As I was buying some water at work today, I was wondering what difference it would make if I were a little thriftier. After some quick math, I realize it could make quite a difference actually…
I buy one or two bottles of water at work every day for $1.25, and often some snack or a bottle of Ice Tea as well. I figure on average, I spend about $3.75 per day on these things.
If instead of spending $3.75 per day I saved that amount, I would have an extra $82.5 per month (based on 22 working days). Let’s say I can invest this at a very reasonable 5% yearly interest, with the interest compounding monthly. If I am disciplined enough to add the $82.5 to my investment at the end of every month and do this for the next 30 years until I am close to retirement, it would ultimately grow to $88,461.34.
A nice chunk of money…
Now, I wouldn’t completely give up drinking water at work, so let’s say I buy at wholesale prices for say, $1 per gallon. I am currently drinking about 2 bottles of water at work each day, each holding 20 fluid ounces, for a total of 200 fl. oz. or 1.56 gallons per week. Just to keep the math simple, let’s say I drink a little more, say 2 gallons per week. So I’ll have to deduct $2 per week from my savings, or $8.8 per month (again based on 22 working days). This reduces my monthly savings from $82.5 to $73.7. At that rate, I would be growing my investment to $79,025.46 over thirty years.
Still pretty good for just being a little more disciplined about my water drinking habits, no?