You can get home A1c kits that are just as accurate as the lab test results. I've probably taken a home reading on the same day as getting a blood draw about a dozen times and the results are almost always with 0.1 percentage points. The cost for a single test is about $20. You can also get them in packs of 2, 10, and 20. At the 20 level the costs are down to about $8 each. They shelf life is a year, but I've gotten the same performance well over a year after the expiration date (but I keep them in the fridge).