Frugal Friday: Getting the best deal on contact lenses
I wear contact lenses full-time and over the years I've been on the lookout for the least expensive ways to purchase them. My philosophy is that if it's something you have to buy often, you might as well find the best deal on it!There are a number of websites offering contact lenses for less than what you'd normally pay ordering them at retail from your eye doctor. My best success to score deals and get the lenses I need has been from VisionDirect.com.
We've found it's usually at least $20 less expensive to order from VisionDirect.com plus they often have specials and discount codes to get the price down even more. (For instance, right now you can use the code 15New and get 15% off your order if you are a new customer.)
However, there are some disadvantages to ordering online. Last year, my eye doctor switched me to a new kind of contacts to clear up some eye issues and I was unable to find this new brand online. I ended up ordering a different brand and these burned my eyes really badly. I finally just forked out the extra money and ordered directly from our eye doctor.
I needed to order new contacts this week so we decided to look online to see if VisionDirect.com might possibly have started carrying the brand I'm using. Sure enough, the did. And sure enough, it was over $20 cheaper to order it from them than to buy it from our eye doctor. However, when Jesse called up the eye doctor to get my exact contact prescription, they said they would price-match the best deal we could find online!
This is truly the best of both worlds! Not only will we not have to pay shipping, we also can pick the contacts directly up from the eye doctor (whose office is about a block away from our home!), and if there are any problems with the contacts, they have a guarantee so I can go in and get a different kind, if need be.
So far, that's the best deal I've found. What about you? I'd love to hear any tips you have for saving on contact lenses!
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Labels: Frugal Friday
posted by Crystal Paine at 6:00 PM
32 Comments:
I've just recently started wearing contacts again, so I'm interested in reading about good deals on them.
I got a new pair of eyeglasses since have vision insurance and that would be way more than the contacts since they won't pay for both. Might as well get the most from our insurance. ;)
I have disposables that are supposed to be replaced every month. I extend that to every two months and thus the cost is cut in half. I was honest with my eye doctor the last time I had an appointment and he said there was no problem with waiting an extra month to replace them. We also have eyewear coverage on our insurance, so we save a lot that way, as well.
Dear Crystal,
Thank you for the information. Four people in my family wear contacts so it can become costly. I will look at that site and talk to the eye doctor and see if they will match prices.
Lulu
I was so happy with my local eye doctor this year! I, too, had researched online prices for contacts and was prepared to show these prices to the eye doctor, but they beat the price AND threw in enough solution to last a year, AND give you a free eye exam the following year AND give you a $25 American Express gift card!! Wow! This deal really knocked my socks off. It was really good for Canada. I have a much harder time finding deals here, especially like the CVS deals. We just don't have programs like that up here, to my knowledge. We get a few dollars back on gasoline when we buy at a certain grocery store.
Blessings,
Susan in Manitoba
I was wondering how you could wear contact lenses when you're so frugal!!! Would you mind telling how much it costs you to wear contacts for a year? I spend around $400 for a year's supply including the contact solution. It's a lot cheaper to wear glasses, like I used to! Anyway, I'd like to know if that's around what you spend, or if you get it for way cheaper.
you must be caught back up from the girls being sick, ur 6 hours early on ur Frugal Friday post, it's not even Friday yet. :)
rebecca
I've been told that disposable contacts, intended to be tossed every 2 weeks are really fine for use up to 4-5 weeks. I don't know if this is true, but it works for me. I just toss them when they start to bother me.
Elisabeth: At the most, we spend $120-$140/yr. on contacts. I normally get the solution for free by buying it with coupons/sales at CVS and working it into my deals. Unless you have a really special kind of contact lenses, I am guessing you should be able to spend less than $400 if you look around for the best deal.
Anyone else want to share what they are spending on contacts?
We have 3/4 of our family that wears contacts daily, so this post interests me! :) The cheapest place I have found is 1-800-contacts. I order them online and anything over $50 has free shipping. We tend to 'extend' our wear and haven't had a problem at all. Ours' are disposables, but they last a couple months each. When they start to 'bother'us at all we simply throw them away, rather than following a set protocol.
Anyway, for me -- 2 boxes, each eye, that have 4 pairs in them each - it's about $79. So, 8 pairs of contact lenses for about $80. That will last me a year, usually. :)
However, the 'good news' is that my dh's new insurance now covers this, so I'll probably get them in town! :)
It was great to hear that eye doctor's will 'price match' sometimes -- I had no clue that was an option! :)
Thanks for that information. I'm hoping to get back to wearing contacts soon and I'll keep all of this in mind.
Jennifer
I have always bought contacts from Sam's Club -- you don't need a membership to buy from their optical department, and their prices look very close to the ones I'm seeing on Vision Direct (within a dollar for the ones I use). No shipping there either.
We always go to the chain store (America's Best....www.twopair.com) to make our purchases. My son and I are Eyecare Club members which gets us free eye exams and a great discount on our eye wear. I get a years supply of contacts (disposables that are supposed to be changed every two weeks but I wear them for three) for $100. My son wears glasses and we get him two pairs every year for around $80.
We have no vision insurance.
I get my contacts at Sam's. They are 13 dollars a box as opposed to my eye doctor, where I was paying 25 dollars a box. You can call ahead and they are pulled and ready to go. I also wear my glasses from time to time, to rest my eyes. I only throw away my contacts when they start irritating my eyes or they tear. Walmart also sells contacts for around 15 dollars a box.
Thanks for the tip.
We had a great experience working with a Walmart optical one time. They guaranteed contacts and when they didn't work out for my husband (who can't focus more than about 1 inch from his face without glasses), he was able to get glasses instead and they never made us pay for the contacts. We were happy with the service we got there.
Loretta at: http://veganfootprints.blogspot.com/
We spend around $100 per year on contacts for both my husband and myself. We buy monthly disposables, 6 pairs in a box, which are supposed to last six months, but we stretch them to 12-18 months by being extra careful to keep them clean and disinfected on a regular basis. We get the solution either from CVS with coupons, or from Sam's Club to keep the cost down.
Our Wal-Mart is always within $5 of Vision Direct's prices, and I don't have to wait for shipping.
I wore glasses/contact lenses all my life (from age 7 on). My vision was so bad that I could not read any letters on the eye chart. I also had problems with astygmetisms
(sp) in both eyes. About 4 years ago, I took the plunge and had Lasik eye surgery. It was the best $3,000 I ever spent. I now have 20/20 vision,and I recommend it to
everyone. The feeling of never having to fool with contacts or glasses is just remarkable.
I wear "monthly" disposable contacts. The brand is Extreme H20. Through 1-800-contacts, a 1 year supply would be $139. Through my eye doctor, I pay $96/year. Of course, that's if I don't "stretch" my month and if I buy 1 set per month. Usually I just wait until the contacts start to bother me which is around 6 weeks. So I'm paying under $96 for a year. I get my ClearCare contact solution free through my eye doctor (trial size bottles) or at CVS using ECBs and the ClearCare rebates (full size bottles). Glasses really aren't any cheaper. I paid $200 a few weeks ago for a new pair - that's 2 years worth of contacts.
I buy my contacts at Costco. Also, remember to check into flexible spending accounts, if you have one. Many of them allow these types of purchases, including the various solutions that go with them.
christi
My best advice is to take care of your contacts. I had a pair that lasted eight years because I cleaned them every night and used enzymes on them every week. Of course, they weren't disposable.
The cheapest contacts are gas permeable ones. I've been wearing Boston lens for years now. They are so much better then soft lenses. The downside is they take a little longer to get used to then the soft ones but they last longer and my vision does not deteriorte as quickly. The hard lens holds the shape of your eye whereas soft ones don't. The ones I have now I've had for 6 years. I paid $120 for the pair. I am dues for some new ones though as I feel myself squinting a bit plus I'm moving toward needed bifocals now.
I order my contacts from Lens.com. So far they've been the cheapest of the online companies I've come across. For a year(though I get over a years worth of use from them), with shipping, I'm $200. With the CDN $ being around par it has been great. :)
Vision Direct is a couple $ more per box for mine but I think they might be a little cheaper on the shipping coming to Canada.
With Vision Direct can you just give your prescription info or do they need a current prescription from your eye doctor? Appts are $80 so if you need to get one for the contacts it doesn't save you near as much. I can't believe how willing your eye doctor was to work with you. The office here has been miserable as they don't want you ordering contacts elsewhere and make it difficult to get info from them. My whole family has given them business over the years since we all wear or have worn glasses/contacts so that was frustrating. (We were paying $360 a year for contacts so ordering online has been a huge savings!)They wouldn't give my sister all of her prescription info on the phone, said she needed an appt. etc. She was just wondering if there was another contact similar to hers and wanted to ask them a few questions.
Anyways, that is my story! :)
I forgot to include my name on my post...Lindsey S. I know you way back from when you had the PC board and now stop by here occasionally as time allows.
I just bought lenses from Sam's Club. The price was the same as the lowest price I could find on-line, plus I didn't have to pay shipping and they gave me a $30 rebate. I end up spending about $100 per year, and that's obeying the doctor's orders on cleaning solution (which I get free or close to it at CVS or Walgreens) and length of wear.
Great tips about the contacts. I've never used an online service before just because of having a paper prescription. Maybe next time I will change over, if it means saving. The price at Sam's Club is much cheaper than my doctor's office, and that is where I buy our contacts from.
Homemaker Barbi
I just wanted to tell you thank you for the guest post by Theresa Gould a few days/weeks (?) ago!! I needed it TODAY!! I'll be copying it to read later when I begin to compare myself with others. I've not been on the computer much lately, so I'd missed the post when you originally posted it. Thanks~
Kelly
I don't wear contacts, but I get normal prescription items at my local grocery store's pharmacy. It just seems easier to stop by in person, although you do have to wait sometimes. Of course, you can do your shopping while you wait. I guess with contacts, ordering online saves you the trouble of driving to wherever your eye doctor's office is. If it's more convenient and cheaper to order online, then I would definitely do so.
This week, my frugal post concerns the Grocery Store game.
Allie
www.learningtobefrugal.wordpress.com
this is off topic, but moneysavingmom.com isn't working at all
Fascinating. I should look around abit, but still don't think I could get them for as cheap as some as you, for the reason that I live in Canada. ;)
Also, I've been told that "stretching" disposable contacts can do you harm. They start to break down, and harbour bacteria, or something.
I buy my contacts from clearlycontacts.ca (which is basically the same company as coastalcontacts.com). The prices are very reasonable, and if you buy enough at once, the shipping is free.
I buy monthlies and stretch them longer by washing them really well and using good solution (I often get up to two months out of one pair- I'm sure somebody will say that's bad for my eyes, but you can tell when they're irritating or straining your eyes and need to be thrown out, and I wash them much more thoroughly than they say that you need to).
I spend around $150-180 on contacts, plus my solution. I need to start looking for coupons when I'm buying solution, because that can get expensive.
I recently purchased soft contact lenses at Costco. Instead of paying around $25 a box (a set of 6 lenses for one eye), I paid $14 a box for my particular brand! My doctor has prescribed an older "model" of lenses for me and I wasn't anticipating that Costco would necessarily have them. But they did! I placed my order and received my lenses two days later, with no shipping charges.
I hear you - might as well find the cheapest price on those reoccurring expenses. I can understand why you'd want to wear contacts though. Being frugal doesn't mean being cheap no matter what. I think that it's about making good financial choices. If contacts are important to someone, than they should get them. I'm so embarrassed of how my glasses make me look that I haven't worn them in over 5 years. Contacts won't work for my eyes though.
My husband wears contacts, but I've honestly never thought much about how to save money on them! It's one of those things that you just add in as necessary. I will definitely be looking into it though, and seeing what I can find out! Thanks for sharing your experience!
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