New Eye Glasses, Without Costing Me an Arm & a Leg!

I finally got tired of squinting... it was time to update my prescription. Of course that meant going to the eye doctor and I don't have vision insurance, so I was worried about paying an arm and a leg. Plus I'd have to purchase eye glasses - another big expense. But I managed to get it all for approximately $100 - full eye exam, and two pairs of prescription eyeglasses - one tinted for use as sunglasses.

How does one do this?

Well, first things first. Ask around for eye doctor references. Especially if you don't have insurance, find out which eye doctors people like and call up to do a price comparison. One eye doctor was going to charge $108 for the exam, but offered a one-year insurance program that would cost $120 and cover extra visits plus a small discount on their eye glasses. That sounded like a pretty good deal... but I'm young with no additional major eye concerns and probably wouldn't be back for a second appointment within the year, plus, a small discount on their eye glasses? How much would their eye glasses cost to begin with? I kept calling around, and finally found a local eye doctor who charged just $79 flat for one full eye exam, plus a few people gave him good reviews. I was pleased!

Next, get your prescription, including pupil distance. That last part is important in getting the correct eyeglasses for your individual needs - essential for the third step.

Finally, pick out your eyeglasses frames from a discount online source. Two major ones are ZenniOptical.com and EyeBuyDirect.com.

• Eye Buy Direct offers glasses for as low as $7.95. A benefit to going with this company is that you can get money back on your purchase if you have an Ebates account, or you can get points for it through a MyPoints account.
• Zenni Optical offers glasses for as low as $8, and although I have MyPoints and Ebates, I still went with Zenni. Here's why - they had a much wider selection of frames at the lowest advertised price of $8. The similar frames I would have purchased through Eye Buy would have cost more than twice the price! Eye Buy has a small $7.95 selection, but the next selection starts at a significantly higher $19.95. (It's very sneaky how they can sucker you into their website by offering a few pairs for just $7.95... caveat emptor.) Zenni has an already large selection for $8, but their next pricing categories are $9.95, $12.95, and $15.95 - all less than Eye Buy's second pricing level.

You may find a pair of glasses on either site for your individual preferences and needs. Also consider shipping costs. I paid the same on shipping two pairs from Zenni that I would've paid for just one pair. So my entire cost came to about $28! (Another thought is to order glasses for the whole family at once to save on shipping - I just happen to be the only one in my household with glasses, at least for now.)

Shipping them took only about a week, and now I can see - without squinting! And thankfully, because of the careful shopping, I even got to keep my arm and my leg!