Your eyes play an important role in your everyday life. From keeping you entertained to helping you with everyday activities and safety procedures, you probably wouldn’t know where you would be without your eyes. This is why it is incredibly important to take care of them as much as you possibly can. Eye exams and procedures, as well as glasses and contacts can be pricey if you’re not careful though. Luckily, there are a wide variety of things you can do to save money while ensuring your eyes are well taken care of. So, don’t hesitate to put your eyes first, especially during National Eye Exam Month this August!
1. Know When to Get Exams
A lot of people tend to think they need to get an eye exam every single year. This isn’t really the case for most people with healthy eyes though. If you aren’t sure how often you should be getting an eye exam, check out some studies on the topic to help you figure out when you should have your next exam. Most of these studies are based on age, race and overall health. Of course, if you wear glasses or contacts already then you may have to go in more frequently. You should also make an appointment for an eye exam if you notice anything different going on with your eyes. This can help prevent a major problem in the future. Also, if a foreign object enters your eye then immediately go to the doctor to help get it flushed and make sure your cornea is not scratched.
2. Free Exams
Sometimes, an eye exam may feel like it will ruin your budget, which is why so many people put it off. There are actually many ways to qualify for free eye exams if you don’t have insurance that covers them. The elderly are one of the largest groups that this covers, which helps many prevent major issues that happen as aging occurs. A lot of students also go without health care for their eyes. Often, students can get a free exam from their university, so check in on this if you’re concerned about your eyes. If you have a membership to some warehouse clubs, they randomly give out free exams so keep up with your local store to find out when this happens.
3. Use Insurance
The best thing you can do to take care of your eyes is to make sure insurance covers everything. This may mean paying a little extra each month, but most companies don’t tack on huge fees for eye exams. Before going into your exam, make sure you call up your service to see what they cover. Usually, you can get away with getting an eye exam for less than few dollars on your part. A lot of insurance companies will cover contacts and glasses too; however, there are some limitations for this aspect of the insurance. They usually only pay for basic glasses with cheap frames and regular lenses. So, you may end up paying extra if you want a fashionable frame or thinner lenses. Of course, the insurance will help a little, so you won’t be stuck with the entire bill.
4. Invest in Sunglasses
You might think of sunglasses as a luxury item, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Sunglasses actually play a major role in your health all year long. UV rays and harsh glares from sunlight can do a lot of damage to your eyes. So, wearing sunglasses can prevent this damage from becoming permanent. This is especially important if you have lighter eyes, like gray and blue. Some insurance companies will actually cover sunglasses, but check with your company before you make the investment. If you don’t want to worry with sunglasses then consider getting transition lenses for your glasses. This will help protect your eyes without forcing you to think twice about putting on a pair of shades. This is especially great for people who have to wear a prescription. Don’t forget to get sunglasses for your children too as they can also benefit from the protection.
5. Eat Well
If you want to cheaply take care of your eyes then one of the best things you can do is eat well. There’s lots of foods out there that can actually promote eye health, which can help you keep great vision or prevent diseases from occurring. Carrots are known to be good for your eyes, but there are other sources of healthy foods that can help out and provide you with delicious meals too. If you’re not one for fruits and vegetables, then you might want to check out vitamins that can help you. You might check with your optometrist to see what you need to keep your eyes feeling incredible.
6. Buy Bulk Glasses
Glasses can be a huge burden on your wallet if you are asked to wear them. Luckily, there’s a lot of ways to get around this problem. One of the best ways is to shop for bulk frames. A lot of stores in your local area often offer buy one, get one deals that can help save you huge on your frames. You may have to wait for certain stores to offer these deals, but more often than not you can find the bulk deals at one chain or another at any point in the year. Having more than one pair of frames is important anyway. You should always keep a backup pair of glasses close by just in case you wind up breaking your favorite pair. You should also try to refrain from using an old prescription as a backup if you can as this can cause more damage to your eyes. Plus, having more than one pair will actually help you feel fashionable and can freshen up your wardrobe at times.
7. Shop Online
You might find that buying glasses and contacts from brick and mortar stores or even your optometrist can cost a whole lot of money. There are other options when it comes to this though. For instance, there are a wide assortment of online stores that can offer you glasses for next to nothing. Glasses frames are the priciest aspect of wearing glasses in most cases, but online you can get them less than $20 in most cases. Even if you don’t trust these websites to cut your lenses, you can always simply by the frame and have the optometrist do it for you. Buying contacts online is also an easy way to save money. You can sign up for reoccurring deliveries or simply hop online and order bulk lenses whenever you run out. This makes life a lot more convenient and can help you save money that you’d never expected thanks to rebates.
8. Rest Your Eyes
One of the biggest mistakes many people make when it comes to their eyes is not taking breaks. Your eyes aren’t designed to look at screens all day, which means many people’s work environment isn’t exactly safe for the eye health. Doing this actually dries out your eyes, which can cause a wide assortment of problems. If you tend to spend a lot of time on the computer for work or pleasure then it is important to look away every 20 minutes. You should try to look at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds in order to give your eyes a chance to rest. Of course, this is also true for books and phones, so make sure to follow the rules. You might do yourself a favor and spend a day or two off of technology whenever you can to help preserve the health of your eyes in the long run.
9. Mail in Rebates
Contact wearers can rejoice when it comes to saving money on their contact lenses. The internet has a lot of rebate websites that can give you refunds for buying the items you need on a daily basis. You might want to start by looking at the manufacturer of your lenses website to see if they offer any rebates or coupons straight away. You can also get lucky by checking out the website that you shop on. There are many other websites that can help you find the rebates you need to make wearing contact lenses seem like a drop in the bucket when it comes to your tight budget.
10. Shop Around
As always, the key to saving money when it comes to your vision is to shop around as much as you possibly can. You should start this when it comes to your optometrist. Prices are not even per doctor, so you can save money by choosing a doctor that doesn’t cost a fortune or one that actually offers bundled deals. Your next step is to shop around for glasses. You may think chain stores offer the best deal, especially if they’re connected to an optometrist, but most of the time this isn’t the case. Of course, prices can vary based on the styles you’re after, so you may have to try on a lot of frames before choosing the best deal. Finally, you may not want to stick to one store for contacts either, as many will actually fluctuate their prices after hosting a great deal.
Keeping up with your vision is incredibly important for your overall health and happiness. With these ten tips you can easily find the best possible ways to cut back on spending on this element of your health. Of course, you should also try to snag an appointment during National Eye Exam month if you truly want to save a bit more!
