One day while finishing a cup of water, I thought to myself “wow, how much money do I save by drinking water?” I have researched to find that water makes up around 60% of the adult human body. This fact leads me to believe that drinking water is very important. A lot of people would agree that there are numerous health benefits to drinking enough water, and everybody should try to drink enough water every day.
If you want to save money by drinking water, it takes a few lifestyle changes. I would recommend buying a high-quality refillable water bottle. If you do not like the taste of tap water, then you can buy a water filter. Many other liquids can easily be replaced by water, and that can add up in savings. Water is usually free with your meal at a restaurant. Drinking water to save money won’t make or break your budget, but it is one small change that can add up to some real savings in the long run.
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Buy A Reusable Water Bottle
Buying a reusable water bottle is one of the best things you can do not only for the environment but for your own wallet. Buying a high-quality water bottle is important because it will last much longer, making its cost over time very small. I personally like to carry my reusable water bottle with me nearly everywhere I go. A fun thing to do with your reusable water bottle is to label the different times of the day according to how much water you want to drink by that time. With a reusable water bottle, your drinking habits can be nearly free.
Every time you fill up your reusable water bottle you can feel good about how much money you are saving. It is also fun to think about how many disposable water bottles are being replaced each time you fill up your reusable water bottle. Some brands of reusable water bottles that I have personally used and really liked are Camelbak, Hydroflask, S’well, Nalgene, and anything with good reviews on Amazon. A reusable water bottle saves you money because you no longer have to purchase plastic disposable water bottles.
Do Not Buy Disposable Water Bottles
Not only do disposable water bottles contribute unnecessary plastic waste, but they also end up costing you a lot of money in the long run. I have found this to be especially true if you drink a lot of water as I do. A fun way to look at it is by evaluating the price per disposable water bottle. The ‘formula’ to calculate cost per bottle is taking the total cost of the case of water and dividing it by how many water bottles there are.
For example, if a case of water costs $4 for a 24 pack, then your cost per water bottle is about 17 cents each. Standard size disposable water bottles are 16.9 ounces. I personally try to drink a gallon of water a day, which happens to be 128 ounces. Dividing that 128 ounces by 16.9 ounces in each bottle would mean that I require about 8 water bottles per day. That is only 3 days per case of water. If I am drinking 8 water bottles per day at 17 cents each then I am spending $1.36 per day on water bottles. That might not sound like a lot of money on the surface, but over the course of a year, that amounts to $496.
Not only will it be costing me a lot of money, but it will also be costing me a lot of time and effort to haul those heavy cases of water out of the store every week. This only assumes that I only drink these disposable water bottles from the grocery store. At a convenience store, these same water bottles probably cost at least $1 each. So factoring in a water bottle bought at a convenience store three times a week adds another $12 a month to my water costs, and that is $144 per year. Overall, with this estimate, I would have spent $496 at the grocery store and $144 at convenience stores, which adds up to be $640 for the year.
Buy A Water Filter For Your Home
Personally, I have learned to deal with the taste of tap water, but I know that for many others the taste is unbearable. Thankfully, disposable water bottles are not the only solution for filtered water. Buying a water filter for your home can give you similar, if not better tasting water than any disposable water bottle. Water filters come in many shapes and sizes, I personally have one that is already built into my refrigerator.
In the past, I have had water filters that attach directly to sink where I can flip a switch from tap water to drinking water. Another great option is a water filter jug that you fill directly from the sink. You really can taste the difference when you use a high-quality water filter. Although the cost upfront might be higher, overtime is where you will realize your savings while enjoying fresh-tasting water.
You can get a quality water filter set for about $30 with additional filters for maybe $5 each. Each filter should last you for about 50 gallons each. If you drink a gallon of water a day as I do, then over the course of a year you would need 365 gallons of water. If you are using a water filter to get that 365 gallons of water then your costs would be the initial cost of $30 (which includes at least one filter) plus $5 for each additional filter.
The 365 gallons needed would require about 7 filters total throughout the year. The $30 initial cost with 1 filter plus the 6 additional filters needed is another $30 so your annual costs would be $60 for the year for one individual drinking a gallon of water a day. In a previous paragraph, we calculated that disposable water bottles end up costing us about $640 per year. As you can see, there is a large opportunity for savings with a water filter at home.
Replace As Many Liquids As You Can With Water
Try to think about how many different liquids you drink throughout the week or throughout the month. Some liquids to think about are juice, milk, coffee, tea, energy drinks, sports drinks, and alcoholic beverages. Some of these liquids listed are better for you than others, but none of the other liquids compare to the benefits of plain old H2O. On a per ounce basis, other liquids cost much more than that of water, even more so if you are following the recommendations in the previous paragraphs.
The less healthy drinks like juices, sports drinks, energy drinks, and alcoholic beverages are mostly water with some extra mostly undesirable ingredients like added sugars, salt, and caffeine (just to name a few). Why not cut out all the extras in order to save some money and improve your health.
It is best to start small like replacing one drink per week because you will find that this level of commitment is easy to follow. You may also see your body adjust to enjoy drinking this much water, and as a happy side effect, you will find more money in your pocket.
Choose Water When At A Restaurant
Restaurants do not want you to drink water because most of the time they have to give it to you for free. This is especially true if a restaurant serves alcohol because they are required to provide water for free. A little known fact is that restaurants actually make a large portion of their profits through selling drinks. This is true not only with soft drinks but with alcohol as well. It is not uncommon to pay over $3 for a soft drink at a restaurant which most likely costs the restaurant pennies on the dollar.
It is even more common is to see the price of alcoholic beverages marked up exponentially. So If you want to save money by drinking water, it is important to choose water when you go to a restaurant. If you need to mask the taste of tap water, then ask for a slice of lemon.
Conclusion
- Water makes up about 60% of the adult human body, Many agree that it is important to drink enough water every day.
- Buying a good quality reusable water bottle saves a lot of money compared to buying disposable bottles.
- Do not buy disposable water bottles, in doing so you are helping the environment and your wallet.
- Get a water filter at home so that you can have fresh tasting water at a fraction of the price of disposable water bottles.
- Try to replace as many liquids as possible with water in order to save money and improve your health.
- When at a restaurant choose water as your drink because they mark up the price of soft drinks and alcohol by a large amount.