Emma has worn glasses since she was around 11 years old and while she takes care of them now, that was not always the case. In fact, we had one school year where we had to replace 4 pairs of glasses. Needless to say, that school year was not the cheapest. It was that school year that really made me take some time to learn how to save money on kids glasses.
It was either that or go broke.
Eye care can be incredibly expensive if you aren’t actively looking for ways to save money on it; especially for kids. After all, spending money when it’s unnecessary is one of the things frugal people do not do.
It’s even more expensive if you don’t have insurance and are paying out of pocket. But luckily for those of us who have kids that wear glasses, there are a few really easy ways to save money on them.
You just have to know where to look.
How to Save Money on Kids Glasses
Just so you know, most of these ways to save money on glasses are targeted for folks who do not have vision insurance.
If you do, you’re a step ahead of the game, but don’t think that you can’t save. Insurance is not the end all be all and there are still plenty of ways to save.
Vision Insurance Does Not Have to Be Expensive
If you don’t have vision insurance, I do highly recommend that you find a vision plan for your family. While you can save money on vision care without insurance, it really is helpful if you have it. There are a lot of misconceptions about vision insurance; dental as well. They are a bit unlike regular health insurance in that they really are not all that expensive each month.
While insurance won’t cover everything, it will cover a good portion of the expenses at a fraction of the cost. While you will have copay’s, the cost of your plan and copay is often far less than what your out of pocket cost would be.
Not only that, but most vision insurance plans usually include a free pair of glasses each year as a preventive measure.
Time When You Buy
Just like all other things we buy, eyeglasses and contacts both go on sale at certain times of the year; such as back to school. You might even be able to find a sale on the exam itself.
If you time when you buy your glasses, you can often save money over buying them any other time of the year.
This can be hard to do if your kids break or lose glasses or if your eye exams are scheduled for a different time of the year. It won’t hurt anything for you to schedule them a couple months ahead of time though if it means saving money.
Save Money on Eyeglasses by Buying Elsewhere
Most eye doctors will make it seem as if you absolutely must purchase your eyeglass frames and lenses from them, however, nothing could be farther from the truth. Buying eyeglasses from their office only leads to you paying far more than is necessary.
Instead, once your eye exam is finished, ask for a print out of your prescriptions. They won’t like it but will give them to you. Once you’ve got your prescription, you’re free to purchase your frames where ever you please.
Buy Spare Pairs
My own family has 3 pair of glasses each for a reason; they get lost or broken. By making sure I buy multiple pairs for each; when I can get a good deal or sale, I keep myself from having to pay full price later on.
It may seem counter intuitive to spend more money out of pocket at first, but it saves you money in the long run.
Change Ophthalmologists
We loved our former eye doctor but while he was friendly and had a great manner about him; he was also incredibly expensive. To save money, we changed to a different eye doctor and in doing so, we save considerably.
While I do understand that this isn’t always possible, if you are paying more than you should be or more than you can afford, it is worth looking into.
Don’t Put Off Eye Exams
Finally, chances are your kids are busy in school, with extra curricular actives and such. This sometimes makes easy to put off their eye exams; especially if you are struggling to pay for them.
Trust me. I get it and in the past I have done it myself.
But doing so can actually lead to bigger costs. It can lead to higher prescription costs, eye diseases and even worse.
If any of those things happen, your kids may need a much stronger pair of glasses than you would if you had just went and had your vision checked.
Unfortunately, there’s not really a great way to cut your eye costs too terribly much, but at the very least, you can save money on kids glasses – and yours as well!
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