Hey there. I should have titled this HELP! or even HELP!!!! but you get the gist. And that could be my cry, your cry, or your business cry. If you don’t ask, you can’t have. The challenge is today we tend to be so wrapped up in our own cries that we are deaf to the cries of others and we feel dejected, like, “WHY can’t they hear MY Cry?” I hear your cry, and that is why I look for win-win ways to help us help each other. So please don’t miss that part of this whole thing.
What holds me back from this doing this BLOG post is knowing there are others much worse than us. BUT I also know that others may need our help too and can relate to some of what we have faced. A real challenge is this – people can’t afford to spend extra money today, but when you try to give them real value or put money back into their pockets they think there must be a catch. A guy went over NY City offering bars of gold FOR FREE and bars of silver FOR FREE, and most rejected the offer assuming it too good to be true. Or thinking there was a hidden cost or whatever. THE catch with me is the only way for me to succeed and be a true savings consultant, I have to help you and put money back in your pocket.
Here is my quick story how I got into the position of becoming a SAVINGS CONSULTANT. I am looking for help to help my family, to help prevent any more business casualties (yikes, I just found out every FUDDRUCKERS is now going to close! It was bad enough that the two by us closed. We have driven down to Lancaster PA to their Sight and Sound theaters a few times and a highlight is taking all the kids to a Fuddruckers burger restaurant down there.), and to help you as well.
The next step for me is to get my 2nd license, besides pharmacy, for life and health insurance as one of my big programs gives no cost health care, including a FREE life insurance policies to employees. If you can admit that the healthcare system is BROKEN, that program alone I found is a game changer.
What are some top financial crisis’ you have faced the past few years? What have been some ones that have created ripple effects that you haven’t recovered from? Many of us are 2-3 events away from bankruptcy. Can you survive a health emergency today? A job loss? A devastating repair?
Hear is our crazy story.
This has been a crazy roller coaster to get to the point of launching this- all this originally began in 2010 when Rite Aid got rid of 18 of us in a 6 month period looking for ways to cut us out. My crime that got me fired? Having my mom drop off prescription labels from her local Rite Aid to save the day for us (no one near me had extra labels to spare and I was stuck working the weekend about to not be able to fill any prescriptions) when we ran out because Rite Aid Corporate failed to get us an emergency supply order.
Then I waited 6 months for that new CVS I was hired for to open, did a year of overnights and I was physically shot so I accepted a new pharmacy position for a pharmacy opening in Lackawanna named Sav Rite. I left CVS in October 2012 as they were supposed to open February 2013. Each month was yet another delay and before I knew it I was out of work until November 2013. We opened and that night was the famous Buffalo SNOWVEMBER storm and we closed the whole rest of the week. They had me on a reduced salary for that year after already being out of work a year. THEN they relocated to West Seneca, I broke my wrist the week it opened and was working one handed with my wife who lovingly worked as my tech, and after 2 years things seemed good. Finally. We were growing, we built our dream home in Hamburg after having 7 of us (and 30 cousins under the age of 8 running around at the myriad of birthday parties and holidays we hosted each year) in a 1,100 square foot home in North Collins, and we moved in December 2017. Then in January 2018 (on my birthday!) my pharmacy suddenly closed and I had no job and two mortgages for months. I spent the next 2-3 years underemployed or unemployed. I worked per diem for a pharmacist friend I knew from Sav Rite at his independent, I worked with a doctor office working as a Physician Assistant of sorts and doing drug addiction counseling until she went on a medical leave, I did med reviews over the phone for a health insurance company, I got my (now lapsed) health and life insurance license and tried to sell health insurance over the phone, and I partnered with a pharmacist in Niagara Falls to market his CBD formulation and just before he sent me out to make money after training and helping him for months, he suddenly and tragically died. He was just 36 years old.
I worked for K-marts as a per diem. One after another slowly closed. In 2021 I helped another pharmacy open and 2 years later I was getting stomach ulcers because of how much he cut corners on insurance billing and bent insurance rules and finally I stood up to him and said I wouldn’t do that anymore and he twisted things and before I knew it, I was forced out the door. I couldn’t get unemployment because he had me as a 1099 independent contractor even though I was a FT RPh MGR. In just the summer of last year, I had absolutely NO savings or cash or any source of money, and my wife went and sold her engagement ring so we had money for food. That was not fun. I got some part time gigs but those weren’t enough to pay the mortgage.
This past September I went back to a full time pharmacy management position. I saved every penny for weeks and bought her ring back and now I am working there most days, I work 1 day a week still in Niagara Falls, And I am desperately trying to get these programs going so I can dig out of the debts and get some breathing room and also help others who are also affected by not only past challenges but inflation as well.
How has inflation affected you? Inflation compounds any hardships we have had the past few years and makes things even harder. Credit card debt for Americans is escalating. (FYI one of my programs repairs credit – so if you need that service let me know.)
Just with inflation alone you need to make $12,000 more a year from what you spent just a year ago. Inflation is not going away because 40% of all bills printed were printed during COVID. In 9 years, $1000 will buy just $459.
So my challenges are huge, but MANY are in the same boat. And it’s sinking!
Do you see you need to make changes NOW and not wait until you are sunk? And if you are sinking, what are you doing to not go completely under?
It’s embarrassing perhaps answering to all the financial experts especially those in your own family – how the bleep Mike did you get in this position? What is wrong with you? Don’t you know you are supposed to have a 6 month emergency fund saved up? Buddy, I blew through my emergency fund. And my retirement. And my coin collection. And I tried to find out where you can sell a kidney. And I tried to find out where I can sell MY own kidney. And did everything I could think of. Last year I was going to be working until 4:30 the day of my funeral. This year I can’t retire until 6 months after my funeral.
BUT I can joke and laugh because I have solutions that helped me and so I welcome you to find what I found.
But when I share our story they wonder how I didn’t quit. Only by the grace of GOD.
Yes, I should not be in this position. I am a licensed pharmacist. I work 40-50 hours a week now filling 600 scripts a day. YET here I am- I woke up this morning and while I was sleeping my monthly loan came out and a car payment came out and I woke to NEGATIVE $300 in my bank this morning after having $700 in there last night. I then cashed out my pathetic savings and emergency fund so I had $2 in my checking and $1.50 in my savings until my next paycheck at the end of the week. That was at 8:52 AM.
Then SURPRISE! At 9 am my AAA membership came out and I am now negative $20. And a couple weeks ago I blew through the mortgage money for June with unexpected expenses: broken dryer, car repair, AC repair, dishwasher, vet bill, and the dryer needed us to contact a duct cleaning service. The week before our puppy had her spay and my wife and I got new glasses and contacts.
A lot of us are in this boat. We work non stop and we sleep when we don’t work, and we are always now broke or tired! I tried to apply for a business loan and after trying a few places looking for a loan to cover 3 months of expenses while my consulting business takes off- I am rejected by all and after I am offered INSTEAD a $200 in overdraft coverage with CHIME! You have to laugh or you will go nuts.
SO I am at my whit’s end- BUT I am not giving up. I would throw in the towel but it would only create more laundry. And we just fixed the dryer.
Just know that I can’t make it without COMPENSATED support- meaning I don’t want a HAND OUT. I don’t want to have a GO FUND ME. I want to HELP you in the process so we can help each other.
AS Coach Boone said in Remember the Titans If we don’t come together right now on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed. We need to fight this economy together. It’s not going to magically get better in November. We might be done by October anyway.
How can we help each other? Two ways.
- For one, I do need some referrals which I will pay you for. Especially if you know business owners or folks who will put in a few hours a week to contact businesses and earn legit money from home DOING WORK.
- I do want you to try and maybe SHARE some of my services that make sense for you. I do want you to try our upside down fund raiser- meaning I can put money back in your pocket for helping me. My wife has her own challenges with never ending health challenges that include : gallbladder surgery, kidney stones, diverticulitis, MRSA, restless legs, fibromyalgia, chronic migraines, diabetes, hernia mesh surgery, complications from a hysterectomy, psoriasis, and more. And this week she had been taking care of an elderly woman she knows on her death bed, changing her diapers, keeping her comfortable, reading to her, caring for her- while Hospice nurses come in for 5 minutes and get paid for what my wife is doing. She spent 9 hours with her yesterday- we got a call the lady passed away last night.
That is why even if you can’t stand me – (and why can’t you just write shorter Mike? yeesh!) please do this for HER. Did I mention she sold her ring for us? She even spent hours crocheting strips of plastic bags to make sleeping mats for the homeless one year. She helps anyone she can. And I would love to be able to help take better care of her. We haven’t even had a vacation for almost 10 years.
Real old fashioned help where we help each other through this instead of suffering in silence.
Please check out some of my programs below- Most of the links are below:
Expert Tips for Saving Money and Increasing Profits (savewithmike.net)
I would say I have 2 categories to help
Category 1- help for individuals and families
- Bill lowering without changing essential services (things like wi-fi, cable, home security systems and more) – if they can’t find you savings you don’t pay. If they find savings you split it with them ( I also have a fundraiser set up to help my wife and family – all you have to do is scan in your bills and if they can’t find savings we still get credit- We’re Fundraising upside down! (justviv.com)
- Energy lowering programs- in deregulated states you can get free energy discounts with partnering with a local solar farm without getting panels installed. Discounts range from 5-15% or more and with one program it comes right off your bill so you aren’t changing services. The fundraising program above has an energy program too that looks for the best rate and switches you to whatever is the cheapest – For the solar discounts go to – get.thinkenergy.com/MikethePharmacist
- Membership savings clubs- they are very inexpensive, and you will discover apps that get you cash back on products, gas, grocery, and dining out. Get below Expedia pricing on travel and hotels, buy e-gift cards at chain restaurants and get instant 5-10% cash back. On average people save $1,000- $5,000 a year using them, some offer free credit repair, and more
- Discount vitamin membership club- high quality vitamins for 1/4 the prices of other online companies
- Get up to $325 for free by setting up a bank account with SoFi, the official bank of the NBA. You can earn money by sharing it with others. Join Checking and Savings | You’ve been invited! (sofi.com)
- Join an affiliate marketing program that teaches how you can earn $5/hand written letter to billion dollar on line sweepstake corporations, how to set up your own YouTube Channel, how to set up a trust to not pay taxes, and more. https://sendit.academy/ppl.php?user=MTPLLC
Category 2- help for business owners and sole-proprietors
- Commercial bill negotiation – I am partnered with the creator of this industry and he is able to find substantial savings for businesses. His company lowers on average $5,000-$50,000 in savings. He lowered one biz’s payroll by $10,000. He helps farms to pharmacies to Papa Johns to dental offices to schools to chamber of commerce’s offices to realtors and more. He basically lowers their bills and gets them free money. Connect a biz owner to me for a FREE SAVINGS REVIEW.
- Any business that has 10 or more full time W2 employees with a minimum of $25,000 after deductions annual wages can receive a comprehensive care monitoring and management preventative health care program for their employees and families. THIS enhances coverage and is proven to reduce health care expenditure for a biz, lower absenteeism and lower workman’s comp expenses by up to 25%. It does not replace their coverage BUT today’s SICK CARE isn’t helping- one people wait until it’s too late, and second they have gigantic deductibles so they can’t afford to get sick. This is a program that offers FREE no copay preventative services like labwork, telemed, urgent care, prescription coverage, a life insurance policy, and a continuous monitoring health app that will alert an employee of a hidden pending heart attack and more. There is no cost to the employer and the employee pays no net cost. If you know any businesses, refer them over to me – but check out my link as well- GOwaterrock
- For 1099 workers, small business and more there is a comparable package that employers or employees can purchase that offers preventative benefits and a hospital bill eraser that will chew away at a deductible for a patient. For example, say your insurance has a $5,000 deductible before your coverage kicks in. You land in the hospital and have a $8,000 bill and have to pay $5,000. The bill eraser can get your copay down substantially PLUS the original amount still applies to the deductible.
So please try out a few of the programs that are of interest AND please let any business, non profit, or church know I can help them.
Thank you!
MikethePharmacist
