Even with Wal-Marts vaunted $4 program you need to compare apples to apples. Most if not all Wal-Marts meds are based on #30 pills/caps/tabs. So if you get #90, that is now $12. Which is now more than the $10 Costco price for #100.
Not only that but for Wal-Mart to make money they have to charge more for their other meds to make up the difference. For example I went to get a generic version of Zithromax, thinking $4, but no it was $42, called Costco and it was $22.

Also, I don’t go to the Dr much but have had some prescriptions filled in the last couple of years. EVERYTIME!!! there was at least one prescription with a rebate offer if you went to the official website. I never would have thought of that but I was curious what exactly the expensive ($32 after using insurance) drug did. I found a rebate offer covering up to $30 of my co-pay. With that the most expensive prescription that day turned in the cheapest.

At our house, we go to Costco once a month, at the beginning of every month. We have strict rules that we only buy food there, and we don’t buy anything we aren’t totally positive we’ll be able to eat (it’s difficult to consume six heads of lettuce before they go bad, for example, if only one of you likes salad).

Anyway, I was feeling dubious that Costco was actually saving us money. Being a working mom of two, I didn’t have time to do exact price comparisons for things like diapers and yogurt, so we ran a simpler experiment.

For one month, we didn’t shop at Costco. We decided to do all of our shopping at our regular supermarket. Paper towels, diapers, food, everything we bought at Safeway or King Sooper’s. We held ourselves to the same rules: no extra buying of magazines or stuffed animals or crockpots, try to avoid waste.

My hypothesis was that we would actually spend less on groceries. I figured we would buy only what we needed at the supermarket, and that there might be less waste. I also (wrongly) suspected that there wasn’t that much of a price break at Costco.

So, did we save money that month?

Nope. In fact, we spent $300 MORE on groceries. Diapers, formula, food, paper goods, cat food–all more expensive at the regular stores.

So, I don’t have the hard data to compare product by product. But the bottom line is clear. Last month, we went back to our Costco trip and stayed within budget. This month is on track to do the same.

Interesting, huh?

That said, I love my local CVS because the pharmacists there are excellent, and the pharmacists and pharmacy techs there know my family and always ask about my son, who has some unusual medical issues. They’ve gone out of their way to make sure that we get what we need as quickly as possible. I wouldn’t switch for any reason. Of course, I also have exceptionally good medical insurance and have never had to pay more than a $15 co-pay, even on some REALLY expensive drugs like Lovenox. If we had to pay out of pocket we would have to look more closely at the pricing.

BTW, I would also love to read the roofing quote story. Our first quote for a tear-off and replacement was $21K, which scared us so much we’ve had a hard time getting motivated to call more companies for quotes.

(Disclaimer: I work for a PBM. But not on commission. )

Back when I was growing up, my hometown had a few drug stores. Now there is literally one at almost every major intersection. Sometimes you can find a CVS and a Walgreens caddy-corner from each other. It’s even worse because their buildings always look so similar. So bland, with the beige exterior, weird pseudo-window/pseudo-foyer thing in front, and the big red lighted logo.

The only time I visit those stores is the day after Valentine’s, Easter, etc. to get candy at 75% off.

Can you make that day tomorrow? I have to get bids on a fence and want to find a difference in price like that.