Sorry it’s been a while since my last Frugal Tip. Inspiration, it seems, comes in spurts. Today’s tip deviates from my traditional tips in that I haven’t yet implemented this time (I have all the others).
What is Caffeine?
Information via Wikipedia: Caffeine…
Caffeine was discovered by a German chemist, Friedrich Ferdinand Runge, in 1819, and is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that is a psychoactive stimulant drug.
In humans caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, having the effect of temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness.
Caffeine, in plants, acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants.
So, what is caffeine? Caffeine is a bitter insecticide – and you’re drinking it! Yuck!
There are several popular ways to consume caffeine. You can pop pills (“No-Doze” comes to mind); you can drink it (tea, coffee, soda, “energy drinks”, etc.); you can even get caffeinated suckers, gum, “shots”; and even caffeinated soap!
For the purposes of this article I’ll limit my discussion to coffee, soda, and “energy drinks”.
What do people drink?
Starbucks Coffee is humorously referred to as “Five-bucks” by Dave Ramsey. McDonalds’ coffee is a bit cheaper. 7-Eleven is cheaper still.
Energy drinks like Jolt, Monster, or Rock Star are up there, too. Most will run you $3 each, though you might find a 2 for $5 sale, if you’re lucky.
Even Mountain Dew (my caffeine of choice) is 2 for $3 on sale.
Of course you can get smaller sizes, or better prices if you buy from the grocery store, or buy the generic brands, but for the sake of keeping things simple, we’re average it all out and say that you’re paying $3/day for your caffeine fix.
Savings
The math here is pretty obvious, you’re cutting $3/day 5 days a week off your expenses. That’s $15/week… and a whopping $782.67 saved each year, just by cutting out caffeine.
| Frugal Tip | Annual Savings |
|---|---|
| How can you Shave and Save? | $27.88 |
| Alternate to Shaving Gels and Creams | $47.28 |
| TV on YOUR Schedule | $99.00 |
| Ditch Paid TV | $359.88 |
| Switch to Netflix instead of Redbox to Rent Videos | $150.06 |
| Downgrade at-home Netflix, upgrade Streaming Netflix | $96.00 |
| Ditch your Land-Line | $552.12 |
| Open the Windows | $20.09 |
| Make an extra house payment | $2,302.27 |
| Snowball your debt | $375.00 |
| Pay your Bills Online | $79.20 |
| Drink Water instead of Caffeine | $782.67 |
Tune in for our next Frugal Tip! You can thank me later™.
