I don’t know if I have bad feet or bad shoes. I have a pair of Fila tennis shoes with memory foam insoles that feel great. It also feels great that I got them at Famous Footwear for only $25 using a coupon.

But the bad news is that I can’t really wear tennis shoes to work. I need to wear either my black shoes or my brown shoes. Both are years old, and both are uncomfortable.

I have been able to make my shoes last for years, sometimes even repairing shoes to save money instead of buying new shoes. Over time, the shoe insole has worn down, and is flat and hard.

I ended up with a $25 Walgreens gift card how I ended up with this is a story for another day. For now, I will just mention the Walgreens Balance Rewards Program as a tip for saving money at Walgreens.

I decided to try to use my gift card to solve my immediate problem of sore feet. Since Walgreens doesn’t sell shoes, my options were to get some ibuprofen, or get some shoe inserts to make my old shoes more comfortable.

What are Shoe Inserts?Shoe inserts are also known as shoe insoles. Shoe inserts are made of foam or rubbery plastic materials and make a cushion for your feet in the bottom of your shoes. Some shoe inserts are simply cushions, and some provide arch support as well.

The packaging of shoe inserts describes the problem the shoe insert is intended to solve. Some inserts are designed to relieve back pain or aching legs. Others specifically mention relieving foot pain.

You can find shoe inserts specifically for “work” and some for running. The shoe inserts for work are intended to help people who are on their feet all day at work. The running inserts provide extra shock absorption for running on pavement.

How Much do Shoe Inserts Cost?I was surprised at the variety of shoe inserts available at Walgreens. I also checked at another pharmacy and found a similar selection. The lowest cost for shoe inserts that I found was 99 cents for some generic foam inserts that you cut with scissors to the size of your shoe. Compared with the fancy molded foam inserts and plastic inserts with gel cushions, the simple flat foam pad seems entirely inadequate.

Most of the shoe for sale inserts were in the $5 to $15 price Air Jordan Fusion 4 range. Some of these feature arch support and shock absorption. I think any of these would improve the comfort level of old shoes with worn out insoles.

Some shoe inserts are more expensive, $40 or more for custom fit shoe inserts. Some stores have “foot mapping” machines that measure the pressure on the bottom of your feet as you stand. After measurement, the machine recommends a specific type of shoe insert based on the measurements. This Air Jordan 5s may be worth the money if the “off the shelf” inserts in the $5 to $15 price range don’t solve your issues.

Which is the Best Shoe Insert?I found some cool looking inserts with gel in the heel that looked promising and cost about $15. However these inserts were intended to help with back pain according to the description on the package. I decided to go with shoe inserts that specifically help with foot pain.

I picked out some “tri comfort” inserts. These have features that help with foot comfort in Air Jordan 3s 3 areas of the foot the ball, the arch, and the heel. The “tri comfort” inserts are foam inserts with arch support, but no gel.

The inserts I selected were 3/4 length inserts. This means that the insert does not go all the way to the toe of the shoe. This makes it easier to insert and remove the inserts. Easy removal and insertion of the inserts is important to me since I plan to move the inserts between my black shoes and my brown shoes frequently.

How Long Do Shoe Inserts Last?Before spending money, I was interested in knowing how long shoe inserts last. Air Jordan 3 Retro According to the packaging, shoe inserts last for 6 months. I would assume that the 6 month life expectancy would be for daily wear. If you don’t use your shoe inserts every day, I would expect them to last longer than 6 months. I suspect the the foam and elastic materials lose their springiness and get flattened down over time.

Do Shoe Inserts Make Shoes Comfortable?So far, my feet feel a lot better with the shoe inserts. I installed the shoe inserts immediately after I got back to my office. The first thing I noticed is that the shoe inserts seem to make me a little bit taller. I am pretty tall already, but I am fine with a 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch extra height. Of course, you can buy shoe inserts that are designed to make you taller if that is your goal.

After putting my shoe inserts in my shoes, my feet felt better the more I walked. I think the bottoms of my feet had become bruised from walking with the very hard soles of my old shoes. Also, the lack of arch support was not helping. I think spending $12.50 for something that will work in both pairs of my work shoes was money well spent. I guess since I had a gift card, I didn’t actually spend any money, but even if I really paid $12.50, this seems like a good value.

Someone recently suggested that I should invest in buying better shoes. The thought was that I could save money buy getting good shoes that last longer. Perhaps next time I buy shoes, I will get higher quality shoes. For now, it is sure nice to have comfortable shoes without spending a lot of money!

Effective Shoe Inserts for Plantar Fasciitis: Orthotic Insoles With Good Arch. It sure makes sense to me now: I don’t need to get new shoes and my Air Jordan 16s feet don’t hurt anymore.

kidscrafts 9 months ago from Ottawa, Canada Level 4 Commenter

Shoe inserts can be a great solution to have more comfortable shoes. I know all about it because I have plantar fasciitis to my left foot and I need all the comfort I can get! Great hub! Thank you for sharing! This article will definitly help a few people : )