Is LASIK surgery worth it?

This post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.

Nearly five years ago, I considered LASIK eye surgery but I never pulled the trigger. It wasn't that I was afraid or concerned, I was just used to contact lenses, they didn't bother me, and I felt that I didn't need to fix something that wasn't broken.

Fast-forward to this year and my contacts are becoming less and less comfortable. On several occasions my eyes have been really bothered by them to the point I keep them out most of the day when I'm working from home. The only times I put them in are when I play sports and when we go out. It's just more convenient.

The most common concern when it comes to LASIK is the price. It's a several-thousand-dol​lar procedure and, as is the case with anything like that, not something you decide on without some deliberation. Fortunately, a quick analysis shows it's actually not as expensive as you might think. Post continues after video.

Cost benefit analysis

Let's say the typical LASIK procedure costs about $4,500, including all expenses related to the procedure and recovery. That $4,500 sounds like a lot, but when you compare it with the cost of glasses and contacts for the rest of your life, it's actually pretty cheap.

Note: I'm going to exclude the use of a flexible spending account for the purposes of this analysis because you can use an FSA for both the LASIK procedure and for glasses and contacts. I figure it's pretty much even for our purposes.

Cost of contact lenses. I'm 30 years old and if I didn't do LASIK, I'd probably wear contacts for at least another 20 years. I use the Air Optix Night & Day Aqua, which goes for $70 a box retail. One box contains a six-month supply of contacts, so a full year's supply for both eyes is going to cost $280. You can probably find them cheaper, about $50 a box, so the actual price is closer to $200 a year.

Vision insurance. Typical vision insurance through an employer is about $5 to $12 a month for one person, which is balanced out by a $120 contact lens or glasses benefit. In other words, you pay for the insurance and make it back on contacts or glasses. The regular checkups are essentially free. That drops the actual cost of contacts to about $80 a year after insurance.

Glasses. Glasses are a little trickier to calculate because most people don't get new glasses every year. Let's say you get a new pair every three years, and those new glasses cost you $150. Over 20 years, that's about seven pairs of glasses. That's $1,050 in glasses, assuming you don't need replacements sooner.

Contact lens solution and supplies. I used to use Opti-Free Replenish solution, $15 for two 10-ounce bottles. I'd conservatively use one bottle a month, so you'd need about $90 for solution each year. Now I use Clear Care No Rub Cleaning & Disinfecting Solution ($16) and then rinse with Bausch & Lomb's Sensitive Eyes Plus Saline ($5). It adds maybe another $20 (for the saline) to the annual budget. 

To recap:

• Contact lenses -- $80 a year.
• Contact lens solution -- $110 a year.
• Glasses -- $150 every three years.

For simplicity, ignore the time value of money and let's just sum up the total cost for contacts over 20 years: $4,850.

OK, let's not ignore simplicity and factor in the time value of money with an interest rate of 3%. Twenty equal payments of $242.50 (that's $4,850 divided by 20) has a present-day value of $3,607.78. In essence, if you were to do LASIK for $4,500, it really only "costs" you $892.21 -- less than $500 an eye.

I made an appointment to have the procedure done.

More on Bargaineering and MSN Money:

• 2011 sales tax holiday schedule
• Summer credit card promotions
• Social Security IRA
• A prescription for diaper rash cream?
• What if you got hit by a bus?
• Uninsured? Where to get health care