Thursday, May 04, 2006

A Frugal Tip for Broken Eyeglasses

Over at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity, he mentioned that his wife's eyeglasses suffered a blow from a kickball game and broke her eyeglasses in two. So, I thought I would share a frugal tip with everyone.

The last time I had an eye exam, I just bought new lenses for my frames. My frames were still in good shape, so I figured, why not? I loved the style and it will save some money.

Wouldn't you know it - the frames broke right on the side of the bridge a few months later. The frames are titanium, and no one could sauder them back together. (NOTE ADDED 5/6/05 - someone left a great comment on this post mentioning that some titanium frames have a lifetime warranty. So, make sure you take your glasses back to where you purchased them from and ask. And next time you shop for glasses, make sure that you ask about any warranties - they could save you some money down the road)

As I wondered what to do, because at the time I was not working and income was super tight - I had an idea. What about using a pair of sunglasses? It turned out that I had an old pair that looked like they would almost work. So I got out a pair of pliers and started shaping the sunglasses in the shape of my lenses. I placed the lenses in, and voila - I had glasses again.

To the naked eye, you can't tell they are sunglasses. They are actually quite stylish too. Just a note - this method works best with frames that only use a plastic wire for the bottom. Then you only have to shape the top of the frames :)

Total Savings - over $100.

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My frugal glasses on the left, my broken glasses on the right.

Yes, I am so frugal I kept the broken pair :)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Titanium frames once came with a "lifetime guarantee" ... look for your purchase receipt or a credit card receipt/bill for the purchase and go back to the place you bought them ... a friend in Montana had his replaced ... and picked them up a week later, brand new!

BAD said...

After they broke, I did take them back to where I purchased them from. They said that nothing could be done (and I'm not as agressive as I probably should be - so I walked away).

I could try again, but those frames are about 6 years old (I believe) and I doubt I kept the records back then. Just in the past three years I have been good with keeping papers.

Thanks for the comment - I am going to add that the original posting so it may help others :)

mapgirl said...

I hate buying new glasses. It's such a scam that places don't keep the templates to re-grind you new lenses when you need them. I am very attached to my current pair, but I can't get new lenses ground for them. It seriously cheeses me off.

BAD said...

I have to agree. I dread anytime I have to purchase new frames. You get so used to a pair I find it hard to change unless you absolutely have to. Plus, you save so much with keeping your frames for a few more years (as long as they don't break like mine, of course :)