If I lived in Cincinnati, I’d be totally addicted to Skyline Chili. It’s just that good, people.
Today’s post/Fox 9 Morning Buzz segment is all about math. Math and ruining the Buzz crew’s (and everyone else’s) good time. Because today, I focus on the cost benefits of giving up those bad – and not so bad – habits many of us have. Like Diet Coke consumption and date night movies. I know, I know, I can suck the joy right out of life. But hey! At least I’m helping you to save money. And that counts for something, right?
BEHOLD MY MATH SKILLZ, HOMIES. We begin with the habit no one can defend:
Quit Smoking
2 packs a day (like the Beastie Boys rap about) = 730 packs a year
Carton at gas station = $55 average price for Marlboro Lights
10 packs of cigarettes in a carton = $5.50 per pack.
Total cost per year = $4,015
The average cigarette takes 5 to 7 minutes to smoke, each. That’s at least 200 minutes if you smoke 2 packs a day. That’s over 3 hours spent on smoking a DAY. Fine, you can multi-task for some of those ciggie-butts, but not all of them.
.
Quit The Coffee Shop Habit*
Let’s assume you’re not me, and you drink just one cup of coffee a day. Weird.
Cost of one large Fancy Coffee Shop specialty drink: $4.50, or $135 a month, not including tax and tip
Cost of one large Fancy Coffee Shop plain coffee: $2, or $60 a month, not including tax or tip
Cost of gas station coffee – specialty or plain: $1, or $30 a month
Cost of a high-end, name-brand coffee at the grocery store: $7.50 – which makes 67.5 cups. That’s 11 cents per cup. And one 11.5 oz container will make over 11 6-cup pots.
Cost of my favorite coffee from Target: $3.54 for the Market Pantry Breakfast Blend, or 5 cents a cup.
Quit Pop (Or At Least, Cut Back)*
The average Diet Cokehead drinks approximately 5 cans a day.
Cost for a 12-pack at the grocery store: $4.79, or 40 cents a can.
Cost for 5 cans a day for one month: $60 a month, or $720 a year
Cost if you cut down to just 2 cans a day: $24 a month, saving you $432 in a year
Quit Those Friday/Saturday Night Trips To The Movies
There’s an average of 4 Fridays/Saturdays in a month.
Cost of adult tickets for Friday and Saturday night movies: $10, or $40 per month
AMC tickets for Monday – Thursday: $5, or $20 per month
Discount tickets at theaters like Hopkins Cinema: $3 maximum, or $12 per month
Cheapest Unlimited Netflix account: $8.99 a month for one movie at a time
Redbox per rental, per day: $1, plus tax – or $4 a month. We have our winner!
*Warning – if you are giving up or cutting back on caffeine, do it slowly, and possibly consult your physician first. Otherwise you WILL suffer from wicked withdrawal symptoms like headaches and irritability.
3 Comments
Whoa, the average Diet Coke drinker consumes FIVE cans a day??? Holy mega dentist bill. :-O I drink Pepsi, and the worst I do is three cans a day. I usually keep to just two. It’s mind boggling how fast and how MUCH habits can add up to! Yeesh. I save boku bucks by brewing coffee at home. I think the one-pound bags of Starbucks ground coffee from Target goes for about $7-9. That lasts me a loooooong time, since I don’t drink coffee every single day, and I use only a 4-cup coffeemaker.
I was shocked by the 5 can/day too!! And I’m very proud to say that this April will mark my 1 year anniversary since I quit smoking. I like logging in to quitnet.com – it lets you figure out how much money you’ve saved, how many ciggies you haven’t smoked, and how much “life” you’ve saved.
How fortunate that I do NONE of these. Ok, only the Netflix, but that covers the whole family. So think of the cash we would be saving if we didn’t spend it all at Byerly’s!