In the past few weeks I've gotten some mail that made me think a bit more again how I've looked at the savings in my own eyeglasses purchases. To be sure, there are more than a few people in the forums who've "reinvested" their savings in additional glasses. It's easy to do, especially if you've got a flex spending account (FSA for all of you human resources folks out there) set up.
But what of those of us who only need one pair?
What are some of the other things we spend or even (gasp!) save the money we didn't spend on glasses? Mine melts right into the shrinking budget in a million different ways, but wouldn't it be somehow more satisfying to identify where it went? Here are a few things to consider spending your savings on.
I used to figure that if I got two years out of a pair of glasses I was doing pretty well and that a new pair would cost over $300.
It got me to thinking. In a sputtering economy, things like these can have a big effect on personal economic well being. Let's use that $300 as a baseline for a typical pair of eyeglasses bought at LensCrappers and $30 for an average cost of a pair of online glasses. It's like a 90% off coupon (on the whole package - versus those silly frame coupons with which they routinely stuff my mailbox).
So here we have it
$270.
What does it buy?
- 4 tanks of gas.
- Broadband internet for almost 7 months.
- A year of Netflix.
- An overflowing cart at the grocery store.
- 6 new bras.
- Two trips out to the fine dining establishment of your choice for you and your significant other (hold the champagne)
- A Nintendo Wii (for the kids) with an extra Wiimote. Burn off some calories too!
- That brake job on your Cavalier that you've been putting off.
- A warm winter coat.
- More than a year's worth of Gamefly (again for the kids).
- Sweaters for the entire family (you can now drop the thermostat a few degrees starting in November). SAVE EVEN MORE MONEY!
- Save it. $10.80 interest in a year @ 4%
6 comments:
- At August 15, 2008 at 7:27 AM Maria Stahl said...
-
Most of the health insurance deductible for any single one of us (we have a $300 per person deductible).
A couple months' worth of school lunch money.
A gas grill on end-of-season clearance.
Firewood. - At August 16, 2008 at 9:28 AM Anonymous said...
-
WELL I am very grateful I found this blog... I think it was linked from another one.
Anyways, MY glasses tend to cost over 500 dollars. (big bad lens Rx)
And the pair I got in march?
about 100, because I wanted to try photochromic(which I am now glad I always got denied, because "I wouldn't like it with my Rx" So I'm glad I never had to fork that much dough over for glasses I didn't like)
I really like my glasses, but next pair won't be photochromic.
Here is hte kicker...what used to cost over 500, without the photochromic add on? Will only be 40 or 50...maybe a little more depending on who I go with. That... makes me happy.
And for what its worth? Since I got them several people have asked about them. Specifically if they were LensCrafts... including a couple of people in a eyeglass place I had gone to because of the nosepads being busted.
450+ in savings is a lottt of money. I don't have to save up to get my glasses, because of no insurance....and then worry about my accident prone self with them.
thanks again! - At August 17, 2008 at 11:46 PM Anonymous said...
-
"That brake job on your Cavalier that you've been putting off."
Ira- I laughed at that one! I started ordering glasses online back in April. I have numerous pairs...one just arrived Saturday and I ordered another pair from Zenni today.
What I find funny about it was that I drive a '97 Cavalier and it needs new front brakes. With the money I've saved from shopping for glasses online I can fix 'em.
Lol...how spot on! - At August 18, 2008 at 6:09 PM Marianne said...
-
I am very grateful someone linked your page to their blog.
I just got my first pair of online glasses last week through your research and recommendations! - At August 24, 2008 at 9:56 PM Anonymous said...
-
Another thing you can buy with the money you've saved is a second backup pair of glasses! Who'd buy two pairs at $300-500 each? But two pairs at $40-80 each? Much more reasonable.
- At August 25, 2008 at 6:32 PM Anonymous said...
-
thank you so so much for this site! i checked out several of the eyeglass sites thanks to you andsaved ALOT of money. I always had perfect vision, but i'm in my 30s now and work on a computer all day, so needless to say, there went my eyesight. So, I had NO clue about glasses, what to get, etc. Bought my first pair last year at lenscrafters where I had my first eye exam since I was 8. I spent $250+ WITH a 50% off coupon for my first pair. I SPLURGED on a designer pair from eyebuydirect.com and spent under $100!! I got them a couple weeks ago, and they're perfect, fit well, script is excellent. I will NEVER buy in a store again, and am about to buy cheaper "backup" pairs online just for the hell of it, because now I can afford it! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
