Depending on what type of glasses you need, purchasing eyeglasses will set you back by as little as $20 while the higher end can go to as much as $750, for designer glasses with a lot of style and sophistication. Statistics suggest that the average American paid about $196 for his or her glasses.

Since you are going to be shelling out close to $200 on glasses, it pays to know how you can save. Here are some quick pointers.

• Say “no thanks” when your ophthalmologist sells you glasses

Your ophthalmologist will almost certainly try to sell you glasses, after giving you an eye exam and writing up a prescription. But, even if your eye doctor is a great person, the smart thing to do would be to pass on their offer to sell you glasses. This is because glasses sold by ophthalmologists are almost always extremely overpriced. It is just a quick revenue stream for them and they prey on your convenience to send you out with glasses immediately, but after you pay quite a premium for the glasses.  Buying glasses online, however, sidesteps many of the reasons for them being so expensive, such as office overhead.

• Buy online! Everyone’s doing it

There was a time where people used to be super skeptical about buying glasses online. Not anymore. In fact, buying cheap glasses online has become quite the trend recently, with all the thousands of choices available at an online store. Besides being able to give you very competitive prices, online stores have also come to specialize in express glasses delivery, sending out your glasses to you in less than 24 hours from the time you order.

Buying prescription glasses online is also a very simple process. All you have to do is enter your prescription information during the checkout process and also enter your pupil distance and your lens will be made out to match your exact needs. Besides great discounts and prices on eyeglasses, online stores make it incredibly easy for you to find glasses that match your exact style needs. You can use filters to buy glasses by the color, shape, and lens-type or even build quality that you specifically have in your mind.

• Buy frames built with cheap materials

When we talk about cheap here, we don’t mean the cheap as in bad quality. We mean cheap as in just cost-effective. Take metal frames for example. Not a lot of people wear metal frames anymore. Most have moved on to wood, rubber, plastic or more complex materials like titanium and acetate. But, if you know that you will be able to take care of your glasses well, there’s no need to pay for expensive build materials like titanium. Such materials come at quite a cost. The difference in prices between a titanium designer frame and a simple metal frame, for the same lenses, can even go up to $300!

Though metal frames are strong, they are not flexible like plastic or rubber which can take some bending and pressure, without breaking or snapping. Plastic and rubber frames cost more than metal frames but they are certainly not as expensive as titanium, wooden or acetate frames.

When it comes to investing, many experts agree that real-estate is one of the less volatile and safer ways to make money. There’s several ways you can dabble in the property market. Buy a fix-and-flip turning it over within weeks of purchase, build a portfolio of rental properties or invest in the luxury home market.

Buying luxury real estate can be better than having money in the bank

If you’re investing in a good area, buying luxury real estate will always provide you with a good capital gain making it a wiser choice then leaving your money in the bank. Enlist luxury house builders in Melbourne to construct a brand-new home with all the comforts or buy an established home in your chosen-up market area. Either way, the potential for a substantial profit is great.

Beyond monetary growth, buying a high-end property will enable you to enjoy several lifestyle benefits such as a pool, a five-star kitchen or a bathroom that will rival any top hotel. Entertaining and hosting extended family and friends is made more pleasurable when you’re in a home with all the luxuries.

A luxury home will also yield a greater rental return if you choose to purchase a high-end property as a rental investment. It also typically attracts an upmarket tenant who’s likely to look after and maintain the property well.

A luxury home can be the key to a comfortable retirement

For many, building a real estate portfolio is crucial in achieving a comfortable retirement. It’s estimated for a couple in Australia to enjoy a reasonably comfortable retirement they’ll require about $640,000 in savings. For those who wish to live a more elaborate lifestyle or leave their children an inheritance, they’ll obviously require a greater nest egg.

For many, this is not going to be achieved through super and employee savings alone and investing in luxury property may be the key. In a situation where you’ve purchased a high-end home in a well sort after area known for its growth, you could make enough to live comfortably during your later years.

When you near retirement, selling the property may give you ample profit to purchase a smaller home and cover the cost of living when you retire. If your kids are lucky, they may even enjoy a generous inheritance out of the sale.

Buying a luxury real estate investment all comes down to timing

It’s easy to see why high-end purchases like luxury double storey homes have the potential of being a great investment. Quality products typically retain their value over a greater period than average or poorly made products.

Take a car for example, a European car with a great brand and constructed of quality parts is more likely to achieve a higher resale price down the track than a cheaper made vehicle. Same goes for furniture, homeware goods, jewellery, and clothing.

But timing plays a huge part in whether investing in luxury real estate will pay off. You need to ensure you don’t over-extend yourself so you can hold onto the property during any volatile times. If you’re forced to sell a property during a market down turn, you may suffer a financial loss. Making sure your finances are in check and you’re purchase in the more attractive, established areas will help ensure your luxury real estate investment is a good one.

Debt has a way of creeping up on you. One minute you’ve got things under control and the next your head is spinning, trying to decide which bill is more important than another. Before you reach this point, it’s important to reduce your debt sooner rather than later. Thankfully, there are ways to get your debt down or paid off faster than you might imagine.

Credit Card Transfers

If you’re like many people, you probably have in your possession anywhere from 3 to 6 credit cards. If you pay them off each month, there are no additional fees and you make out fine. However, most people charge things and then pay them off over time. The problem is that even though you have the credit to do this, you’re putting yourself at risk for throwing your hard-earned money straight out the door. The interest that accumulates many times on a purchase paid over time ends up costing you more than the actual item you purchased. The good news is that there are companies such as CreditSoup.com that find credit card companies who have benefits beyond the credit privilege. For instance, they provide you with a list of different credit card companies and their specialty. Some of them include credit card balance transfers which you can use to take your existing balances and transfer them on a new card interest-free for a period of up to 12 months.

Refinancing your mortgage

If you have equity in your home, you could opt to refinance it and use the monies to pay off your other debt like credit cards, medical bills, student loans and personal loans. This way they are paid and you can reduce your monthly budget by the hundreds, maybe even a thousand, depending on the number of cards and personal loans you currently have.

Borrowing from your 401K

Many people have money at their disposal and don’t even know it. If you are currently paying into a 401K and have done so for many years, you have cash you can use to pay off your debt problem. Find out what bank handles your 401K and then contact them to see if you can take out a loan. With a 401K you can borrow up to 50% of your accrued balance. As an added bonus, when you repay the loan with low-interest you’re paying yourself back.

Debt consolidation loans

If you have more debt than simply credit cards and your credit is good, you may want to consider a debt consolidation loan. Most banks that offer it will require that you have sufficient collateral such as a home, but in the end, this is a fast way to take most, if not all of your outstanding debt and lump it into one affordable monthly payment.

Debt Management Program

If your credit score is less than good, acquiring a loan from a bank is probably not going to happen. Entering into the debt management program gives you access to another way to keep up your debt with the help of a debt counselor. They work similar to a loan acquired from a bank, except that you will use your money to reduce the debt. The advantage to this versus trying to go it alone is that these agencies have regular dealings with the credit card and loan companies, and because of this many times they can get your current interest rate and the minimum monthly payment reduced. However, if you miss a payment, the agreement is null and void.

If you are starting to feel a little overwhelmed with the amount of debt you owe, it’s wise to do something before you miss a payment and your credit score turns from good to bad. There are many ways to achieve this, and once you eliminate your debt it’s good to remain in control of your finances to avoid it happening again in the future.