While most people without perfect vision get used to having to wear contact lenses, few people get used to having to spend a fortune on contacts and products to care for them. Even if you have vision insurance, you may have to pay upfront for your exams and lenses and wait for what seems like forever for your vision insurance company to reimburse you. Insurance companies also do not pay for costly contact solutions, which are extremely pricey today. If you are tired of spending more than you have to on your vision care, then follow these three tips for cutting your vision care costs. 

1. Ask Your Optometrist if There is a More Budget-friendly Alternative to Your Contact Lens Brand

This tip can really help if you don't have vision insurance or your coverage doesn't cover the full cost of your lenses. There is a wide array of contact lenses available from many companies, but your eye doctor likely prescribes a certain brand just because he or she carries it at their office.

Also, just as other types of doctors receive benefits from pharmaceutical companies for prescribing certain brands of medications to patients, eye doctors often receive similar benefits from contact lens manufacturers for prescribing their lenses. 

What does this mean for you? The specific brand of contact lenses your eye doctor prescribes you may only be chosen because your eye doctor has a business relationship with that brand. He or she may not have "hand-picked" that brand specifically for you and your eyes, as they would like you to believe. If your eye doctor prescribes a pricey contact lens brand, then ask if there is a more budget-friendly alternative that he or she can prescribe instead. 

2. Buy Your Contact Lenses Online to Save

Whether you decide to switch to a more budget-friendly contact brand or not, you can typically save money when purchasing any brand of contacts online instead of at your ophthalmologist's office. Online contact lens retailers simply don't have the overhead costs of brick-and-mortar retailers. You can also hunt for online promo codes to buy contact lenses at a go to site, and there are often discounts and rebates on large purchases. 

Another benefit for people with vision insurance when buying contact lenses online is that if your eye doctor makes you pay upfront and have you wait for reimbursement from your insurance company, there are online contact lens retailers that don't; they do the leg-work to get payment from your insurance company directly. This can really help when you don't have the cash to spare while you wait for your insurance company to send you a check. 

3. Take the Edge off Contact Solution Costs with These Tips

Whether you have vision insurance or not, one expense that really adds up is the cost of name-brand contact solution.

Don't think that you have to use the brand your eye doctor recommends. There is a big misconception believed by many contact lens wearers that they have to use the exact contact solution their eye doctor happens to use. Just as there are generic medications that work just as well as name brands, there are generic contact lens solutions that work just as well as more expensive ones. Just make sure you pay attention to solution ingredients to avoid anything your eyes may be sensitive to. 

Ask your eye doctor for extra samples after your exam. It is very common for eye doctors to give patients a new contact lens case and a small bottle of contact lens solution after their yearly exams. It can never hurt to simply tell your doctor that you are having tough times financially, and ask for an extra bottle or two. These samples are typically provided free to your eye doctor by the company that makes them. 

Wearing contact lenses can be annoying sometimes, but nothing is more annoying than paying more for them and contact supplies than you have to. Follow these tips to save money and to stop having to wait for reimbursements from your vision insurance company when you need the cash now.