Saving money on contact lenses-shop around and save hundreds of dollars! Not a sponsored post!

This is not a sponsored post.

I wanted to start out by saying that this is not a sponsored post. I just want to help you save money and I want to share my experience. I've been a contact lens wearer for over 20 years. I love wearing contacts and couldn't imagine a return to wearing glasses exclusively. My 15 year old son has crappy eyes and now wears contacts too. Our insurance covers corrective eye wear {glasses or contacts}  up to $200 for each member that needs them, every two years. I'm not complaining, but once you start pricing out corrective lenses {contacts or glasses} you will know that that $200 doesn't go very far. Which is why I have shopped around. My son had an eye exam last week and while I love his optometrist,  they are located inside a sales trap. You know, a glasses shop filled with overpriced eye glasses and sun glasses just waiting for you with new prescription in hand to not feel like you have any other option than to buy from them. The optometrist handed the optician the new prescription for my son, and walked to the front receptionist to ask what our benefits on insurance were.  I heard the receptionist tell her that we had a $200 benefit and the optician turned to me and said that I was in luck!  A years supply for my son's lenses would only be $199!   Now I'm not saying that the optician somehow manipulated the contact lens price to nearly the exact same amount of our benefits.  That seems like that would be illegal or something. I'm just saying that while these very sweet and kind opticians want to do nothing but help you find the right lens {this goes for glasses too}, I'm telling you that it's totally o.k. to shop around.
While my son's prescription changed in strength, he can still wear the same brand of contacts that he had been wearing.  If I didn't know better, I would have been so thankful to the optician for telling me that my son's year supply of contacts would cost me exactly what my benefits would cover   {mind you the benefits renew every two years, so if I used them all up this year, they won't cover anything next year}.
But hark, I had done my homework! Last year I was able to do a quick and easy Google shopping search for the brand of contacts that my son was wearing and was comfortable in. I do the same thing for my lenses. I found a year supply of his contact lenses for $93  {$98 with shipping}.
Knowing this information allowed me to say thanks but no thanks  to the helpful optician and with a few keystrokes,  I was able to order new contacts for my son at more than half price!
I'm not going to tell you to shop one on-line contact lens store over another.  Quite honestly, I don't remain loyal myself. I go to where the best price is. Sometimes it's the same place year after year  {keep your eyes peeled for discount loyalty codes, you could save more when it's time to reorder} oftentimes, it's a different place every year. Here is how you do it. Go to your Google search and type in the brand of lenses that you wear. Click on the tab that says shopping to compare prices

You can then click on each item to find out more about the price. For example, this lens has free shipping and no tax and when comparing, a relatively cheap price in comparison.

This one is a dollar cheaper but look closely... Shipping is $11.50!

Once you compare prices and find the best price on a few items  {keeping in mind shipping and tax} you can then click through to the website. Often times sites will offer discounts if you buy multiple boxes. I was purchasing a years supply, so I needed 4 boxes. On one site, the more boxes you buy, the more discount you receive. There are also rebates for certain lenses. Last year, I purchased a year supply of my lenses and got a $50 rebate. Keep those discounts and rebates in mind when you are calculating your totals. Once you find the company you want to order from, input your information. It's easiest if you have a box of your old lenses handy. You will need things like your BC and DIA as well as the power. The BC and DIA rarely change but your power is likely to change and will be noted on your new RX. I submitted my order and printed my invoice. Easy as that! If you have benefits that you would like to use, follow these directions:
Go to your insurance website and print off the medical reimbursement form. It took me less than 3 minutes to find it and fill it out. You will send a copy of your invoice and your reimbursement form to the insurance company and within a few weeks, you will receive a check in the amount of the total that you paid. It really is that easy to save hundreds on your contact lenses every year! A few things to remember: Eye health is important. You only get two eyeballs.  Take care of them! Get an updated prescription with your eye exam. And the biggest tip to remember:  don't be afraid to shop around. Did this help you?