After a year or so of increasingly being unable to see . . . well, anything, I finally broke down and bought myself some new glasses. Because of the amazing options available to consumers here in the future, I was able to indulge in a luxury that would have been unthinkable to me not many years ago.

I got myself three pairs of glasses.

One pair for general use. A pair of polycarbonate prescription sunglasses. And a pair of close-up glasses for working on the computer and reading. At first, after getting this wealth of eyewear, I was second guessing myself. I could see the computer screen well enough with the regular distance glasses; did I really need the computer glasses?

Then I noticed that if I wore the computer glasses, I didn’t have a headache after spending several hours on the computer. Oh, right!

I have to remember which pair I’m wearing, of course, and change them as appropriate, but that’s a small price to pay for being able to see, and not having to deal with headaches and eyestrain. Plus, there is the added bonus of confusing people when they see me wearing very different pairs of glasses over the course of the day. (I deliberately picked frames that look nothing like each other for the computer and distance glasses, so that I could easily tell them apart.)

The trick that makes all this possible is ordering the glasses online. I was able to get all three pairs for less than what the last pair I bought at the optician’s store cost. They’re not designer frames (though you can get those online too, and still save a significant amount of money), but they’re quite nice. I’m impressed by the look and quality of them.

The sunglasses and computer glasses came from 39DollarGlasses.com and the distance glasses came from EyeBuyDirect.com. (Link and coupon codes–10 and 15% off– courtesy of Glassyeyes) Both are quite good and they were delivered in about two weeks. Comparable to what I’d expect from my local optician.

If you wear glasses, treat yourself to the luxury of multiple pairs, and pay less too.