Eyewear Savings

As we get older, things start falling apart. Fact of life. Not a nice one, but still we need to face it. I recently went to the eye doctor and my vision has changed slightly yet again. Guess what that means! Time for a change in eyewear! So my insurance says I can get contacts or glasses. I want both. But I really can’t afford full price. But I am a smart shopper! There are ways to afford it, people! I know a lot of people just slap down the full price or do without. Ridiculous! I don’t get that concept at all. With the internet, there is no reason to do that ever! And I do mean EVER!

If you know about the kind of glasses you like and can measure, go to http://www.coastal.com and you can get FREE glasses. Yes, I said FREE. You do have to pay the shipping and handling fee, but it is like $10. So what could cost $300 compared to $10? Ummm…what do you think? I’m thinking $10 ain’t so bad. And I have used this place before. They are reputable. They are good. I’m wearing the glasses right now and LOVE them! You have to use the coupon code: freefirstpair.

So, my insurance is going to buy my contacts. I wear CooperVision Frequency 55 contacts. No, they’re not the typical contacts. But I love them. They fit well and don’t roll up. But they’re not priced too differently than any other contacts out there. So I am getting these through insurance at the doctor’s office because that is what I have to do. But as I was doing my research, I found some interesting information. I checked http://www.1800contacts.com and they wanted $33.99 a box for my brand of contacts. That is crazy. So I did some more looking. I found http://www.contactlensking.com and guess what! The same contacts cost $12.95 a box. Yep! A savings of $20 a box and free shipping! 

People, don’t just pay retail for expensive items! Do some comparisons first. Maybe you have money to smack down on stuff like this. I don’t. And frankly, even if I did, I don’t like being screwed over. Why on earth would I want to pay an extra $40 ($20 x 2) plus shipping to 1800contacts?! It’s easy to look online to compare prices. I went to Google and just typed in “compare contact lens prices” and that is how easy it was.

Won’t You Give?

This time of year is really hard on a lot of people. Then I see a lot of people online who post about how they spent so much money on themselves. I am hoping that they are also considering helping others, too. There are a lot of people who need some help. I don’t care who you are or what your political beliefs are, I’d like for  you to think for a moment about a kid on Christmas morning getting nothing. It’s not their fault that their parents are poor. It’s not their fault that the parents are possibly irresponsible. All they’re going to be thinking of on Christmas morning is how they didn’t get shit and it really hurts. If they do happen to have internet access, they’re going to see all of their friends posting about what all great presents they got. When they go back to school, everyone is going to say, “I got this or that for Christmas! What did you get?!” How are they going to feel when they have to lie? It’s going to hurt like you can’t even imagine.

I’m asking people who can afford to help others to do so. My Mama and Daddy had to have help for me at Christmas when I was a kid and I know it was hard. They weren’t lazy; we were just poor and struggling hard. If you have the financial means to help someone have a decent Christmas, please do so. You can find names on Angel Trees, through churches, through schools, through the Salvation Army, through local charitable organizations. If you don’t have time to shop, hell, tell me what age group and I’ll pick out everything online and send you a list and all you have to do is go to the website and pay for it! It’ll be sent to your home.

Encourage your workplace to get involved! Mine is sponsoring a whole family as well as another child through a local charitable organization. And don’t forget the older children! They’re often forgotten. They still want and need attention, too.

This is something that is heavy on my heart. I hope you’ll care about it as much as me.

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I Got My Early Christmas Present!

I usually don’t buy myself presents. I decided this year that I deserved a present, though. I have gone through a lot and I really deserved something. I don’t buy things all throughout the year and I don’t buy a lot of expensive stuff. And I didn’t even buy an expensive Christmas present for myself. I bought something under $40 for myself that I hope to use quite a bit. I bought an e-reader. I know I have complained about how a real book is better. I stand by that. There is nothing like flipping the pages of a book. It is completely better. But I don’t have time to get to the store to buy books all the time. Plus I can download free books! I love free!

I got my e-reader through Wal-Mart on Cyber Monday. It was $20 off and I purchased it through a site that gives me points for purchases through affiliates. Win-win. I made points for buying something I was going to get anyway. I was amazed when it was on my doorstep Wednesday. I didn’t choose expedited shipping but it was there in a flash! It’s nothing fancy. It’s a basic e-reader and does basic stuff but I don’t need fancy. I need something easy and convenient.

One thing I figured about it was that it would help me with my writing. I don’t think I can write as well until I read more. I haven’t had time to really pick up a good book in a while. Now I can. Anyone have any suggestions on something good to read?

 

It’s Expensive Being Female

flip is higher than flop (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I needed to do some spring shopping. Ya know how it is. The weather is getting warmer. I might wear capris. Oh. I can’t fit in my capris. I NEED new capris. They’re almost $40. What?! To wear capris I will need to shave my legs. Oh dear Lord this is going to be fun. I know it’s Asheville, but even though I didn’t take part in daily shaving throughout winter doesn’t mean I’m a hippie chick. Razors $10. Refills? OMG! A pack of 8 are like $14. Are they made of gold?

My feet are resembling Fred Flintstone‘s so I might need a pedicure. $30 plus tip! Now I have to show off the now pretty piggies so we need some pretty flip flops (no, I don’t do frou-frou high-heels). Flip flops cost $25? You’re kidding, right?

These are BASIC costs. I’m not including makeup. If I added up the costs of all of my favorite makeups, the total would be around $100 for a full face of makeup. How bout hair? I spend $9 on a box of color every 4-6 weeks or I resemble a skunk. If I have time and remember to get a cut, I can cheap out on that because my cut is pretty hard to screw up. I can get it for like $20.

And how bout bras? Men, do you KNOW how much those things cost? A CHEAP bra that isn’t even that good is like $20. A good bra? That thing can cost over $50. Yeah, aren’t you glad you don’t have to worry about that?!

I haven’t even thrown in any costs for jewelry or accessories. I just don’t even want to think about those at this point. Women have it rough. It’s expensive being female.

Related articles

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Scales?

So I checked the mail. It was the usual. A pile of bills, magazines, and catalogs. As I was watching an episode of The Firm (great show, by the way) I was flipping through a catalog. I was just perusing and checking it out. Not really looking for anything specific. I just wanted to see what they had. Then I stumbled upon their home goods section. They had bathroom scales. I was intrigued. They had scales that projected your weight on the wall. They had scales that talk. It makes you wonder, do the scales whisper the weight? Or does it say it in a judging tone? Does it yell it? I mean, it’s bad enough that people feel the need to weigh, but to have that number announced? I don’t think so. I think I would feel condemned.

So here’s the question, would you have talking scales? Or any scales for that matter?