 There
are plenty of reasons to quit (or never start) smoking. Brad Pitt says the best
reason is setting a good example for his children. Recently busted by his
children, Pitt (a regular smoker) was caught smoking outside in his garden,
after years of telling his children how bad smoking is for your health.
Apparently, the guilt got to Pitt, as
azcentral.com reports,
"Brad, along with partner Angelina Jolie, has been undergoing hypnotherapy
sessions and taking nicotine lollipops and mints to try to fight the craving."
Another great reason to $top $moking!
My Redhead is a smoker, and I love her anyway. However, what I don't
love is the amount of money she pays in order to smoke. Mind you, she isn't a
heavy smoker. She smokes one pack of cigarettes a day. The problem is that even
though the amount of cigarettes she smokes hasn't increased over the years, the
amount of money she has to pay for them has. I've been reading about the time
value of money lately, as well as opportunity costs. Additionally, you know you
find many articles on this website about saving money and getting more value
from it.
So when I look at the amount of money being spent
on smoking I can't help but think of what that money would be worth in the
future if invested now, what else could be purchased instead, or how that money
could be leveraged into further savings. My Redhead pays $6.00 per day to smoke
one pack of cigarettes; about $180.00 per month. (I will begrudgingly give her a
tiny bit of credit for using coupons when buying her Newports.) Putting all the
health issues aside for a moment, I wanted to see what else $180.00 per month
could buy.
Retirement Account
$180 per month x 360 months @6% interest = $180,812.00 |
College tuition for 5 year old
$180 per month x 156 months @6% interest = $42,380.00 |
Movies
$10 movie ticket x 2 = 9 movie dates per month |
Shoes
$180.00 / $60.00 shoes = 3 new pairs of shoes each month |
Stainless Steel Refrigerator & Oven
$1,300 + $700 = $1,900.00 $1,900 / $180 = pay in cash in 11 months |
Jeans
$180 / $35.00 Levis = 5 new pairs of jeans per month |
Vacation
7 day trip (flight, car, hotel) to Hawaii for 2 = $3,000.00
$3,000 / $180 = paid in cash in 16 months
7 day cruise for 2 = $2,000.00
$2,000 / $180 = paid for in cash in 11 months |
Appliances
Front Load Washer & Steam Dryer Combo
$1,800 / $180 = pay in cash in 10 months |
What else could you do with $180.00 per month? |
