Kelly's Thrifty Tips

I have to see my doctor soon, and let me tell you...I dread it. I don't dread seeing my doctor. I dread the price for the blood work I have to get before hand. This got me to thinking that there has to be a way to get blood work done at more affordable prices. I knew of one way and that is Healthwaves which is AWESOME. Seriously it is great.

Healthwaves sends lab techs to various grocery stores in Arizona. They have a schedule on the website as well as the tests that they do. You go to the location, fill out the forms, and get your blood work. Your results are mailed to you, and from there you can give them to your doctor. This has saved me serious money just on my thyroid blood work alone. Check them out at the link above. You can get their full 2011 schedule as well as what tests they provide. You can even download and printout there form so there is one less thing for you to do when you go to get your tests.

As I mentioned, Healthwaves does some of the tests my doctor orders, but because they do not do them all. Additionally, I do have to wait for them to come to my area. This isn't a terrible strain, but time can be of the essence when getting lab work done. I searched a little harder to find another way to get my lab work done at a lower price. This led me to PrePaidLab.com. Let me just say I was thrilled. PrePaidLab.com also offers inexpensive lab work, but you order it and pay for it in advance online.

It works like this, you go to their website and locate a participating lab near you, then you order your blood work and pay for it, next you print out your requisition and bring it to your lab. The results are mailed to you. This all sounded amazing to me, but I wanted to be sure that I could really order and pay for my labs through PrePaidlab.com and get the work done at the lab in my area. I called one of the labs listed who directed me to call their main office, and they told me that they did work with PrePaidLab.com and to follow the instructions on the site and bring the requisition to their participating lab. There are five in my area and the farthest is less than 13 miles away. What I liked about PrePaidLab.com was that the prices are great and I can get lab work done when I need it. They have an extensive list of lab work that you can have done. Don't take my word for it, CNN did a story on it here.

FREEBIES

I'm starting with free music today. FreeCCM is continuing with their Blast To The Past with a free song download of "When It Was Over" by Sara Groves AND you can still get free music downloads from Phil Wickham, The Afters and Chris Rice. Don't pass up these fabulous and free tunes. To get your free songs you do need to be a member, but it is free and they do not overload your inbox with a bunch of junk email.

LINK: FreeCCM

iTickets.com has two new downloads for you as well. You can get "Come Home" by Luminate and "The One" by Javen. If you are looking for local Christian concerts and events, iTickets is also a great resource for that too!

LINK: iTickets

New Release Tuesday has free downloads for members. You can get "New Beginnings" from Luminate, "Leaving Eden" from Brandon Heath, and an 18 song compilation from independent artists courtesy of Compassion International. If you like Christian music, this is going to be THE hookup.

LINK: New Release Tuesday

While supplies last Sam's Club members can get samples of Genuine Bayer Aspirin.

LINK: Bayer Aspirin Sam's Club

Did you send Kleenix to a friend back when that was free? If so you may want to share some Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal with a friend too. Maybe talk a friend into sharing some with you. Follow the link below and arrange to share some yummy Quaker Oatmeal Squares with some friends.

LINK: Share Quaker Oatmeal Squares

Newsweek Magazine through Rewards Gold. I have gotten many of my free magazine subscriptions through Rewards Gold. They are completely free subscriptions with no obligations of renewal, and they are really easy to get. They do go fast however. Follow the link below to get Newsweek magazine. Here is what you have to do: Join Rewards Gold, Refer Two Friends, Take a Survey and do two reviews (we are talking easy). That is it. You give your details, and your in.

LINK: Newsweek Rewards Gold

I was not sure if I gave this last week so I thought I would share it just in case. While supplies last, sign up for Lactaid Fast Act. These can be really helpful for those people who have problems with dairy.

LINK: Lactaid Fast Act

Don't forget those printable coupons. Cellfire.com doesn't only have coupons that you can download to your Fry's loyalty card but you can also print coupons. Be sure to check them out and print what you can use. Redplum.com has some great printable coupons for groceries too, and don't forget to check out Coupons.com and Smartsource.com. For personal savings join Safeway's Just For U. There are lots of coupons that you can load directly to your Safeway loyalty card.


REBATE

Get a $5 rebate from Nature when you purchase $30 of Nature Made products. The details are on their website. Buy any combination of Nature Made brand products totaling $30 or more between 1/16/11 and 2/20/11. Mail the register receipts along with the form you get from filling out the rebate request. Get it in the mail ASAP (postmarked by March 4th and received by March 18). Oh...the $30 total is less coupons so if you are using coupons the total has to be $30 after those coupons are deducted.

LINK: Nature Made Rebate

Keebler has a Wheatables Rebate. Try Wheatables free after rebate. Go for original Golden Wheat or Toasted Honey Wheat. The rebate must be post marked by 3/30/11 and in by 4/13/11.

LINK: Wheatables