Cheapies (Glasses) and Freebies (Taxes)!
Some money-saving tips for y’all. Even when times are good, you want to get as much as you can out of that tall dollar. (If you’re a cartoonist, it seems like we usually see “dollar” in the singular. Am I right?)
What follows are me explaining why I use what I use to save dosh, illustrated with cautionary stories.
TAXES
I use TaxACT.com Free Federal taxes, $14. for state taxes. (Even though state taxpayers probably aren’t going to see refunds, you still have to file the fecking things.)
I used to get so stressed at tax time I’d get sick. Two years, I didn’t file because I made no money, stb-ex did, though. We were due refunds for those years, but since we didn’t file, fines for doing nothing piled up every year, and years we did get a refund, the IR$ kept it.
We got a great tax guy to help us unravel the mess. This guy is the $uperman of money, and it took him TEN YEARS to sort us. (We were dropped after we got the overdue refunds because stb-ex made a command decision to not pay $uperman. $uperman yelled at me until I cried, and was polite to stb-ex.)
There are two lessons here: pay the person that does your taxes and set loose the partner that decided that not paying was a good idea. (P.S. lesson in there about getting yelled at when it’s not your fault. Work it out for yourself.)
TaxACT walks you through everything step-by-step and double-checks at the end for questionable info, things to be cautious about, and suggests ways to get even more back (or off) on your taxes. They also e-file for free, and you can opt for direct deposit. We got our refund in about two weeks.
GLASSES
First, my sources:
Glassy Eyes, where Ira has made it his mission to convince people to buy glasses online, because optical shop prices are a huge ripoff. Lots of links, and discounts from Ira’s recommended sources when you use the coupon code “glassyeyes.”
Goggles4U, where I bought my 3 pairs of new glasses. That sounds extravagant, but read on and find out how much they didn’t set me back. Nice-looking frames, with photochromic coatings on all. I paid extra for the photochromic coating, the anti-glare, UV and scratch-resist came standard.
Thanks to some links from Lisa Jonté, and some agonizing hours comparing, reading reviews at Glassy Eyes, finding my faves sold out, and picking again, I ordered three pairs of glasses from Goggles4U (by far the best selection, price and reputation among online optical shops) with designer frames and photochromic coating for…
are you ready…
$105. US.
That’s a hair more than half of what I paid for one pair that I bought a couple days after my house burnt down in 2006, and that was after I was given a discount because I was replacing fire-damaged glasses. Pre-discount, they were $230. If I’d gotten the darkening coating, they would’ve been at least $350. That’s ten pairs of my nicer, new glasses.
By the way, here are the lucky glasses that get to sit on my face (yes, totally meant that joke):
For biking. I needed a pair of full-rim plastics that could weather a fall or drop.
For dress and every day wear.
Daffy-ass frames just right for living rockstar or to be intimidating on my bike.
I didn’t find another site, even via Glassy Eyes, that offered the pricing and selection that Goggles4U did. A couple others have great frames once you get into the designer range at $50+ and you still have to get the lenses.
Enjoy saving yourself some money. You can thank me at some point with a commission or PayPal donation, or even something from my wishlist. ^__-
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Well, different people have different experiences. I used to do my taxes by hand every year, and I’d nearly always wind up overpaying a little and getting a small check back from the fed and/or the state. (Except for the times I was due a refund, which was when I had a well-paying full-time job.)
Last year I had all freelance income, and it was income earned in one state while I’d lived in another, and I’d moved between states during the year, and it looked pretty complicated, so I used TaxACT. The figures TaxACT figured for me turned out to be too low, and I got letters a while later saying I owed more money.
I think you’re right about the online glasses. Last year, I discovered I was starting to get middle-aged far-sightedness (after a lifetime of strong near-sightedness). I went to a local eye place, and got measured, and ordered a fancy set of progressive bifocals that set me back over $500! I asked them for a copy of my numbers, and I went to Zenni Optical and ordered a set of backup glasses (just my long-distance prescription, not bifocals), and they only cost $80. (If they had been bifocals, that would’ve been another $35, I think.) And that was without any coupon codes.
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Love your choices! Great variety and some total badassness there. Really wish I could take advantage of these online optical places. My eyes are just too wonky.
February 24th, 2009 at 2:23 am
gaahhh. This kills me. I can’t believe I would come across your post, after not having visited LJ for an eon mind you, the VERY DAY I spent $200 on new glasses. Well, maybe the burning injustice of it will force me to remember your advice when I next need them. Thanks!
February 24th, 2009 at 10:56 am
That sucks! No chance of canceling the order or taking the hit on the cost of the lenses? (Usually 1/2 of the cost if you change your mind.) No matter what, next time. I was going to buy online with my last pair, but needed new glasses fast and thought my local office would be faster. BUZZ. Wrong.
February 24th, 2009 at 10:57 am
You’d know better than me. I guess you’ve given them a go already?
February 24th, 2009 at 10:58 am
I was going to get progressives until I found out I’d have to get far bigger frames than I want to wear. My close up vision is not so bad I need them, it’s more of a convenience thing.