A few days ago, I wrote an entire post about Sightbox, a company that Facebook brought to my attention. Here’s the problem with Facebook advertising – it really does know what you want.

I’ve been wearing glasses since I was eight and without them (or contacts), I can’t see to the end of my arm. You’d think nearly 25 years of wearing glasses and contacts would make me a pro at staying on top of what I need to keep seeing, but it hasn’t. Between my gypsy lifestyle as a stage manager and the fact that I just hate taking care of things like this, each time I have to go to the eye doctor is like pulling teeth. I’m also terrible at staying on top of exactly when I have to go. I’m aware it’s wise to go to the eye doctor once a year, but I definitely have a habit of stretching my contacts as far as they’ll go and then going back only when I’m completely out.

Despite my New Jersey home base, I’ve wound up contact-less in Virginia, California, and Alaska and struggled like crazy to find an optometrist and figure out how to get my contact lenses.

Man, do I wish Sightbox had been around back then.

Here’s my favorite thing about Sightbox, even though it will make me sound like a reclusive nut (or, ya know, just a millennial) – I didn’t have to talk to a single human being until I was actually at the optometrist’s office. I signed up online. Received a confirmation email of my sign up. Received a second email the next day with a date and time to go to an optometrist along with the name and address of the optometrist. I could confirm this date or reschedule with the touch of a button (I confirmed). I showed up at the appointment, filled out basic health forms, got my exam and two days later, a box of contact lenses showed up at my door.

While I was at the eye doctor, I was also able to ask him for a copy of my contact lens prescription and he wrote out one for eyeglasses too, just in case I wind up needing a new pair during the year.

It was amazing! No hassles with setting up an appointment or finding an eye doctor who was available to see me. Sightbox took care of all that and just sent me an email.

It was also really fast. When I signed up, there was a section that asked my availability for eye doctor appointments and since I was in the middle of a show, my availability times were really bizarre. I thought Sightbox might wind up contacting me to ask how the heck they were supposed to work within the time guidelines I set, but the appointment email that arrived the next day was within the time frame I set and easy for me to confirm.

I figured that a company making my life this much easier would cost an arm and a leg, but it actually doesn’t. Sightbox actually made it easier to work eye care into my budget. Everyone’s got that one thing they forget to budget for and for me it’s often eye care. I open the last box of contacts, not realizing it’s the last box until I go to look for the next one and then it’s not only a scramble to get an appointment booked, but to hunt down several hundred dollars to pay for an eye exam and new contacts.

Additionally, I loved that their setup made me rethink my contacts for the first time in years. The majority of their prices are at $39/month, but if you’re a dailies wearer, the price goes up a little based on how many contacts you go through a week. I’ve been a dailies wearer for about 5 years. I do love the convenience of them, but when I considered $89/month for dailies (7 days a week) versus $39/month for bimonthly, I actually sat down and thought about my contact needs for the first time in a long time. I get kind of frustrated on days off when I’d happily wear my glasses all day except I want to hit the gym. It makes me feel like the gym is costing me an extra $2-3… because in a way, it is. I also haven’t thought about the large cost difference between the two types of contacts in ages.

I decided to give the bimonthlies a go for six months and see if the hassle of solution is enough to justify more than doubling the price. And that’s not just with Sightbox – wherever I’d get my contacts from, dailies are going to cost about twice as much as bimonthlies.

If you don’t have vision insurance, the odds are good that Sightbox isn’t costing you any extra. Since the cost per month also includes an annual eye exam, you may be breaking even. If you do what I did and reevaluate the type of contacts you want to wear, you may even wind up saving money.

I’m not sure I’ve ever had such an easy eye care experience and my budget loves the regular monthly payment rather than the lump sum each year. If you’re also as blind as a bat, check out Sightbox to see if it will make your eye care hassles disappear too.

**I had the unique opportunity to try Sightbox for free for 6 months so I could report back on their services. However, if their services had been terrible, I just would’ve politely declined to write anything ;o) Since that is NOT the case, and I LOVED them, I’m happy to sing their praises (and will very likely continue with them past my free trial). It’s super convenient and doesn’t stretch my budget at all.**