Warby Parker Eyeglasses, Tax-Free

This summer I finally used my FSA for something I’ve been planning on doing for along time – a pair of oh-so-hipster Warby Parker glasses. I’ve known for a long time that prescription eyewear is FSA-eligible, but never tried it out. But for a price point of around $95, and with my FSA covering it, by my calculations I’d essentially be getting my Warbys for around $66 (30% discount using pre-tax FSA monies). Way cooler than getting FSA-eligible band-aids.

If you’re not familiar with Warby Parker, it’s an eyewear company known for modern designs, and frames that are super-affordable. Oh, and you do everything online, so it’s super-convenient. You can pick out up to five frames from their website and they’ll send them to you free (they pay for the shipping) to test out at home. You get five days to decide which you like, then return the frames (shipping’s on them again) and go online to order the pair you like.

Here’s what I did to obtain my Warby Parker eyeglasses:

1. I went to my eye doctor to get my eyeglass prescription. Like any legit eyewear establishment, you’ll need to provide your unexpired prescription from your doctor. Once I got it, I took a snapshot of it with my iPhone, since I’ll need to submit it with my online order.
2. Went to warbyparker.com and found 5 frames I liked. They arrived to me in a few days. I suggest selecting a few varying styles – you never know what frame actually looks better on you in person.
3. I ended up liking the pair displayed at the top of this page, the Coley. I had been eyeing a pair of clear frames for awhile. Weird, huh? Don’t judge. So then I returned all my trial pairs with the provided shipping label that was already paid for. Super easy.
4. I went back to warbyparker.com online and ordered my pair of crystal Coleys for $95. The process is simple, and I submitted my picture of my prescription. If your prescription doesn’t include the PD (pupillary distance) of your eyes, they even have an online tool to measure it for you. I had to use it, and it was really simple (and cool). Since my lenses are a bit thicker since my eyesight is pretty high, I sprung for an extra $25 to have high-index lenses to keep my as slim as possible.
5. My receipt from Warby Parker was then emailed to me:
6. I saved my receipt as a PDF file (Print your page, then instead of selecting a printer, choose PDF.) I immediately logged into my FSA administrator website to submit an out-of-pocket reimbursement. All the documentation I needed to provide to get reimbursed was the PDF of my receipt.
7. After a few days, my FSA was approved: 

And finally, after a couple weeks, my brand-new pair of Coley eyeglasses from Warby Parker came in the mail!