Over the counter (finance) Puns

AMA

Hey all, this is my first time actually contributing to the sub. Usually I come here for advice but now I have some for you. At the end of 2018 I downloaded a budget template and logged all transactions throughout 2019 and I have never felt more in control of my finances. By keeping an indepth budget sheet I was able to pinpoint and realise where my money was going where it shouldn't be and to where it should be going instead. Being able to track every cent I spent or earned was the best thing I did in 2019.

You don't need to use the template I am, but I would recommend it: https://www.thefrugalgene.com/budget-spreadsheet-free-google-docs-planner/ use this one instead: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qxe7PBGLVknHwJmRGP-1J60UsjCXsMffKFEnbmb3-SI/edit?usp=sharing

The biggest obstacle is to keep yourself motivated to continue filling it in as the year goes on. Keep your receipts to make it easier. If you share your finances with an SO or similar, keep each other motivated. At the end of the year you will find yourself in a much more powerful position when it comes to your finances. Logging all my expenses made me see how much money I wasted on junk food and the sorts.

If anyone has anything else to add please do so as I wont claim I have all the answers. I hope this post helps some of you :)

And lastly, Happy New Year everyone!

No they didn't, but you were ready to believe that shit.

Supplements like iron or potassium or even chlorella/spirulina?

I heard from a friend that most cold meds like DayQuil or Cold Eez are just placebos. Is it true?

title says it all

did you vote?

vote for my mans bernie xans cause he's legalizing chill

A majority of over the counter products are absolute junk, but that doesn't stop the customers for having unrealistic expectations. Most of my job, at this point, feels like I'm just putting on a show for people. I just lead them around the aisles and let them pick the shiniest packaging they find and then say something generic like "Wow! That's something you can try if you'd like."

They cannot understand the concept that just because something exists, does not mean its effective (at least in the OTC world). They cannot understand the concept that just because something is expensive, it does not mean it will work.

The only things that actually work are:

Anti-histamines for allergies/histamine mediated reactions.

Nsaids/APAP for fever/mild pain.

Sedating antihistamines to help sleep (kinda)

Melatonin to help sleep.

H2RA/PPIs for stomach acid.

Sodium bicarb (or similar) for stomach acid.

PEG for constipation.

Docusate/sonnosides for constipation.

Is loperimide worth anything? Idk I've actually never looked into that.

Aspirin I guess doesn't work so well to prevent heart attacks any more, but it still might be helpful. Also may help with headaches/pain or whatever.

Pseudoephedrine does work well for sinus congestion

So does afrin.

But will they ask for something to help with those things? No.

They'll ask for a good product for anxiety. They'll ask for products for erectile dysfunction. They'll insist on having pseudophed because they have a fever and "it worked last time." They'll have every weird skin anomaly known to mankind and expect some special cream to fix it. They'll tell you some random factoid about themselves and then question your intellect if you recommend a product that does not specifically address that random factoid in the package labeling. "This clariten doesn't say its okay for people with skin cancer to take. I have skin cancer." For some reason everyone that needs anything thinks their high blood pressure is relevant too?? In the same vein, they'll also ask for OTC recommendations for high blood pressure lol.

The other day I had one of our elderly patients ask me "I don't have the flu yet. But if I should come down with it, what is the best thing to take?" How do you explain to someone who doesn't know how to send an email that you just use supportive care and there isn't really a flu medication?

They don't want to hear it. THEY WANT MUCINEX BECAUSE THEY SAW IT ON TV!!!!!!!!! Of course you have a cough and of course y

Tl:dr my husband fucked up our money bad. Now I'm taking over finances for the first time in my life and I'm lost. I need resources and advice.

I want to start by saying, I have a good one. My husband isn't a chronic lier or gambler or drug addict. He's just fucking dumb sometimes. But I love him and he works hard for us.

Anyways, money issues came to a head today when I found out he had taken out a 10k loan to pay off credit cards that I didn't even know we were under water with.

I need to take some responsibility. We got together super young and he was always the default money person. Even when we both worked he managed bills and rent and I was happy to let him do it because it's not something I really even understand.

Fast forward 10 years, 2 kids, a mortgage, 2 car payments, and credit cards... I'm lost. I have no idea what comes in and what goes out for why. I have my debit card and it's always full so I grocery shop and buy things for the house without a thought.

Then last weekend my husband's car got repossessed. I had no idea he'd missed payments. We had a talk about me helping out with the money management and got the car back and it was done.

Then THIS MORNING I get a text saying the mortgage is late. Something you may need to know, my husband's dad was a total POS. He got the family deep in debt, lost their house and everything when my husband was a teenager. He has scars around money. He doesn't want to be his dad. I decided to deep dive in to our bank history and found a 10k loan I'd never known about. He acted evasive at first until he finally said "I fucked up. I took it a loan to cover debt and didn't tell you."

So that's where we are now. There's work to be done as far as trust building but at this point I'm in action mode. Bottom line is the dude works 60-80 hour weeks and I'm bored most of the time. I have the time and energy to make sure bills are paid and he just doesn't. So bromos, where do I start? I'm literally lost. I feel like a teenager. This is a skill set I just don't have.

I'm open to any advice or resources you all might have to get me going being the new money person in the house. I want to learn how to pay off our debt and shave spending where I can. I believe we're living within our means, but my husband is forgetful and let's bills go that could honestly be paid off he's just take 5 min to pay them.

Also this dumbass I love and married is on an allowance until the bills are all paid off. I'm not fuckin

I’ve seen a lot of people that say they but z-quil and all sorts of other sleep aids to help them sleep. Save your money, buy benadryl or better yet the generic diphenhydramine and just take the same dosage, which is usually 2 benadryl. It’s cheaper to buy the individual ingredients than to buy a drug that is mixed and marketed for a specific purpose.

i was always told the generic brand is just as good as the actual brand when it came to medication. my mum would buy the generic version of nyquil, advil, certain vitamins, whatever. i figured maybe it was because we were poor but now that im older and have tried the “actual brand” of these meds - i only notice a difference in some cases.

can someone back this up with actual science?

I just got back from a work trip to the States where I got a really bad cold that I was worried would turn into a sinus infection. I have asthma so I can't take most cold medications and I was at Newark airport, desperately stopping at every kiosk looking for guaifenesin - which of course nobody stocked!

It made me realise I should probably start taking stuff like that with me when I travel. So I'm curious, what does everyone else take with them? I always have ibuprofen on me and of course any prescription medicines, but I don't really take OTC medication very often which is probably why packing some with me as standard never occurred to me. I'm guessing Imodium is a common one for many of you, depending on where you're travelling - any others?

Help!

If birth control was over the counter there would likely be more free options and clinics willing to give monthly supplies to those seeking protection.

While condoms are most effective, greater access to pill form birth control would give women (and men with the option of oral contraceptives on the market someday) greater control over their own reproduction.

If you are “pro life”, i’d think this as an obvious way to reduce abortion rates.