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What’s a poor-sighted person’s worst nightmare? Breaking a pair of glasses. If you haven’t been glasses shopping lately, brace yourself to empty your bank account: glasses are expensive. With all the options available (designer frames, light-changing lenses, wire or plastic frames, and enough colors to fill a Crayola crayon box), it’s no wonder people would rather glue their glasses together than go shopping for a new pair.

So where should you buy your glasses? Where can you walk out with a pair of quality frames for a price that won’t break the bank? Which places will still give you expert staff, quality fittings, and tons of selection? Here are the best places to buy your next pair of frames. Happy shopping!

The Best Place to Buy Your Glasses: Costco Optical

According to Consumer Reports, the top place to get your next pair of glasses is Costco Optical, where the average cost of a pair of glasses ran around $157. Your next best bet if you want to shop local (or you don’t have a Costco membership) is an independent glasses shop around town, where consumers paid around $211 a pair. No local eyeglass shops around? Head to a private doctor’s office. A pair from your local private doctor will set you back about $212.

The Worst: JCPenney

Don’t go to JCPenney, America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses, Visionworks, Eyemasters, or Pearle Vision, cautions Consumer Reports. These five companies had the five worst rankings of all glasses providers.

Curious about what your friends’ favorite glasses stores are? Consider installing a survey from kissinsights.com to learn where your friends get their specs.

For years, vacuum cleaner technology has been changing. Companies are always coming out with the latest and greatest things that are supposed to be better for cleaning. However, are those new gadgets really better? Some of them prove their worth over time, and others don’t. One of the most popular vacuum cleaning options today is the HEPA filter. HEPA vacuums have a special filter that’s designed to take out dirt and pollen and allergens that other filters would not be able to catch. Because these filters are supposed to do this, they’re advertised as being better for people with problems like asthma and allergies.

For moms, these kinds of vacuums are a good choice. They provide the opportunity to keep a home really clean and beautiful, and they allow family members with breathing problems to breathe a little more easily. It’s important that anyone who’s going to buy a vacuum check it out and see if it has a HEPA filter. Not everyone feels that these filters really make a lot of difference, but there will always be differing opinions. Only you can decide if you feel this filter is right for your family and helpful for your breathing.

Consider, though, that the filter certainly isn’t hurting anything, and vacuums with it don’t really cost more than vacuums that don’t have it. Rather than avoid it because you don’t think it will help, getting a vacuum with it is generally a better option. If it helps, that’s a bonus. If it doesn’t, you haven’t lost anything by having it in there. Be sure to read the instructions that come with your new vacuum, too, and see if you need to clean the filter periodically, or whether it needs replaced at specific intervals. That way, you’ll be sure to get the maximum benefit from your HEPA vacuum.