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LASIK surgery is now pretty cheap, and depending on how much you spend on new glasses, optometrist appointments, contact lenses etc., it might actually pay for itself eventually. It should also save you time and effort, and might make you look better.
"Pretty cheap"? I looked up the prices once in the name of VoI and saw numbers in the range of $2,500. I'm pretty sure I can improve my life more than LASIK would with $2,500 worth of other improvements.
But if you would spend 2500$ over ten years of glasses- and contacts-wearing - which is very possible, especially if you're prone to breaking them - then it pays for itself already. Or twenty years, whatever, ignoring alternative ways to invest that money. Add in more for the massive convenience of not having to deal with glasses and contacts, too.
This is why I'm going in for a LASIK pre-op next week. I'm certain it will improve my quality of life appreciably and save me money over the long term to boot.
$250 a year for glasses seems high given that my $90 glasses have been fine since 2008. I do have an extra pair ($40, not titanium framed) for backup, and should get new ones to update my prescription, but $250/year?
If you hate glasses then lasik might be worth it, but I doubt it's cheaper for many people.
It might hinge on how quickly one's vision is worsening. A younger person who needs a new prescription every time their eyes are tested could well spend $250/year on glasses; an older person whose vision has stabilized can use a $90 pair for years.
If you're getting $90 glasses then to spend $2500 over ten years you need to go through nearly 30 pairs. That sounds high.
Not to mention the discount rate - Lasik is $2500 now, while $90 ten years from now is less than $90 now.
Yeah, the price of glasses matters too. Even someone with continually worsening eyes who buys two pairs a year won't spend $250/year if they only buy $90 glasses. But it's quite easy to spend, say, £200 on a pair of glasses, and if you do that annually you'll burn through $300 per year!
Yeah, it can definitely be done for cheaper. In my case going through college and such I got new frames every year or two (between breaking them or starting to hate the style..). The bigger expense was contacts, which we either didn't have insurance for or it didn't cover, coming out to 100-150/year depending on how often I lost or damaged them.
lasik is worthwhile since it's a superior product to wearing glasses. Between peripheral vision and correction of astigmatism, you're better off going under the laser.
Probably more like $3500 in the Bay Area.
Lasik circa 2013 is way, way, way better than Lasik circa 2003. It's mostly done by machine based on a precalculated map of your eye. Correcting higher order aberrations improves aspects of your vision that can't be improved by glasses or contacts. To me, this feels like vastly improved 3d vision resolution. I can see the intricate structure of the leaves of trees much better than before.
The cost is reasonable enough when amortized over a decade. Lasik sort of wears off over time, so worst case, plan on getting your eyes lasered every decade. Or, plan on getting them lasered for a decade or two, and then get a lens replacement when they can come with high resolution heads up displays.
It depends on your particular vision issues. If you're astigmatic, laser eye surgery is well worth the price in terms of removing clumsiness. Especially if you can finance it over the time period you'll enjoy it in.