Maintaining a healthy personal finance is not very easy as you may think if certain precautions were not taken to check cash leaks in form of unnecessary or careless spending or drug prescriptions. If you cannot afford medical insurance, getting sick can be a costly business as the cost of prescription may seem to skyrocket each time you need to have them filled.

This article provides top 10 ways you can save money on your drug prescriptions, which of course might require your personal efforts to achieve.

• Top 10 Tips To Save On Your Drug Prescriptions
• How Can I Spend Less On Medications
• How Can I Save Money on my Prescription?
• What Pharmacy Has The Cheapest Dispensing Fee?
• Are 90-day Prescriptions Cheaper?
• What is The Difference Between a 30-day And 90-day Refill?
• Is GoodRx Really Free?
• Is Prescription Cheaper at Costco?
• What is GoodRx Gold Plan?
• What Does Rx Mean Medical?
• What Are Walmart’s Dispensing Fees?
• Do All Pharmacies Charge The Same For Prescriptions?
• Why Are Some Prescriptions so Expensive?
• How Many Times Can You Use a GoodRx Coupon?
• What Pharmacy Has The Best Generics?
• Is Target Cheaper Than Walmart?

Top 10 Tips To Save On Your Drug Prescriptions

Millions of Americans don’t fill their prescriptions each year simply because they can’t afford them. This has been a particularly big problem for seniors, who often have a number of prescriptions.

Read Also: Save Money With Crest Toothpaste Coupon

But when the budget is tight, even one prescription—whether it’s ongoing or short-term—can be tough to fill. Here are some tips to save money on prescription drugs to help ensure that you or your loved one can get the medicine needed to treat or manage a health condition.

1. Splitting Higher-Dose Pills

Much as there is little difference in price when it comes to different dosage of pills, a 50mg pill could cost almost the same price as the same medication in a 25mg dosage. You will need to find out from your pharmacist if the medication you are using comes in different dosage sizes and if it is safe to split the larger-dose pills.

You should know that some pills are not safe to split, but your pharmacist would be able to give you expert advice on which ones could be splitted.

2. Request For Samples From Your Doctor

You will do yourself more good if you ask your doctor if he or she has any free samples before paying for a full course of a particular medicine. This is because many people have allergic reactions to medications every year. The free samples would afford you the opportunity to assess the drug thoroughly before committing your money.

3. Keep A Healthy Weight And Lifestyle

Diabetes and high blood pressure are both linked to obesity which requires a lifelong commitment to prescription medications to manage them. You may reduce the incidence of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity by keeping fit and healthy and therefore save money on avoidable diseases.

4. You Can Search For Coupons

It has been established that some magazines, newspapers and certain websites offer prescription-related coupons on various medicines and treatments. Two well known websites that offer medicine coupons are internetdrugcoupons.com and NeedyMeds.org.

It is interesting to note that certain manufacturers offer free, 30 day trial packs of their medicines. You can also ask for any available coupons for your particular prescription drugs at your doctor’s office since he or she will be willing to give you necessary information naturally.

5. Access Patient Assistance Programs

Findings revealed that some pharmaceutical companies have put Patient Assistance Programs(PAP) in place for those who earn below a certain wage or who simply could not afford medical insurance.

PAPs usually include assistance in the form of savings cards, assistance with co-payments or levies and coupons that could be redeemed against the price of certain medications.
It is your gross responsibility to look out for such pharmaceutical companies.

6. Ask For A Discount

Shopping around not only afford you the opportunity to get discounts on your purchases but also let you know that prices differ from one store to the other. You can purchase some medications from supermarkets through mail order and at a variety of retail pharmacies.

If you notice that a particular store has all but one of your prescription medications at a cheaper price, you may ask if it is possible to get a discount on the more expensive item.

7. Open Up To Your Doctor

You can let your doctor know if you cannot afford any  of the medications prescribed  as he or she often will be willing to prescribe alternative medications affordable to you thereby saving you money.

8. Fill Your Prescriptions At One Pharmacy

You will save both time and gas money if you fill all of your prescriptions at one pharmacy. You should be careful in the choice of a pharmacist in the event you develop allergies to or unpleasant side effects from any of your medications.

9. Check Your Formulary

You can help reduce co-payments by checking your formulary as most medical insurance companies will cover the cost of only specific medications for some conditions as stipulated in their formulary. To avoid higher co-payments, check your prescription against the formulary and ask your doctor to prescribe an alternative medication that is on the list.

10. Consider Generic Options

It has been established that many brand name medications  have generic substitutes which are required by law to contain exactly the same ingredients as the brand name versions.
When you receive a prescription from your doctor for medication, you can ask about available generic alternatives as you could end up saving 80% on the cost of your prescription.

How Can I Spend Less On Medications

1. Let your doctor know up front that you want to minimize the cost of your medications. Doctors want to work with you and help you afford what you need so that you’ll follow their instructions, but they’re rushed and often don’t think through all the options unless you encourage them to. They also don’t always have any idea what some drugs cost, so you may be able to save significantly if they compare prices.
2. See if your doctor can give you some free samples to try out a medication before you fill prescriptions.
3. Ask your doctor to prescribe a generic medicine if there’s an equivalent one available. Generics are just as effective as brand-name drugs, but they’re about 80% cheaper on average.
4. Contact the drug manufacturer if there’s not a generic alternative and inquire about their patient assistance programs. Most pharmaceutical companies have these to help people pay for expensive prescriptions. The savings are usually big, and sometimes you can even get the medicine for free.
5. Check with your doctor or pharmacist to see if there’s an over-the-counter alternative to your prescription, as OTC drugs tend to cost considerably less.
6. Ask if there’s an older medicine that’s just as good. Newer drugs are usually more expensive—especially if they’re still patent-protected—but often aren’t any safer or more effective.
7. Talk to your doctor about prescribing a double dose that can be split in half. A prescription that’s twice as strong rarely costs twice as much. Just keep in mind that not all drugs can be safely divided, so find out first from your doctor or pharmacist.
8. Contact pharmacies to ask about prices and shop around and learn about special programs. For example, some grocery chains offer free antibiotics. Walmart, Target, and supermarket pharmacies are often cheaper than drug store pharmacies. And ask if your pharmacy has a loyalty rewards program that will help you save.
9. Get in touch with a representative from your health insurance company if they won’t pay for a certain prescription to find out if there’s an alternative that’s covered.
10. Check magazines, newspapers, coupon websites, and drug manufacturer websites for coupons. You may find some for your specific prescription, or for general savings at your pharmacy.
11. Look into discounts through AARP membership, which are often available at certain pharmacies for prescription drugs not covered by Medicare Part D.
12. Ask your doctor about stopping drugs that aren’t working well for you. Many doctors just keep patients on medicines and write additional prescriptions if the results aren’t good at first, but often there’s no reason to stay on the first drugs that weren’t effective enough.
13. Talk to your doctor about lifestyle changes that can help get you off certain prescriptions. For example, the right diet and enough exercise can often reduce or eliminate the need for things like cholesterol and blood pressure medication. And don’t worry; there are plenty of budget-friendly healthy foods.
14. Take advantage of free checkups and health screenings for better preventive care that can help keep you off medication.
15. Don’t skip doses. This may be tempting to cut back on the cost, but it’s often unsafe and can interfere with how effective your treatment is.

How Can I Save Money on my Prescription?

According to a Consumer Reports survey, 25% of respondents say they are paying more at the pharmacy than they did just 12 months ago. And about 14% chose to not fill prescriptions at all because they couldn’t afford the cost.

The good news is cutting back on pharmaceutical costs is easier than you think. Here are 10 tips that could save you a bundle.

1. Go generic. Generics are manufactured using the same standards as brand name drugs and have the same active ingredients, often at a much lower cost (but not always). “It’s the first place to start,” explains Reid Rasmussen, a consumer health expert. “It’s possible that the non-generic works better for you, but by all means start with the generic, always.” A few generic medications are not equivalent to their brand-name counterparts so always ask your pharmacist if a generic is available and indicated.
   
   
2. Make your prescription drug insurance work better. Each insurance company and every type of drug plan has a list of drugs they do and don’t cover. It’s called a formulary and it can be daunting to pore over. A better alternative is to simply call your insurance company and ask if the drugs you’re being prescribed are covered. If a drug is not on the formulary, ask if there is an alternative that is covered.
   
   
3. Use a preferred pharmacy. A preferred pharmacy is one that has pre-negotiated lower prices on prescriptions for a particular insurance plan. According to AARP, over a third of employers have negotiated lower costs through preferred pharmacies for employee health benefit plans. Medicare prescription drug plans also list preferred pharmacies that run the gamut from independent stores to big drug chains, grocery stores and other major retailers for maximum convenience. Other pharmacies, called standard pharmacies may be in your insurer’s network but you may have to pay higher co-pays when buying from them.
   
   
4. Order a 90-day supply. Some medications are available in a 90-day-supply—either through your local pharmacy, or through your insurance company’s pharmacy plan. If you choose the latter, not only will your meds be delivered to your doorstep, but you can also process refill requests online. If it’s a new medication, however, start with a regular 30-day supply to make sure you can tolerate the drug. Then move to a 90-day supply.
    
5. Ask for alternative medications that may cost less. Doctors don’t always know how much the meds they prescribe cost. In many cases, several different medications can effectively treat the same ailment. Ask your pharmacist if there’s a cheaper alternative, then get your doctor’s approval to make the switch.
   
   
6. Sign up for a drugstore rewards program. The three major drugstore chains—Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens—each offer some type of rewards program. It’s free to sign up. You accumulate points when you fill prescriptions, get a flu shot or check your blood pressure at in-store kiosks. The points can be redeemed for discounts on other health and wellness products and services. The frequent-shopper programs aren’t available in all states, so check with your local drug store. Discount programs may also be available at Target, Walmart, Kroger, Kmart and Costco, among others.
   
   
7. Compare prices. Prices vary from pharmacy to pharmacy. Call around, choose a pharmacy that’s convenient for you and tell them the price you were quoted. Many pharmacies will match it. Apps like GoodRX can help you compare prices and discounts at local pharmacies and print free coupons. But see #3 above before deciding which pharmacy to use. If you take multiple medications, it’s best to purchase all of your prescriptions from the same pharmacy, so your pharmacist can check for drug interactions, duplicate therapy or other medication issues.
    
8. Split pills. Ask your doctor if your prescription comes in a higher dose that’s safe to split. You may be able to get a 2-month supply of medicine in double the dose that you need for the price of a 1-month supply, cutting your prescription cost in half. But tablet-splitting isn’t safe for all meds. “Enteric-coated and time-release drugs cannot be cut,” says Thomas R. Clark, RPh, executive director of the Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy.
   
   
9. See if you qualify for assistance. Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) are run by drug companies. They provide free or low cost prescription medicine to people who are uninsured (or in some cases, if a particular drug is not covered under an insurance plan) and meet certain income guidelines. RXAssist.org is a comprehensive online resource center and database that can help you research PAPs, download applications and print redeemable drug coupons. They also offer a drug discount card. Many states in the U.S. and the U.S. Virgin Islands offer their own PAPs.
   
10. Use a Flexible Spending Account (FSA). If you have access to a FSA program at work, you can put money into the account and pay for your medications with pre-tax dollars. For example, if you’re in the 25% tax bracket, this effectively gives you a 25% discount on your meds. It can be a valuable benefit for people who know how much they will spend each year on medication and other health purchases. This is important because if you don’t spend all the money in your FSA by year-end, you will forfeit the money.

What Pharmacy Has The Cheapest Dispensing Fee?

Dispensing fees vary from pharmacy to pharmacy, so check around.  If you claim under ODB then the pharmacist are regulated to a set charge.

Currently Costco and Walmart have the best dispensing fees, just under $4.00 per prescription. You don’t have to be a member of Costco to utilize their pharmacy. Compare the $4.00 to Shopper’s Drug Mart charge of approximately $12.00 per prescription, and you can see the savings.

As per the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Pharmacists receive a  dispensing fee for filling your prescription(s). This fee covers services such as:

• Consulting with you about your treatment 
• Maintaining and checking your medication records
• Providing drug information to your doctors 
• Dispensing your drug products
• Stocking medication 
• General operating costs such as employees’ salaries, rent, and so on

There  are two types of dispensing fees in Ontario:

• the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) dispensing fee, and; 
• the “usual and customary” dispensing fee for  prescriptions not claimed under ODB. Example: you pay for a prescription yourself and do not claim it under ODB.”

Pharmacists are businesses that want to make a profit, just like any other business, and one of the ways to do that is to charge a dispensing fee.

Are 90-day Prescriptions Cheaper?

In an analysis of ten popular maintenance medications, we found that it is significantly cheaper to purchase 90-day refills instead of 30-day. 

For example, let’s say you’ve been taking Lipitor, a medication commonly used to treat high cholesterol. You’ve been on this medication for a while, and you stay at the same strength of 40 mg per day. If you buy a 30-day refill of this medication, the average retail cost is $85.98 per month, resulting in a cost of $1,031.76 per year. 

If you switch to buying 90-day refills, you would only pay $874.04 per year on average. By buying in bulk, you’re saving $157.72 per year! Since maintenance medications are often taken for many years, this can add up to a lot of savings over time. 

In the following table, we’ve illustrated how much patients can save each year on common medications based on the average annual retail cost of buying 30-day refills vs. 90-day refills.

What is The Difference Between a 30-day And 90-day Refill?

Prescription drugs do not need to be such a financial burden. There are many little-known, practical tips that can significantly lower the cost of your meds. 

One way to save involves buying your meds in bulk by switching from standard 30-day refills to 90-day refills. 

A 30-day refill is usually the default option. It is your typical pill bottle, filled with enough medication to last you one month. With this option, you’ll need a refill 12 times a year—once per month. 

Instead of just one month, a 90-day refill is enough medication to last you three months. That means you’d only need a refill four times a year. 

Essentially, purchasing 90-day refills means you’re buying your meds “in bulk”—similar to how you save by buying toilet paper at Costco instead of at your local grocery store.

Is GoodRx Really Free?

Prescription drug prices are not regulated. The cost of a prescription may differ by more than $100 between pharmacies across the street from each other! Insurance isn’t helping like it used to. In the past 10 years, insurance companies started passing 25-80% more of the cost of drugs onto patients.

GoodRx gathers current prices and discounts to help you find the lowest cost pharmacy for your prescriptions.

GoodRx is 100% free. No registration required.

Is Prescription Cheaper at Costco?

There’s no shortage of places you could go when you need to fill a prescription. But there are a few compelling reasons why you may want to make Costco Pharmacy the pharmacy of choice for yourself and your family.

First and foremost, Costco Pharmacy is open to anybody where required by law. In practice, that means in most states. So, you don’t really even have to be a member to use the Costco pharmacy.

In an era of skyrocketing prescription costs, Costco routinely has some of the lowest prices on medications. If you’re looking to cut the cost of your prescriptions, the warehouse club is a great place to start — and you don’t necessarily have to pay an annual membership fee to save.

Some locations even have a separate entrance for non-members that leads directly into the pharmacy. Call your local store to check before heading out.

Costco Pharmacy helps customers get lower prices through something called the Costco Member Prescription Program (CMPP).

The CMPP, which is free for Costco members to join, is not insurance. There’s no reimbursement when you make a prescription purchase. What you get instead is discounts on all prescription medications and some OTC meds.

But again, you must be a dues-paying member of Costco to join. More on that in a moment.

So, exactly how much will you save with the CMPP? Here are a few select discounts as noted on the Costco website:

Medication name	CMPP Price
BAYER Contour next Strips #100	$46.80
Dilantin 100mg Cap #90	$61.19
Lipitor 10mg Tab #90	$215.64
Viagra 100mg Tab #10	$140.06
Norvasc 5mg Tab #90	$146.55
Pristiq ER 50mg Tab #90	$337.30
ProAir RespiClick	$37.41
Retin-A Micro 0.1% Gel 45gm	$682.39
Victoza Pen 18mg/3ml #2	$596.38

“The amount of any price reduction is determined at the time of purchase, based on additional negotiated discounts with suppliers and manufacturers regarding the drug(s) dispensed, and/or on Costco’s net cost of purchasing certain drugs, both of which may change from time to time,” Costco notes on its website.

Joining is easy; just complete the simple enrollment form available at any Costco Pharmacy.

What is GoodRx Gold Plan?

GoodRx Gold is a monthly membership program that provides dramatic discounts on prescription drugs and healthcare services for you and your family.

For $9.99/month, GoodRx Gold membership provides exclusive access to low drug prices for individuals. For families, choose our $19.99/month plan and add up to 5 family members — your kids, grandma and grandpa, and even pets!

It’s so easy to save. Just show your card (or the GoodRx Gold mobile app) when you fill a prescription at thousands of participating pharmacies in the United States.

Over 1,000 prescriptions for under $10 with GoodRx Gold. That’s a savings of up to 90%. GoodRx Gold prices can even be lower than your insurance copay.

GoodRx Gold is free for 30 days, after which you’ll pay $9.99 per month for individuals. For families, choose our $19.99 per month plan and add up to 5 family members, including pets. GoodRx Gold is an excellent way to save for any family that takes multiple prescriptions. Remember, you can cancel anytime.

What Does Rx Mean Medical?

Rx is commonly known to most as the symbol for a medical prescription. However, the symbol is derived from the Latin word recipe or “recipere,”which means to take. The word was later abbreviated and became Rx as we know it today.

First, it isn’t the letters “Rx”. That’s just a common shorthand for a symbol which is actually this:

What you are seeing is a capital Roman letter R, which stands for recipe, the imperative form of the verb “to receive” (from which comes the word recipient). In other words, the symbol is a command, meaning in effect “take this”. The symbol itself dates from medieval times, and has come down to us to signify “prescription” and sometimes even “medicine” in a generic sense:

The crossbar across the leg of the R is more mysterious. I was told it is a letter I standing for Jupiter, king of the gods, and the command means (basically) “take this and God help you”. And the astronomical symbol for Jupiter is reasonably similar, especially if you tilt it a bit:

But so is the Egyptian symbol known as the Eye of Horus:

In both of those symbols you can see a hint of a connection.

It has however become popular to create other medical abbreviations based on the idea that “Rx” means “prescription”. For example, it is common to use Bx for biopsy, Cx for cervix, Hx for history, Ex for examination, and so on. None of these is a symbol in its own right; they are just arcane medical abbreviations which borrow from the Rx symbol.

What Are Walmart’s Dispensing Fees?

Dispensing fees are not created equally either. The dispensing fee cost varies widely from pharmacy to pharmacy – and all you have to do is phone and ask. A research found that the Shoppers Drug Mart charges the highest dispensing fee at $13; Rexall was close at 11.99; Loblaw was $10.10, and even Walmart charged $9.97. Costco only charge $4.49 for dispensing.

If you are the sole payer for your prescription drugs and you aren’t expecting to be reimbursed for your drug purchase, you can fill a 1000 tablet prescription at one time — there’s no limit. One has to wonder why insurers are sitting back and encouraging these extra dispensing charges to be billed.

Why not allow those on long term medications to have one time annual fill ups? (Of course, if you have a condition that requires regular monitoring or if the drugs are new for you, regular consultations with the doctor and pharmacist are a good thing).

Call around and find out which pharmacy in your neighbourhood has the cheapest dispensing fee. And if they push you to take a supply which would mean having to come back to them for repeated refills, simply say “no thanks.”

Do All Pharmacies Charge The Same For Prescriptions?

Although it’s easier nowadays, it can sometimes be difficult to find medications at cheaper prices. Instead of using an app or dedicated search engine, you may have to do some intensive prescription shopping. You may find yourself running around or calling different pharmacies to find the best price. Oftentimes, the pharmacist can have trouble giving you medication prices on a whim.

Instead of putting in unnecessary work, you can use a tool like Inside Rx to find the cheapest pharmacy to fill your prescriptions. You might want to look past the traditional drugstores for the lowest prices. Sometimes you may find better prices with grocery stores and variety stores.

Whether your doctor prescribes you the brand name or generic drug can also play a role in your prescription costs. Brand name drugs are typically more expensive than generic ones. However, a generic version is often available for most drugs and contains the same active ingredients. Talk to your doctor to make sure you can use a generic version.

There are plenty of free resources at your fingertips to save money on prescriptions. With the convenience of the internet these days, it’s easier to find affordable prices for medications.

Why Are Some Prescriptions so Expensive?

Despite how drug costs affect our health on a day-to-day basis, few of us are aware of exactly how the pharmaceutical market works, what drives up already high drug prices, and how to save money on prescription costs. Let’s take a look at why drugs cost so much, how your choices matter.

Lack of price regulation

At a basic level, drug manufacturers call the shots when it comes to how much American patients pay for their prescriptions. While the Food and Drug Administration regulates how new drugs are tested, marketed, and released on the market, they don’t have any price control over medications. Meaning, customers are subject to the whims of what many call “Big Pharma.”

In May 2019, the Trump administration finalized a new requirement for manufacturers to include the list price of drugs in their TV advertisements. This could enhance transparency by helping customers compare the list price of drugs (set by manufacturers) to their copay (set by insurers). One 2013 study found that out-of-pocket costs with insurance exceeded the cash price of the drug without insurance 23% of the time.

Drug exclusivity protection

When a new drug hits the market, it’s immediately placed under patent and drug exclusivity protection, with patents currently lasting 20 years. Drug exclusivity means that other pharmaceutical companies can’t compete by developing generic drugs with similar effects.

In theory, patenting and drug exclusivity inspire further research and development of better and more effective treatments for debilitating diseases like cancer and can even aid the current race to find effective treatments and a vaccine for the coronavirus. They ostensibly protect hard-earned research from being stolen by a competitor.

However, this often leaves payers stuck with staggeringly high drug prices. One of the biggest problems, according to Peter B. Bach, physician and director of the Center for Health Policy and Outcomes at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, is that the law essentially forces insurers to include each and every expensive drug in their policies, regardless of their efficacy or price.

Price hikes in the supply chain

Meanwhile, insurance companies are putting the squeeze on consumers with increasing monthly premiums and health plans that don’t always cover brand-name drugs.

And then there are the pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) who manage price negotiations with pharmacies, insurance companies, drug companies, and even your employers to come up with a list of approved drugs that will be covered under your plan. It’s a twisty-turny supply chain that, in the end, affects your bottom line.

High administrative costs

The United States has the unfortunate bragging rights that its citizens pay several times more for healthcare than people in other high-income countries, like Sweden, France, the U.K., and Canada, among others.

The Journal of the American Medical Association reported, “Contrary to some explanations for high spending, social spending and health care utilization in the United States did not differ substantially from other high-income nations. Prices of labor and goods, including pharmaceuticals and devices, and administrative costs appeared to be the main drivers of the differences in spending.”

Limited market competition

By contrast, there are fewer insurance companies in Europe and Canada, which gives them leverage over the pharmaceutical industry. They’re free to reject high-priced drugs, so pharmaceutical companies must actually compete in a free market.

As a result, drug prices are more reasonable overall, and despite what the pharmaceutical industry claims, lower prices don’t seem to affect research and drug development.

How Many Times Can You Use a GoodRx Coupon?

Participating pharmacies are required to accept GoodRx through contracts with their pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). An exception is for controlled medications. Accepting a GoodRx coupon for a controlled medication is always at the discretion of the pharmacist.

Pharmacies or pharmacy purchasing groups work with PBMs to negotiate reimbursement rates. GoodRx partners with these PBMs to display the contracted prices to help patients and healthcare providers make informed decisions about the cost of their care. In some instances, GoodRx also works with pharmacies directly.

GoodRx coupons represent prices provided by PBMs. Unlike manufacturer copay cards, GoodRx coupons have no eligibility requirements, no activation step, and no restrictions on how many times the coupon can be used.

What Pharmacy Has The Best Generics?

If you’ve been buying generic medicine at a major convenience store, you might want to explore other options.

A Consumer Reports survey revealed people can pay up to $862 more on generic medicine at the highest-priced pharmacy, compared to the lowest. HealthWarehouse.com had the cheapest prices, while CVS, Rite Aid, and Target had the most expensive prices for generic drugs.

Here is the list of stores ranked in order of the lowest to highest prices, according to the consumer watchdog:

1. HealthWarehouse.com
2. Costco
3. Independent pharmacies
4. Sam’s Club
5. Walmart
6. Kmart
7. Grocery stores
8. Walgreens
9. Rite Aid
10. CVS/Target

Of course, if you have insurance that will cover the cost of the drugs, the price difference may not be that much between the stores. But that might not always be the case, so be sure to comparison shop before you make the purchase.

Sometimes the cost of buying generic medicine out of pocket at Costco may be lower than your insurance copay, according to Redditors discussing the study in a thread.

Is Target Cheaper Than Walmart?

When it comes to shopping at Walmart or Target, people have some serious feelings on the matter. You are usually either team Target or team Walmart all the way.

While many people swear Walmart has significantly lower prices, others claim they don’t care if they have to pay more for what they see as a better shopping experience. 

We’ve put together some data to see what the price differences are on popular name-brand products at these two retail-titans.

We are comparing online store prices for each store, and this price comparison is being conducted in April of 2021 from the Midwestern area of the United States.

Category	Target	Walmart	Savings
Groceries	$44.61	$44.28	0.7%
Health and Beauty	$36.64	$36.10	1.5%
Electronics	$289.95	$295.82	2%
Pet Care	$53.55	$53.18	0.7%
Baby	$70.26	$70.16	0.1%
Total Cart Price	$495.01	$499.54	0.9%

Our findings show that Target did provide a cheaper cart price (by a very small margin), however, this is mainly due to the fact that the electronics category consists of a high percentage of the total cart price.

The electronics category is the only category where Target is providing a lower price compared to Walmart, in all other categories Walmart is the winner.

Read Also: A Few Tips For Selling Coupons On eBay

So when looking for the absolute lowest price, go for Walmart, expect when shopping for electronics, where Target would be your spot for the lowest price.

Last Words

Prescription costs can add up, especially for long-term medications or branded drugs with no generic alternatives. However, people may be able to save money on prescriptions by following certain strategies, whether they have insurance or not.

When looking to save money on prescriptions, a person should work closely with their doctor. Doctors can help identify cost-effective drug alternatives or provide longer prescriptions or samples. They can also explore the possibility of lowering dosages or stopping medications.

Anyone who cannot afford their prescriptions may want to consider applying for assistance programs, either from the drug companies themselves or from nonprofit organizations or government programs.