Before I forget: Women can get a bunch of free medical tests from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11 (that’s today) at any Sam’s Club with a pharmacy.
Among them: thyroid, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure. You don’t have to fast for these tests. For more details, see my previous post on the subject.
Now: Back to All Hallows Eve. According to the National Retail Federation, just over one-third of U.S. adults plan to do the Monster Mash this Oct. 31, either at private homes or bars. Remember when Halloween used to be about kids and cavities?
That’s the main topic of my monthly gig at Retail Me Not. “What to buy in October: Look for boo-coup Halloween steals and denim deals” notes that while the Grinch may have stolen Christmas, adults have purloined Halloween.
It’s never been as easy to dress up, whether that’s by purchasing a fully accessorized look or buying elements of a theme – superhero, monster, “Star Wars,” horse’s head – from local or online shops. The longer you wait the deeper the discounts will be, and you can push it pretty far thanks to overnight or second-day shipping.
Since Halloween is on a Friday night you might push it pretty far, too: two whole days to recover from the party!
Important safety tip: Just about everybody has a camera in his cellphone these days. The Internet is forever, and those photos of you dressed as a zombie hooker with a 40-ouncer in each hand are forever, too.
Retiring early, free medication and teaching kids about cash
I’ve put up two new articles over at Money Talks News.
“10 strategies to retire earlier than your friends on the same salary” is part tough love and part basic money smarts. At least one commenter thought it was awful of me to be so clinical (okay, blunt) about topics such as love and children. Fact is, both are potentially expensive propositions. Marry in haste and you could lose your shirt; create children you can’t adequately support and you could learn to hate yourself for not thinking things through.
Did you know that you can often get certain antibiotics, diabetes supplies and prenatal vitamins for free? That’s just one of the “11 great perks at your local pharmacy.” See if those meds are free in your region, and maybe save a lot. Be sure to pass along the information to anyone you know who’s having trouble paying for this stuff.
I’ve often emphasized the need to teach our children about money. An article I wrote for the August issue of Consumers Digest magazine is now available for free online.
“How to raise money-smart kids” lays out some at-times disturbing facts about what our children are facing: increasingly high educational costs, the need for early development of a good credit score (since it can affect employment, housing, and insurance and loan rates), the necessity of funding their own retirements.
Teaching our kids about money can feel daunting if we don’t feel our own grasp on finances is particularly firm. Two thoughts about that:
- You may know a lot more than you think, and
- Why not take this opportunity to educate yourself and pass along what you learn?
I’d be interested in reactions to any or all of the above articles.
Related reading:
Both articles look interesting and a must read for many folks. Raising money smart kids is a given, I wonder how many kids will actually take their parents advice, since they know so much during the teenager stage.