You may not realize how much you spend on bottled tapwater.
Bottled water's main benefit is its convenience. Although the quality of tap water varies by location throughout the United States, state and federal regulations ensure its safety, and most bottled water is essentially tap water. What you're paying for when you hand over $1.50 for a bottle of water is the plastic container - not recommended for reuse - and a label. The annualized cost of routinely consuming bottled water represents an enormous unnecessary expense.
Instructions
1. Determine how much bottled water you drink. Count the number of bottles - and the number of ounces in each - that you drink each day. If you drink from larger jugs, write the date on one when you open it, subtract the date you started from the date you finish, and divide by the days in a month. If a jug lasts three days, you drink about 10 a month.
2. Multiply the amount you drink by the cost. For example, 20 oz. bottles, bought individually, cost up to $1.50 per bottle. If you drink two a day, you spend about $3 a day. If you buy bottles by the 24-bottle flat, you will spend less. They cost $4 to $5 per flat, so the water costs around 20 cents per bottle.
3. Multiply by 30.5 to determine how much you spend per month. Two bottles a day would cost $91.50 per month. To calculate the money you spend per year, multiply by 365. Two bottles a day would come to $1,095 per year. For bottles by the flat: 40 cents times 30.5 = $12 a month, or 40 cents times 365 = $145.00 a year.
4. If you buy 2 gallon jugs - the kind with a spigot - you might spend about $2.20 per jug, or $1.10 per gallon. If you drink five a month, you'll spend about $11 a month, or $132 a year.
5. A popular home delivery water - the water-cooler type - starts at $30 every four weeks for 20 gallons. That would come to about $390 a year for the budget plan.
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