If you are taking prescription medicines, you know that one of the chief complaints of users is the outrageous cost for some medications. Even if you have a prescription plan through your employer or via the government you are likely paying much more for these medications today than just a few years ago. Many newer medications cost a mint to buy, but you literally cannot live without them. Here are three suggestions to help you reign in prescription costs.

1. Split your pills in half. Thats right if you only need 10 mg of a certain medication, see if your doctor can prescribe 20 mg. The price for both medications should be just about the same. Some drug stores sell pill splitters that will help you cut them in half. Check with your doctor first to make sure that the drug does not lose its efficacy when cut in half.

2. Use expired drugs. Expiration dates on prescription drugs are not accurate. In fact, in many cases they are made up! Some studies have shown that medications used for up to five years after their expiration date retained nine tenths of their potency.

3. Shop around. You may learn that one drugstore sells your medication for X amount while another sells it for Y amount. Depending on the prescription the savings to you can be significant.

Were not likely to see cheap prescription medications any time soon. Sure, you could order from Canada, but you cannot be sure that the drugs you order outside of the US are of the same quality as the ones you purchase locally.