After reviewing our family’s budget for May (2008), I decided to make a small change in my own spending habits to help reduce our overall Grocery & Entertainment expenses. As I posted in my review of the May 2008 Family Budget, we exceeded our monthly budget for Groceries & Entertainment by $54.36. I took a long hard look at our receipts to find items that we could live without. Unfortunately, our 10-month old still needs diapers so I couldn’t cut that expense! Instead I found a non-essential item that could be cut.
The item that I am cutting back spending on is my one vice and my biggest weakness. That item is Diet Coke! I love it. I know that it is bad for me (caffeine & whatever is in that artificial sweetener) and cutting back will help our budget and my health. I have estimated my monthly expenses on Diet Coke to be approximately $35 (see calculation below).
- $15.00 plus tax – I have figured that I spend approximately $15.00 per month purchasing Diet Coke 12 packs at the local grocery and/or drug store. I never buy any 12 packs for more than $2.50 and normally wait and stock up when there is a sale. I estimate that I normally buy about six 12 packs per month.
- $20.00 – I also purchase about $20.00 worth of Diet Coke in 20 oz. bottles at work each month. I have a really bad habit of buying a bottle to go with lunch every day at work for $1.00. I know, not a very frugal purchase but one that I am now eliminating.
Current net total spent per month - $35.00
While I plan on reducing my spending habits for Diet Coke, I am not planning on completely cutting back and going cold turkey. After all, as I mentioned before, this is my one vice that I have. Instead, I plan on reducing my consumption of Diet Coke 12 packs at home to 6 cans per week instead of 18 cans per week. To supplement my beverage habits, I am going to begin making ice tea instead which will be a huge savings. I also plan on completely cutting my habit of buying 20 oz. bottles of Diet Coke while at work (3 days and counting so far). The calculations below detail my new spending plan beginning in the month of June.
- $5.00 plus tax – By cutting back my consumption to 6 cans per week, I will reduce our expenses on 12 pack purchases by $10.00 per month.
- $1.00 plus tax – As part of my switch from Diet Coke consumption to Ice Tea, I anticipate around $1.00 expense per month to purchase tea bags at the local discount store.
New net total budget per month - $6.00
Total budgeted monthly savings - $29.00
While this is a small amount of savings over the course of a month, it is a step that I have taken to help reduce our expenses. I am working towards continuous improvement in regards to our personal finances with an end goal to increase our monthly passive income. Every dollar that we can save in the monthly budget can be put to work earning money for us!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Dawn 06.04.08 at 2:39 pm
There is something insidious about Diet Coke. I drink the diet caffeine free and I still find it addicting. I’m not sure what is in it to be addicted to, but at 3:00 every day I get this huge urge to go get my “3 o’clock pop.” The fact that it is free at work makes it all the more enticing.
One thing I might suggest is splurging for a pack of mints the first week or so. I think what gets us is the sweet taste. The mints let us drop the fake sugar addiction easier.
Ralph 06.05.08 at 6:40 am
Sounds like a great plan! I’m a diet pepsi and coffee man myself. If your effort to stop buying the cokes at work doesn’t do well, could you bring a can each day from home or leave a 12pack at work and just use ice? That’s what my wife does, because she likes a soda sometimes at work too. I just drink coffee or water, but I know it’s boring to most.
passivefamilyincome 06.05.08 at 6:58 am
Dawn - I am the type of person who always has to be drinking something (coffee, water, diet coke, etc.). I have tried gum but it just doesn’t do the same for me. Thanks for the comment!
Ralph - I use to like Diet Pepsi over Diet Coke but have switched my tastes over the past few years. Funny you should recommend brining in some cans from home. I actually brought one with me today!
Ralph 06.05.08 at 3:19 pm
I’m the same way. I always have to be drinking something. Not literally, but I have to have something on hand to drink at all times it seems.
Mark @ TheLocoMono 06.05.08 at 6:43 pm
Another option is to go with a generic brand. I know it is a matter of personal tastes but how personal is it after a few months when you barely notice the difference in taste and really notice the difference in savings?
passivefamilyincome 06.06.08 at 6:32 am
Mark - Yeah, I have tried generic brand cola’s and have mixed results. We buy as many generic brand food items as possible. However, I have not found a generic diet cola that I really like yet. The generic lemon lime pop’s (or soda as some call it) are not bad.