Saturday, December 15, 2012

Getting Meds On The Road & Fuel

A lot of things have changed getting meds on the road since June 2000.  At the beginning getting meds on the road was just a stop at a military base to get them refilled.  My annual check ups were done at a military base which was never a problem.  Times have changed for the military retiree.  Very seldom can we get meds on base and they do take retires on base for check ups – rare.  We are now in a aftermarket BS thing like a lot of people.  Being active duty for 21 years health care is another benefit that has eroded for retirees.  It was a selling point to overcome the low pay was the health benefits after retirement – free.  BS now!  Back to the subject.  We know some people that get their meds at Wal-mart.  I think that is pretty neat & convenient.   We tried CVS and that was pretty good so we will stick with CVS for 2013.  They have drive thrus also.  What ever works the best for you and that you like of course and there are more options than you think to use out here on the road.  Do the research and ask around.  We don’t care for the usual lines at Wal-mart pharmacy that we have seen. 

Several people have asked about my high blood pressure.  Well folks, it has been running in the 110’s lately and even lower than Carol’s.  She thinks the little blood pressure device is broken.  Considering my pressure use to run in the 150’s using heavy meds , it’s pretty dog on good now.  Now I take vitamins, changed the diet some, cut back on the caffeine stuff, some exercise (walking) and lost 30 pounds of which I gained 10 lbs back before seeing the doc.  The doc said lose another 20 lbs.  He has reduced my blood pressure meds in half and not using another med at all.  It will be another year until I see him again.

FUEL UPDATE.  We all know the price of fuel is coming down.  I got diesel here in Livingston, TX in Oct and it was $3.79.  Yesterday it dropped to $3.57.  Gas went down to $2.99.  These are the same prices as they were a year ago here in Livingston.  It’s not a lot but it’s going in the right direction.  On my average fill up it will save me about $20 or so.  2013 we will travel less than 7,000 miles.  That’s a lot less than our normal 15-20K miles.  The mileage difference is due to us selling the business and not needing to do all the miles.  So we will save about $300 for the year if fuel remains the same price for 2013.  We all know that won’t happen.  We have yet to make any major changes in our travels over the years due to fuel prices.  If your budget is that tight that a fuel price increase makes a major difference, then you might want to consider to work camp.  I’m talking to full timers mainly.  Work camping can be fun and a learning experience.  Plus you save money and maybe even make money in your new adventure.  We plan to work for Amazon with some good friends in late 2013 for about 10 weeks.  This is our trip money for Alaska 2014.

See ya………….