Our Earth is made up of about 71% of this (according to my favorite encyclopedia), and it’s very useful, as well as cheap. Unfortunately, too many people pay money for it, when in fact it can be obtained for free. Yes, you’ve guessed it; I’m talking about water. Drinking it can be a fantastic financial decision.
I know what you may be thinking. “Whoa, of course water is free, but how can it help me save money if I’m a broke college student.” Well, quite simply, if you drink water instead of the traditional Coke, Mountain Dew, Lemonade, Coffee, it can save you loads of money. I’ve been trying to drink more water this year to save money, since I’m now living off campus, and so I have to deal with many other financial burdens than before (namely, gasoline). So far, I feel that I’ve saved quite a bit of green. How? Think about it like this:
How much is the average Soda (or Pop, depending on where you’re from)? I’d say some can cost up to $1.50, but you can find the occasional can for less than $1.00. In any case, the way college students spend money on machines, it probably averages out to about $1.00 per drink. If you’re having beer with every meal than you could bring the price up. If you are actually paying for water, then it’ll be around the same. So, if you spent $1 on a drink, per meal, every day of the week (and you’re eating three meals a day), it would average out to about $21 a week, or $84 per month.
That’s a lot of money (for me anyway)! Even if you only ate two meals a day, or drank plain old water for one of the three, you’re still spending quite a bit on flavored, carbonated water (which is all soda is). I can’t even begin to think about how much money I’ve saved so far this year by using drinking fountains instead of buying drinks with lunch. I even sometimes bring a bottle with me full of water from home. It’s nice to have with lunch, and feel the happy $1.50 that’s still in my pocket, safe and sound.
Why more college students aren’t constantly drinking water I’ll never know. But, I realize some hate tap water. Personally, I feel like it’s all the same (in fact I’ve read that tap is in fact better most of the time). However, if you are really stuck on having that “natural” spring water (by the way, some companies still bottle plain old tap water, suckers), then why not spend the money on a Brita Water Jug? All you really have to pay for after the initial investment are the filters. You can very easily pour that filtered water into a bottle and bring it with you to class, or lunch, or wherever you may be heading. I guarantee you that it’s more cost effective than buying huge boxes of bottled water.
So, that’s my brilliant financial tip of the day; drink water! I know it may not be as exciting as some of the other beverages out there, but your wallet will thank you for it. If you are on a meal plan that you’re parents pay for, and beverages aren’t a financial concern to you, than I envy you. However, you still shouldn’t waste money on bottled water.