Money-saving tip No. 203: Cut down on costly drinks
Coffee, soft drinks, and other beverages can drain thousands of dollars from your annual budget.
Cans of Coca-Cola and Diet Coke are shown in a cooler in Anne's Deli in this 2011file photo from Portland, Ore. Soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages can be a treat, but as a regular part of one's day they can become costly.
AP Photo/File
When I was fresh out of college and enjoying my first post-college job, I pretty quickly established a daily routine for myself (particularly in 2004 and 2005).
I would stop at a coffee shop for breakfast and enjoy a $5 drink to start the day.
I鈥檇 drink a soft drink or two in the afternoon at work ($1 each out of the vending machine).
On my way home, I鈥檇 sometimes stop for another coffee (another $5), often in the coffee shop area in my favorite bookstore.
Some nights, I鈥檇 go out for drinks with coworkers or friends (another $10 at least).
The total for this was $10 to $30. Every single weekday. Multiply that out by 50 weeks, five days a week, and we鈥檙e looking at $2,500 to $7,500 a year disappearing in the form of beverages.
That was a significant portion of my salary. No wonder I was in debt.
I鈥檓 going to be the last person to tell you that it鈥檚 not completely fine to have a coffee or a soft drink or a hard drink as an occasional treat. I enjoy them all as treats myself.
The key word there is聽treats. You only need water to hydrate yourself. Other beverages are extra pleasures, and when extra pleasures become routine, they become expensive.
The challenge with a change like this is that聽beverages are often a part of our life routine, and it鈥檚 very easy to be defensive about our routines.聽鈥淕ive up my morning coffee? I鈥檇 rather die!鈥� I鈥檝e heard these kinds of refrains many times.
Just remember, though, that聽every beverage you enjoy that鈥檚 not tap or drinking fountain water is an extra expense.聽Every time you make the choice to drink something else, it鈥檚 costing you money.
Perhaps one choice isn鈥檛 that expensive. Even three or four choices a day might not be too much, at least for that day. However, when you look at that over the span of a year, as I did, it adds up to a whole lot.
The key is to聽make better choices in individual situations.聽When you鈥檙e tempted to drink a coffee or a soda, drink a cup of water instead. When you pack a cooler for a road trip, put some water bottles in there instead.
Make a couple better choices each day and stick with them, and soon those choices will become routine. When they become routine, you鈥檙e spending less money without a second thought, and that money can go toward achieving whatever goals you desire.
This post is part of a yearlong series called 鈥�365 Ways to Live Cheap (Revisited),鈥� in which I鈥檓 revisiting the entries from my book 鈥�,鈥� which is available聽聽and at bookstores everywhere.聽