The Sewing Mom

This post brought to you by Zenni Optical. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’ve been noticing over the past several months, particularly when I’m working, staring at a computer screen, that everything I’m looking at is a taking on a fuzzy look.  The words on the screen are harder to see.  Reading words in a book is becoming a bit too straining on my eyes, and that tiny print on aspirin bottles?  Forget about it!

I know I need new  eyeglasses, but they are so expensive.  I had budgeted in to our annual health savings account for this year, but a couple of other things came up that ate up that budget, so I’m having to wait.  My prescription sunglasses are at least a year older than my regular glasses, and that prescription is slightly different too.  My insurance only covers up to a certain dollar amount, and that amount doesn’t even cover one pair of glasses, much less two pair.

I’ve been hearing a lot about the cheap eyeglasses from Zenni Optical. From what I understand, the only thing cheap about the glasses they offer is the price!  Seriously, even after my insurance pays their part, I still end up spending at least $150 by the time I get the bifocals and everything I need in the lens, and of course, I have a tendency to always find the most expensive pair of frames in the shop.  I’ve look at the Zenni website and I have found several frames that look almost identical to the expensive frames currently on my face.

I think it’s a great way to save money, and right now, I can use all the help I can get with our household budget!  Remember, we have a teenager and teenagers are constantly “needing” one thing or another that seems to require me to open my wallet, time after time!

My husband finally managed to get himself to the eye doctor just before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to sit down and pick out his new eyeglasses. The optometrist did give him his prescriptions though, so now he can really go anywhere to get his new eyeglasses and he does have a style in mind.

He prefers the half rim style where the lenses isn’t fully encased. He also needs bifocals, so his lenses have to be able to accommodate that requirement. Since it is Cyber Tuesday, I’ve been doing some online shopping and I think I have found something that even my conservative husband would like.

I found these stainless steel half-rim frames at Zenni Optical.  They have hundreds of Holiday frames to choose from and prices are extremely reasonable. They also offer regular bifocals or progressive lenses, anti-scratch coating and UV protection on the lenses.  Since my husband does have his lens prescription we just have to do some simple facial measurements and then we can order online direct from Zenni. There’s no middle man and so it can save us a ton of cash, very important this time of year.  The glasses come with a hard carrying case and a micro-fiber lens cleaning cloth which we use both all the time and can never have enough of.

I think I’ll be measuring my husband’s face when he gets home!

So, I’ve been sitting in my training class for my new job for almost two weeks now. Let me remind you, this is a part time position, and while it is reasonable pay, it’s certainly not going to make me or anyone else wealthy. The dress code in class is pretty casual, although, I like to at least look like I made an attempt to dress the part, I don’t want to look like I just rolled out of bed. Trust me, nobody wants to see what I look like first thing in the morning!

That being said, I also tend to notice what others in the class are wearing every day, including their accessories. There are several ladies in particular that I’ve noticed that wear prescription eyeglasses and I can assure you, by the brand names on the outside of the ear piece, they paid a pretty penny for those glasses. A few months ago, I purchased my prescription sunglasses and yes, they are a designer brand, so I know, they can be quite expensive.

After purchasing my somewhat pricey prescription sunglasses, I learned about Zennioptical.com, where, for a mere $8, a pair of basic prescription eyeglasses can be purchased. They also carry sunglasses, bifocals and more for just small additional costs. Read more about it at ClarkHoward.com as well as see comments from zennioptical customers.

I went to the optometrist the end of June, had my eye exam and ordered a pair of prescription eyeglasses. The new eyeglasses arrived two weeks later, but were incorrectly tinted. I had to send them back to have the tinting corrected. Finally, this past Monday, I received the correctly tinted prescription sunglasses. It’s been a frustrating and expensive process. My insurance paid a large portion of the cost, but I still had to pay over $150 out of pocket. While my frames were expensive, they were far from being the most expensive. I actually tried on a frame that was priced at $660! I put those back in a hurry!

I wish I had known about ZenniOptical.com when I was shopping for my eyeglasses a month ago. I could have saved a lot of money. They sell prescription glasses online for as little as $8. They can sell their eyewear so inexpensively because they only sell frames that they manufacture themselves and they sell directly to the consumer, no middleman. Staff members of the The Clark Howard Show, a radio talk show, have tried the service and are recommending ZenniOptical.com.

I checked Zenni Optical and found a pair of glasses very similar to what I bought. These however, were significantly cheaper, only $29.95.

I need to update my regular, everyday prescription lenses, so I will be shopping at ZenniOptical.com for those. I can’t afford another pair from the optometrist.

I originally wrote this review on my other site, Itsmyimagination.com, but I am so intrigued by this product and what it does, I’ve decided to reprint the review here. I am going in on Monday for my eye exam and I keep thinking about these pinhole glasses. Let me know what you think of this product, leave me a comment.

I began wearing prescription lenses for my vision when I was 25 years old. When I was 30 I began wearing contact lenses. Over the years, my vision didn’t change too much, until I was around 40 and I had to get bifocal lenses. I don’t mind that much that I don’t have perfect, but it can certainly be expensive to make a visit to the eye doctor, which I attempt to do on an annual basis.When I go to the optometrist, my insurance usually covers the cost of the eye exam. The insurance will also cover a portion of new frames and lenses. But, like buying a car, by the time I’ve added on all the extras such as scratch resistant lenses, bifocal lenses, lightweight frames, etc., I can spend a small fortune.Prescription eyewear is also called “corrective”. It makes it sound as if wearing glasses is going to “correct” your vision. I guess it does, but only while you’re wearing them. Once the lenses are removed, your vision is blurred. Basically, once you’ve been diagnosed with a vision problem you can pretty much count on wearing corrective lenses for the rest of your life. Unless you have surgery done, your vision is not corrected.

I have discovered a unique product, pinhole glasses, that are designed to restore perfect vision, not just correct your vision while you’re wearing them. These eye glasses are unique because they “use the principle of sight to let in only those rays which are capable of forming a clear image on the retina”. According to their website, www.pinhole-glasses-direct.com, wearing pinhole eyeglasses is scientifically proven to improve vision in cases of Myopia, Presbyopia, Hyperopia, Cataracts and Astigmatism.

Pinhole glasses are lightweight, durable and inexpensive. They do not have glass lenses and could last a lifetime. These special glasses have regularly spaced holes of 1-1.5 mm that direct light rays to your pupil, preventing rays from entering the pupil from extreme angles. Angled light rays can result in a distorted image to be formed by the retina resulting in blurred vision.

While pinhole glasses should not be used when driving or moving around (such as when playing a sport), they do work with all distances and so work for reading, watching television or working on the computer. At $14.95 a pair, I think these are a fabulous deal.