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When I was two-years-old I donned my first pair of eyeglasses and by the time I was in second grade, my prescription was for bifocals. Set aside the fact that I already had red hair and freckles and, as you can imagine, I was a walking “Kick me!” sign.

When my eyes miraculously and completely healed at age 12, I thought I had served my time. But when my oldest child ended up with her first glasses at age four and my fifth child at about the same age (and my second by her mid-teens), I realized glasses would be a lifelong burr in my side.

Just las month—at the age of 50—my dear husband finally had a taste of his own in the optometry hot seat. So now, half of my family of eight wears either glasses or contacts. And, truthfully, it would be more if I stopped ignoring how short my arms are getting.

In any event, glasses and contacts can give you incredible sticker shock. When you think you're just dropping in for an annual checkup and walk out with a bill of hundreds of dollars—after insurance—you might start considering whether bumping into things is really all that bad.

We learned long ago that a great cost-cutting measure was to buy eyeglasses and contacts online. There are a number of quality discount retailers and, in my experience, they all undercut your local eye store by a huge margin (even Wal-Mart's in-store optometrist has prices close to industry standard). It really is possible to get quality prescription eyewear at a reasonable cost!

Today I read a review by Eric Hammer at Examiner.com that introduced me to a new company. Zenni Optical is unique in that rather than just resell designer glasses, they manufacture their own stylish glasses and resell at a fraction of what I have seen elsewhere. They aren't paying overhead to another company and they pass the savings on to you.

They actually offer a pair of prescription eyeglasses for $8.00. Seriously. Have you ever seen that before?

Next time we're in the market for eyeglasses, we will be looking at Zenni Optical to compare prices. If you have experience with them, I'd love to hear from you!

Alison Moore Smith is a 61-year-old entrepreneur who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 40 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons. She is the author of The 7 Success Habits of Homeschoolers.