It's getting to be that of the year again here in Arizona. It's hot, hot, hot. My water consumption always increases as it should. The air is so dry you can feel the moisture just sucking out of your pores.
What is your drink of choice? How much does it cost? How much could you save if you started drinking only water? Are you a soda drinker? Bottled water? Coffee made at home, or some designer brand which costs $5 per drink? Beer, wine, or juice? Power drinks?
Have you ever sat down and added up how much it costs? I think you would be surprised to discover just how much you are spending on liquid refreshment. The most frugal drink of all is water. It can come straight from the tap if your water is safe to drink – and by that I mean free of chlorine and other harmful contaminants, and not only is it cheap but it has no calories.
When you stop and think about it, almost anything you drink adds calories unless you're drinking water, unsweetened tea, herb tea or coffee. Unfortunately most of the time several teaspoons of sugar is added into the mix. I have heard some of the fancy coffee drinks can be upwards of 400 calories per drink. That's a huge chunk of your daily calories, and most people can afford to cut out a few calories. Switching to water can be a simple way to save money and cut calories.
Even if you only drink water, it can still cost a pretty penny if you buy bottled water. If your tap water is not drinkable one solution is to buy water by the gallon jug. While striving to be frugal we should also take into consideration the effect to our health in using plastics that contain BPA. Consider investing in BPA-free versions for all your water containers. Here's one reason from Science Daily:
BPA (Bisphenol A) is one of many man-made chemicals classified as endocrine disruptors, which alter the function of the endocrine system by mimicking the role of the body's natural hormones. Hormones are secreted through endocrine glands and serve different functions throughout the body.
Once you have a few gallon containers it will be even cheaper to refill those jugs. Most water establishments charge 25 cents per gallon. Here are a couple available from Amazon:
Don't buy individual bottles of water. Invest in an individual sized drinking container.
What about ice cubes? Most refrigerators come with an ice maker but if yours doesn't do you buy ice cubes already made from the store? Do you realize that's a lot of money to pay for frozen water? Making ice cubes is so easy and if you have several trays just get into the habit of emptying and refilling them each morning.
By the way, if you do have an ice maker in your refrigerator that isn't hooked up to the water supply, but it is still whirring and trying to make ice cubes – disconnect it. You will save money on your electricity bill! We tested this out and found that we were spending $4.20 each month. That's not a huge amount of money, but it all adds up.
To be truly frugal like my Grandma, you have to economize on everything, even water and ice. She drank tap water, and you wouldn't have caught her buying a bag of store made ice.
I actually love water, so that’s great for my wallet!
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Mrs. Accountability Reply:
May 21st, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Michelle, I am always dumbfounded to learn that some people don’t like water and don’t drink water. In my teenage years I knew a woman like that. All she drank was Tab, or coffee. No water at all. I can’t imagine how hard that would be on one’s body. Thanks for visiting and commenting!
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Alice Reply:
May 21st, 2012 at 12:32 pm
@Mrs. Accountability,
I’ve been to different places where the tap water wasn’t tasty. It’s hard to want to drink much of it if it tastes bad. I find it’s easier for me to drink more if I use some sort of flavoring – in very small amounts. Most of the things that are marketed for adding to bottled water are much to sweet, so I use maybe 1/3 of a packet. A drop or two of orange juice or even lemon juice is also a big favorite of mine. Quite often I’ll slice an orange and add to a pitcher of water if we’re having guests.
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Mrs. Accountability Reply:
May 21st, 2012 at 4:31 pm
When I lived in Phoenix the water tasted bad to me. We have well water where we live and I really enjoy the taste of it. I enjoy lemon juice in water sometimes, too. 🙂
I drink plain old tap water! I try to get my eight glasses or so per day. Sometimes less, sometimes more.
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Mrs. Accountability Reply:
May 21st, 2012 at 12:17 pm
Money Beagle, great job! 🙂 I hear that’s the recommendation to get 8 glasses a day. I drink to thirst myself and consumption always goes up in the summer. Thanks for visiting and commenting! 🙂
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Not only is it cheap, good for you and readily available, it also contains fluoride which is important to protecting your teeth. Fluoride provides the first layer of protection for your teeth. Water is life!
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Mrs. Accountability Reply:
May 21st, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Script for Money, I have to respectfully disagree. I do not believe that fluoride is good for us at all and I avoid it to the extent that I am able. But to each his or her own. Thanks for stopping by and adding to the conversation! 🙂
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Hubby and I usually make our own coffee each morning and I have a cup or so of that. I love Diet Mt. Dew, so I try to find it on sale whenever I can ($0.88 per two liter recently) and stock up. I’ll have one glass of that in the morning at work, then I switch to water for the rest of the day.
For years I have ordered water with any meal at a restaurant. This was one lesson hubby took a while to learn. He was used to just ordering a coke (southern for soda, pop, or cola, LOL) or iced tea. That can be over $2 per person! Definitely not worth it.
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Mrs. Accountability Reply:
May 21st, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Alice, I have always ordered water at restaurants too! I’m glad your hubby finally paid attention. 🙂 Thanks for visiting and commenting!
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Alice Reply:
May 21st, 2012 at 12:33 pm
@Mrs. Accountability, I’m not sure if I’ve commented here before, but I’ve read your blog on my google reader for a long time! I enjoy it a lot.
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I drink (tap) water because it is good for me. I do not need nor want sugary drinks. It just turns out it is cheaper too.
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I have a friend who doesn’t drink plain water, only flavored ones. Her body developed a sticky blood condition that affected her ability to keep a baby in her womb. Water is really very important.
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Best investment I made was buying three metal water bottles for me and the two boys.
Now we all fill one up before school every day – aim to finish it by three and fill another to have before bed.(Toddler never finishes his but 2 litres of water a day for a wee one is a bit much)
Couple of ice cubes and we are off – and although I sometimes treat us to a fizz drink it is always cheap (18p for 2 litres)
I’m hoping this habit pays dividends in health and wealth in the years to come.
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concur,
was addicted to soda for sometime. easy on the stomach, easy on the wallet. h20 power
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There is just no way I am going to pay for overpriced bottled water. I have my own BPA-free water bottle and I never leave the house without it when I run errands. Aside from being frugal, opting not to buy bottled water is one way of being environmentally conscious by helping to lessen plastic consumption.
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Mrs. Accountability Reply:
June 8th, 2012 at 11:20 am
Good for you, all good points. 🙂
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