Money Saving Tip: Cut Out Those Vices

Ok, now I'm getting into your business. ;-)

In the past, I've noted how you can save you a bundle of money by quitting smoking. But now, we're going to pick on a couple other "vices" as well.

This piece from Money Central asks, "Are your vices killing your finances?" It's about how people spend a ton of money on the "big three vices": smoking, alcohol and coffee.

Before you click away immediately, just stick with me a second. I'm not going to try and steal all the fun from your life with this post. It's simply an honest look at the costs of these three. And if you stick around until the end, I might have a confession myself for you. ;-)

The article starts by acknowledging that talking about limiting these three isn't a popular idea:

Talk about a buzz kill, right? These are the personal indulgences we hold near and dear. They provide the moments of sheer visceral pleasure that get us through the heavy slogging of daily life.

Not only are we willing to pay the oh-so-affordable retail price for these self-rewards, we actually bundle them into our cost of living without a second thought, as if they were necessities like groceries, toothpaste or gas for the road.

Next, before it gets to the financial impact of these three, the article offers some other reasons you may want to consider backing off of them:

Granted, each is addictive and has physiological side effects we'd rather not dwell on, ranging from hypertension to lung cancer, sleep disorders to emphysema, halitosis to heart attacks.

Finally, we get to the money talk -- with the reason why you may want to cut back on these three:

No one is suggesting that you heartlessly kick your three amigos to the curb and get thee to the nearest yoga class (which can also be pricey!). But if sizable expenses are beginning to appear on your radar -- perhaps a larger house, or college for the twins -- you may be surprised at how much you can save by sacrificing one or more of your favorite vices.

To cut to the chase, here's what the article says you can save:

Alcohol

Based on our three-city survey, Bankrate found that a domestic bottle of beer plus tip on average will run you $4, while a call drink (lowest-price name brands) will run you $6 a pop. If you have two beers or drinks each day, here's your bar tab:

• Weekly: $56 for beer; $84 for call drinks.
• Monthly: $240 beer, $360 for call drinks.
• Annually: $2,920 beer; $4,380 for call drinks.

If you were to put your bar tab into a tax-free 529 college savings plan earning 7% for your newborn, by the time she's ready for college you would have accumulated $99,277 (beer drinker) or $148,916 (call drinks), before taxes.

Smoking

Bankrate average price of a pack of cigarettes: $5

• Daily pack: $5
• Weekly: $35
• Monthly: $150
• Annually: $1,825

That puts that annual community college tuition just $251 away. Put that into a tax-free 529 college savings plan earning 7% for your newborn and by the time he turns 18, you'll have stashed away $62,048 before taxes for college.

Coffee

Bankrate average price for a Starbucks double tall latte: $4.

• Daily double tall latte: $4
• Weekly: $28
• Monthly: $120
• Annually: $1,460

And this doesn't count any of the health-related costs of these items. I'm not sure what they are for the first and last items (I'm sure someone will comment that drinking a glass of wine a day is actually GOOD for you), but I know the average smoker pays $1,600 more annually, on average, on health-care costs than a non-smoker. Not to mention that good health is priceless.

Thankfully, I don't drink, smoke or drink coffee, so I'm good with this article. ;-) However, I do have one vice that I need to give up: diet soda.

I drink four, 12-oz. diet sodas every weekday. My employer provides them for free, so there's no cost, but they're still not good for me. Yeah, they taste good (make that GREAT!), but the tooth decay, stomach issues, etc. just aren't good for me. And who knows what long-term impact of pouring all these chemicals into my body will be in 10 years. So, I need to quit (or at least cut back.)

There! Confession over. ;-)

Comments

[Duane Gran]

The cost for alcohol and coffee is for having it served, but it is considerably cheaper to pour booze or brew coffee at home. This may be the compromise between decadence and miserliness.

[Me]

>the average smoker pays $1,600 more annually, on average, on health-care costs than a non-smoker.

Yeah, but smokers don't have to worry about saving a lot of money for retirement.

[Blaine Moore (Run to Win)]

Not only do I drink my booze at home, but I brew my own beer to further cut down on costs. Works out much better that way. It is more expensive than buying budweiser, but it is much tastier and still cheaper than buying most of the local craft brews or imports that I like.

Although, I do still buy some of the local beers to have at home...

Well, coffee is not much of a vice if you drink the regular stuff and don't go out for the fancy brews. Health-wise it's no worse than eating processed foods -- in fact there are those who would claim eating fast food consistently is much worse than drinking coffee or alcohol, moderately.

Anything in excess is a vice!