Weekly Roundup – Swine Flu Preparations Edition

August 27, 2009 by Frugal Dad

ne flu could make a real comeback this fall. While this doesn’t necessarily pertain to finances, it could certainly affect your personal finances if you have to miss work, or pay costly medical bills. I saw the doctor last week for a nasty case of bronchitis and overheard them telling another patient in the lobby that they have seen a lot of regular, seasonal flu early this season. Swine flu or not, it seems like flu will dominate much of the news cycle in the coming months.

I don’t usually respond to these dire “flu pandemic preparedness” warnings that seem to come around every few years, but it does make sense to stay prepared for any situation. We found a great preparedness guide at one of my new favorite sites, SurvivalBlog.com.

The author runs through a list of things to have on hand, techniques to use to prevent getting the flu, and what to do if you do get it. We have started picking up a few extra medicines (expectorants, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, etc.) to help battle any symptoms, and stocked up on things like hand sanitizers (especially for the kids). If you are a member, check out wholesale clubs like Sams Club for things like this, and look for the store brand medicines to save money. We were able to pick up a 500-count bottle of acetaminophen for a fraction of the cost of the equivalent number of Tylenol.

The Frugal Roundup

How To Survive a Stock Market Crash. Recent stock market declines have really tested my faith in the market. Jeff reminds us why to keep the faith and keep plowing long-term savings in the market to win out. (@Good Financial Cents)

The Valuable Art of Media Swapping. We often share books, movies and games with friends and family as sort of an informal swap. With video games, it’s great to let the kids try it out before deciding whether or not it is worth buying. (@The Simple Dollar)

8 Steps to Achieving Your Financial Resolutions – No Matter What. This post inspired me to look back over my 2009 financial resolutions to make sure I was on track. Guess what? I’m not. Time to put Neal’s advice to work!(@Wealth Pilgrim)

Lifestyle Inflation. Nothing can rob you of progress, financially, faster than lifestyle inflation. I’ve lost track of how many times I received a raise and then ran spending up by the same percentage. Draw a line in the sand, and start saving everything above it. (@Million Dollar Journey)

25 Essentials That Are Better and Cheaper to Make at Home. An excellent resource for saving money around the house by choosing homemade products over their retail counterparts.(@Man vs. Debt)

Budgeting With the Envelope System. When we first started our financial turnaround we used envelopes to manage our budget categories. Over time, we relaxed things a bit and started using a debit card. However, envelopes are still great for those budget categories you tend to spend more on each month than planned – think food, entertainment, etc. (@Lazy Man and Money)

How Much Baby Stuff Do I Need? New parents can burn through a lot of cash those first few months. If you are expecting, or no one someone who is, you may want to run this article by them.(@The Frugal Girl)

Best of the Rest

Bonus article: The founder of Papa John’s spent $250,000 to buy back the old Camaro he sold back in 1983 to keep his family’s business afloat, and to start a little pizza business. Wonder if that old Chevy Silverado I sold is still around? I wouldn’t pay $250,000 for it, but it would be great to save up and pay cash for it now that I’ve turned things around.

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