy one you get the
other one half off should you just buy one bottle? Depending on how much medication you will
use throughout the month and how long this particular product will last, you should consider
buying a lot more and stocking up. If the product can last for several months and you already
know that you will use at least three or four bottles in that time, why not buy more and save
more?

Look for digital coupons: Pharmacies, grocery stores and anywhere else that you can shop for
these products will usually also offer discount programs and accept digital coupons. You should
consider also visiting the manufacturers website as sometimes they will offer coupons or
additional options for saving money on their products. It doesn’t matter where the coupons
come from, if they can save you hundreds of dollars a year, they are worth your time to collect.

Check with doctor for free samples: One way to creatively save on your medication costs is to
potentially talk to the Doctor Who recommended you try the medications and see if they have
free samples, especially if you are new to trying the medication. Sometimes doctors will notice
that the free samples of a medication they have are also due to expire or they simply have more
than they want to have in the office. Whatever the reason is, if they can save you some money
by offloading some of their free inventory it’s a benefit to you.

When it comes to saving, we sometimes take on a lazy approach because we try to justify the amount of
savings we will get along with the time and energy that has to go into getting those savings. For
example, if it would take you ten minutes to find a coupon for that allergy medication and it would save
you a dollar a month are you going to invest that time? Most people would not but when you consider
the fact that if you can manage to do that for ten products a month that you routinely buy, you will save
over $100 a year. Is that worth the effort now?

Membership & Rewards Programs
If you are not sure how to save on your over-the-counter medications or simply do not want to invest
that much time into it, consider shopping directly with the single store that offers reward points. Most
pharmacies and even grocery stores will offer reward programs in an effort to make you loyal to their
store.

If you are routinely buying anything you can save hundreds of dollars a year with these reward
programs. It’s something to consider as it’s an easy way to save money and in some cases, you can
combine it with weekly or monthly sales and benefit from other purchases you are making with the
store as well. They may also have online options that you can consider checking out.

Consider these and other options when you are trying to save on over the counter medications.
Remember even if you are only saving a couple of dollars a month it can add up each year. It’s important
that we learn how to save money now as the costs for goods and services continues to go up.
Remember, it’s your money and every dollar is valuable.