To think nowadays you need a mortgage if you need glasses?

One word: Asda. I bought my last pair there and was pleased. Very reasonably priced. I have bough on line but that depends on mot being very fussy, in my view. The other thing I've done is reglazw existing frames. I went tobBoots for that because I wanted glass not plastic lenses for thst particular pair. Boots do Zeiss lenses and the total was cheaper than plastic because more was included in the initial price.

I keep continuously getting text message reminder from Vision Express that my eye test is very overdue.

Of that I’m aware as I’m still saving up for the financial onslaught of discovering how much my new prescription is going to set me back….

I do agree they're ridiculous, my last pair were £500 and most of that was on the lenses, but that's partly because I was already committed to spending about £400 so paid extra for a special coating I wanted. They did come with a magnetic sunglass clip on thing which is handy.

The one thing I would say is the last place I went were more specialist so while I could have got them cheaper, it was the first place I've ever been that were able to thin my lenses enough that I could have any frame I wanted. My prescription is so strong (+6.5ish I think) that the delicate gold frames that had become fashionable were out of the question elsewhere. So that made me feel better as I'd already tried specsavers/asda and they had very limited choice in the usual chunky frames I would have had to get from them.

They're called the spectacle factory, we only ended up there because I needed frames quite quickly and they make a lot of the lenses in house, but afterwards I realised they have a YouTube channel and lots of glowing reviews from people that come all over the world to go there. So just mentioning because I think with the prices high street opticians charge nowadays they could be doing much more! I'd already had to get a second eye test from Asda because the people at Specsavers had got my prescription so wrong.

There are cheaper methods to get perfectly good glasses. You just went in and ticked all the boxes on the list.

Do you wear the glasses for work? If so you work will cover the eye test. Then you take the prescription and go to one of many places that can make them up for you that have been listed here. Or just get a set of lenses made up for an existing set of frames.

Or even look at deals they have on. I pay £13 per months for my contact lenses which gets me a pair of glasses half price (including lenses).

Blind as a bat at -5! I’m minus 16 in my worst eye!

I agree it’s extremely expensive to be short-sighted. I must have spent a fortune over the years (I’ve been short-sighted since I was 7), whereas my sister who has perfect vision has been spared this expense.

I get free eye tests as I have complex lenses, and I get something like a £15 NHS voucher off the cost of glasses. But contact lenses, solutions and glasses are all expensive. Glasses cost me around £500. I have to pay for thinning - and the lenses are still quite thick due to my prescription. This limits the range of frames I can choose (I have a basic non-designer frame).

I looked at having the lens replacement surgery - that’s about £10k!

My daughter is on the myopia control glasses and lenses, which are also expensive compared to children’s standard glasses.

I’m not sure how complex your prescription is but second Glasses Direct .
I have readers and drivers coming in at about £60 for the two pairs . Buy 1 get 1 free offers and regular discount sales I tend to buy 2 or 3 pairs of both a year so I can afford to lose the odd pair ( misplace not lose !) .
Quality is fine .
My sister has complex prescription she pays an optician plan which I think works out a bit cheaper - usually has not put some money toward new specs but not as much . Local optician not a chain.

What extras? I have varifocals and I’ve never heard of driving lenses? Isn’t that just what your glasses are for?

I get mine at Asda. I have varifocals in Ralph Lauren frames, and the same for sunglasses, and it cost £220 for both pairs I think.

I went in for glasses last year on a £70 two for one deal . £500 later by the time you add on the extras eg driving lenses

Specsavers or Asda all the way.

I used goggles4u
I found an amazing pair for £3.95 (obviously lense coating and thinning is extra) I got no coating and basic lenses. I'm a bit short sighted with astigmatism in both eyes. I loved them so much I got 3 pairs the same because they keep selling out

It’s annoying, my eyes aren’t even that bad so no thinning but I wear varifocals. I paid £340 for 2 pairs of varifocals with the better quality lens plus test and scan from specsavers this year. I do need sunglasses at some point so might give Asda a try

Loads online places are much cheaper than that. Glasses Direct etc. You just stick your prescription into the website. Some will send you frames to try that you post back. Or choose frames in the opticians but buy them online.

Glasses Direct is your answer!

I still get mine at Asda! They have gone up a bit but you can still get TWO pairs for around £160 and that price includes varifocals, prisms, extra thin lenses ( if needed for the prescription), anti-reflective coatings on both - and the second pair can be sunglasses if you prefer, with the tint added at no extra cost......

I agree, I ended up getting migraines because I put off my appointment as I was so pissed off that I needed to spend money on something that was completely out of my control…. Still angry now 😡

I got quoted £650 at a high street optician for reading glasses and distance glasses and was stunned - it didn't include lens thinning or anything special either and the frames weren't designer! Finally figured out how to get reading glasses online - £64 - but you need to know your prescription and PD. It'll probably be another £80 for distance glasses for driving but that's a still a lot better than £650. Anyway, worth considering online options.

I find Specsavers very good and reasonable as well.My friend worked at another opticians ,and couldnt believe that even with staff discount hers were more expensive!

Agree. I chose cheaper frames this time and it was still over £200. I do try to think of it as cost per wear so they're definitely my most value for money item!

It's not really the opticians (at least not the indies) - it's the labs and the frame manufacturers. My best mate is an optician and I get my glasses at cost, and they are still expensive. She said that all designer frames are made by two manufacturers, and you are just paying for the name. She recommends Wolf as a good, reasonable, British brand.

I lost mine and it was £130 to replace them. Not even a complicated prescription and no extras such as thinning, anti glare etc. I got my prescription and bought them at glasses4U. 2 Pairs for £47 I paid!

I do the contact lense scheme so all eye tests and the extras are free of charge essentially. Plus heavy discount on glasses when I need new pairs.

Agree it's a real expense when you need thinning. I am about to try out varifocals and with the high thinning am fully expecting over £300 even with a cheap frame.

My particular bugbear is the charge for getting an old pair reglazed over and above the cost of the actual lens - this seems to be a new thing and I just don't understand it. I have about 4 old pairs that could easily have new lenses put in but the reglazing charge makes it cheaper to get new ones.

Totally agree. I'm -8.5 roughly in both eyes. I have to have them thinned the max level otherwise I find the lenses too heavy, especially as most frames now have bigger lenses. I had a basic non-designer pair with the max thinning and standard eye test and it was around £300. I thought about getting more expensive designer glasses as these are two for one with some of them starting at a price not much over the standard pair I bought so seemed good value at first but I'd have to thin both pairs and then the cost becomes astronomical and not worth it to then replace in two years time.