Vision correction has come a long way since the 13th century when the first pair of specs was made by riveting together the handles of two magnifying lenses. Today, surgical progress in vision correction, as well as advances in traditional eye glasses and contact lenses, can potentially improve a person's visual capability to better than the optimal range of "20/20."

So you see, anyone with a regular income should be able to afford some sort of eyesight improvement option out in the market today.

In order to see clearly, objects need to be brought to a focus point precisely on the retina of the eye. The retina is somewhat like the film in a camera. The light is brought to a focus point by the cornea and lens of the eye. The cornea's curvature is ideally matched to it's length in the normal eye. As the normal eye matures, the lens loses the strength to focus for reading and will have to have the support of reading glasses. This typically commences to affect most people after the age of 40.

Side note: While you can't do anything about age or genetic makeup, you can eat a balanced diet, wear sunglasses that block ultraviolet light, and get regular eye exams to help maintain good vision. Regular eye exams are important because they can detect early signs of disease long before the disease leads to vision loss. Doctors recommend that everyone have an eye exam shortly after birth, and at least every few years until age 40. After that, the eyes should be routinely checked every 2 or 3 years

Once you are appropriately fitted for contact lenses, remember that you still will need extra evaluation to determine eye health. This means that even a routine contact lens eye exam typically costs more than a regular eye exam.