TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE

Contact lenses.  If you wear them, you know that sinking feeling when you reach for your last pair.  It’s time to reorder and drop more than a little change doing so.  Usually, before reordering you have to have a checkup to obtain an updated prescription.  While there, most optometrists will walk you through the process of ordering lenses.  They won’t tell you, however, that you will be paying additional fees for ordering through their practice. 

There is a much more cost effective way to go about obtaining your lenses although it will require a small amount of legwork on your part.  I saved $81.80 for about an hour’s worth of work.  This adds up significantly if you have more than one person in your house wearing lenses.

Here’s how.  First, call your insurance company to find out what you qualify for and what they require to reimburse you for buying the contacts.  (Make sure you understand any drop in coverage if you choose to go out of network to get your lenses.  Online companies are considered out of network, and likely your coverage will diminish somewhat, so you need to decide if it’s worth doing.)  Next, when you visit your optometrist ask for a copy of your prescription once your visit is complete.  Then shop around online for a good deal on your particular contact lenses.  Lastly, after you purchase/receive them, send in the appropriate paperwork to your insurance company.

Here is what I did.  I ordered my contacts from lens.com (great service, prices, and easy to use).  By doing so, I saved $13.35 on each of 8 boxes for a total of $106.80 over what my optometrist would have charged me.  I did lose $25 on my insurance benefit by choosing to go out of network for the contacts, but it was obviously still worth it with a final savings of $81.80.  It took me about an hour total to call my insurance company, find the best online deal and turn in the appropriate paperwork. 

SAVINGS TIP:  The brand ACUVUE typically offers rebates on their lenses.  By sending in the box tops and filling out their form I was able to receive a $25 rebate.  It’s worth it to see if your lenses qualify.  Asking for information at the optometrist’s office on rebates may not net you anything worthwhile once they realize you won’t be purchasing your contacts through them.  So check around online and you may find a rebate that way.

LET'S TALK $$$

“…You can’t fake stewardship.  Your checkbook reveals all that you really believe about stewardship.  A life story could be written from a checkbook.  It reflects your goals, priorities, convictions, relationships, and even the use of your time.  A person who has been a Christian for even a short while can fake prayer, Bible study, evangelism, going to church, and so on, but he can’t fake what his checkbook reveals.  Maybe that is why so many of us are so secretive about our personal finances.”  (Ron Blue)

So true!  When the topic of cost comes up regarding something I demonstrated poor stewardship on, I cringe.  An objective number is hard to explain away.  It’s right there in black and white for anyone privy to the knowledge to judge.  As I thought more about this I also realized that sharing about positive financial steps, like what we give away or how we’ve used our money to help others, can be equally difficult for me.  How we spend money truly does reveal our goals/priorities/convictions.  If we are honest with others regarding our financial decisions we leave ourselves open to possible critique.  What’s even more difficult to swallow is that the critique may be well deserved.  So we hide behind the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy our culture has perfected on this vitally important topic. 

Let’s say that we never talk about another significant area of our lives—parenting.  We don’t communicate with other parents regarding our children.  We don’t ask each other for advice and tips on childrearing.  We refuse to share our experiences and wisdom with other parents who need it, even withholding this valuable information from our own children when they begin to parent.  We hide our mistakes and hurts and put up a façade that all is well, even when our families are crumbling from the inside out.  And we absolutely refuse to ask or answer any meaningful questions that might in any way make it seem as if we don’t have it all together. 

It’s quite obvious the devastation this attitude would generate.  Very soon each new parent would have to learn everything from scratch, the hard way.  From infant feeding and diaper rash to potty training and schooling and on to adolescence, each step would have to be blazed from a veritable wilderness of confusion.  Mistakes that could easily have been avoided would be numerous and likely far more painful than necessary. 

It’s no different with money.  Many of us find it difficult to be open about our financial situations.  We fear others’ judgment of us.  So we cut communication on this issue.  We stop asking for advice and sharing our experiences and struggles.  We hide our mistakes and needs and do everything to ensure others don’t have a negative impression of how we handle our finances.

But there is a heavy price to pay.  This secretive approach to money is likely hindering us from receiving help we may very badly need.  Maybe we have debt hanging over our heads we don’t know how to deal with, or a bad spending habit we haven’t been able to get under control on our own.  Maybe we have needs others would be happy to help meet if we only opened our mouths.  Or possibly, through our own poor training, we simply lack the basic tools to handle money well and desperately need another’s wisdom.  Ultimately we are cutting off a significant means of character growth when we refuse to talk about finances.  Money and learning to handle it well can be one of the biggest tools God uses to make us more like Jesus.

I am not advocating laying out your finances for all to see.  Obviously that approach is not wise either.  Rather, I am more and more convinced that as we are candid in this, as in other areas, with the trustworthy people God has placed in our lives, He will use our openness to change us and help others as well.  Ultimately we answer to the One who already owns all that we have, but as in other areas, His people have great input that He can use for our good.  Not to mention that openness breeds accountability for our actions and helps us maintain good stewardship values. 

Have you chosen to let someone else into this very private area of your life, or are you letting your fear of being judged short circuit God’s ability to transform your character and help you become the steward He desires for the resources that He’s given you?

Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.  Proverbs 12:15 NLT

Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.  Proverbs 15:22 NLT