Sense to Save

How I got contact lenses for $9/box

I finally got around to visiting the optometrist, and wouldn’t you know it — my prescription improved! How weird is that? Either I’ve been walking around with a too-strong prescription for awhile, or my vision really did get better. The doctor said that does happen sometimes, and being pregnant can also do crazy things to my vision.

I got a new set of glasses and also restarted my contact lenses. I hadn’t worn contacts for quite awhile, mostly out of laziness.

The eye doctor quoted me something crazy, like $30/box. Pretty lousy deal! The guy said he could price match, but after poking around for some deals, I realized he could only price match on the site’s bottom line, but couldn’t factor in the Ebates bonuses and such.

So here’s how I’m getting a stellar discount on a year’s supply of Acuvue Oasis contacts:

1. I clicked through Ebates*, as I do for pretty much all of my online purchases. I went to Vision Direct, for which Ebates will give me 11% cash back. This will amount to about $18!

2. I browsed through the extensive list of coupon codes for Vision Direct on Ebates. I saw one for 20% off your order of $99 or more, with free shipping, but it was only good for new customers (I’m not). The offer is also mentioned on the Vision Direct site here.

I settled on a code for $20 off a $133 order (2020VISION).

3. Vision Direct has a promotion going for an instant $31 off Acuvue Oasis contacts when you buy 8 boxes.

4. Finally, I can submit a rebate form to get $75 back. If they don’t consider me a new user, I can still get $25 back. The rebate info was listed directly on the order page.

5. I paid with my flexible spending account card, which is funded with pre-tax dollars. It’s an extra little bit of savings that way.

Without any discounts on the Vision Direct site, I would have paid $216 for 8 boxes.

With Ebates, coupon codes, promotions and rebates, my total drops to $72 if I qualify for the full rebate, and $122 if I don’t.

That’s $9/box (or $15.25/box for the $25 rebate deal). What a deal!

How do you save on eyewear? Oh, and if you’re looking for a cheapie pair of backup glasses, you can find complete pairs starting at $8! I haven’t personally used it, but I’ve heard good things.

*Affiliate link

A healthy baby … (right, like I will reveal it in the title!)

On my book giveaway post, I had 11 guesses for boy, and 12 guesses for girl. And you know who was right?

It’s a girl! A healthy, scrunched up baby girl. I guess you could say we’re tickled pink!

Thanks to all who guessed, and thanks for all your well-wishes!

As for the book giveaway winner, it’s lucky number 14! That’s Kara. Kara, I’m e-mailing you for your contact info.

‘Bargain Junkie’ review and giveaway

I recently had the pleasure (courtesy of the publisher) of reading Bargain Junkie* by Annie Korzen. Annie blogs at The Bargain Junkie.

I was pleasantly surprised! The book is humorous, but also insightful. I learned a few things while reading it. Some tidbits include how Annie…

• found designer sunglasses at a yardsale for $5 each. The lenses were scratched, but she bought them and had the lenses replaced with her prescription. Brilliant!
• planted the top of a pineapple (?!) in a pot. It grew, and eventually produced fruit. Bizarre! But I love it.
• rents out her home when she’ll be away on travels for awhile to cover her expenses.

Her writing style is such that you get a great visual of her adventures in bargaining. A self-described thriftaholic, Annie would be the perfect person to tag along with to an estate sale, yard sale or thrift store. That is, assuming she’d let you snag a deal or two for yourself :).

She describes how she’s found countless treasures for a fraction of what they’re worth and keeps them for her own use or resells them for a handsome profit.

The book reads like a series of anecdotes, but the flow works for me. It’s a good book to read a short bit at a time — or all at once if you’d prefer.

Annie is one example of how thriftaholics come in all forms. She hates cooking and entertaining, and loves dining out and traveling. Frequent restauranting and traveling can be expensive, but that’s her splurge.

She still manages to dine out for a reasonable price by carefully selecting her restaurants and using coupons when applicable.

In her seemingly frequent overseas travels, she shares how she saves money while not sacrificing a ton of comfort.

So while I’m not a big restaurant person or a world traveler (though I’d like to get plenty of stamps in a passport someday), I think it’s beneficial to see how another person defines and lives out frugal living.

Since she appears to be quite an expert at buying second-hand, high-quality goods, I wish I had more of a tutorial of how I could achieve similar success. Which items are worth buying? How do I know if I’m getting a good deal?

I guess the answers to those questions would be: Do you love the item, even if it’s not worth a fortune? And call someone or use your smartphone to Google the item and see what you can find out about it before buying.

Overall, I’d say this was an enjoyable, interesting book. Add it to your library list, scout it out at a second-hand bookstore, or heck, buy it on Amazon (but be a thriftaholic and use your Swagbucks* to pay for it!).

Want a chance to get it for free? Well, I’m giving away this review copy. I will mail it at my own expense, so you can bet the packaging will be recycled of some sort. And it’s coming to you via media mail. Would you expect anything else? :)

For giveaways, I usually like to hear some sort of tip or tidbit from you. I can’t think of a good question to ask right now, because all I have on my mind is my ultrasound scheduled for Saturday.

So for your entry:

• Post a comment guessing whether I’ll have a boy or girl. The winner will be randomly selected from people who had the correct guess. If you want to make a slightly more informed guess, you can take a look at this post, complete with belly shot. Oh, and I had an early ultrasound, and there’s just one kiddo baking. Yes, this entry method is all about me and my baby. I can’t help it!

Want more entries?

• Link to this post on your blog, and come back and in a separate comment, tell me where you’ve done so.
• Add me to your blogroll, and comment telling me you’ve done so.
• Subscribe to this blog in a feed reader…and yep, separate comment telling me you’ve done so.

The winner will be drawn sometime Saturday, July 17 after I get home from my ultrasound. U.S. entries only, please.

*Affiliate link