Drink prices are good to keep an eye on when you're looking to trim your grocery bill. It's good to know, for example, that a glass of milk costs 8 times as much as a glass of water, or that orange juice costs 10 times as much as coffee.
The following chart shows my own calculations, and they're not perfect. For example, I'm assuming that tap water is free, whether heated or not. I'm also assuming that there's no waste, which there often is—especially for something like a 2-liter bottle of soda. Note that I'm using 12 ounces for each beverage, but that's primarily for comparison purposes.
Beverage | Cost per 12 oz. | Based on | Notes |
Filtered water from pitcher | $.028 | Pur pitcher and filters ($30 for the 2-stage, 1-gallon pitcher; $39 for 4-pack of 2-stage filters) | Assumes owner goes through 360 gallons with pitcher. Assumes claim of 40 gallons per filter is accurate. |
Coffee | $.042 | $6 for 39-oz. can. | Black only. Does not account for cost of coffee maker or filters. Based on 288 6-oz cups per canister. Tap water used. |
Hot tea | $.077 | $2.08/20-bag box | Based on 5 bags per brewed gallon; similar to (3) 8-oz. cups per bag. Assumes it's made from filtered water from pitcher. |
Instant iced tea, pre-sweetened | $.102 | $3.28 for Nestea mix in a 20-quart size. | Assumes 20% stronger tea than recommended. Assumes it's made from filtered water from pitcher. |
Filtered water from half-liter bottles | $.104 | $3.50 for 24-pack of half-liter bottles | |
Soda, 2-liter | $.178 | $1 for 2-liter | |
Soda, 12-pack cans | $.229 | $2.75 for 12-pack | |
Milk, 1% | $.230 | $2.45/Gallon | |
Apple juice | $.246 | $1.97 for 96-oz. generic, in plastic bottle | |
Fruit juice (5-10% juice) | $.257 | $1.37/Half gallon | Price is similar for Minute Maid half gallons or Sunny Delight full gallons |
Chocolate milk | $.288 | $3.07/Gallon | |
Orange juice | $.422 | $4.50/Gallon | Prices vary widely |
9 comments:
I don't drink beer, but it would be interesting to see where it falls on the scale.
Hmmm...must be Mid-West prices. If only a 12-pack of "POP" were $2.75.
TwoSticks, that's not a bad idea. Perhaps I'll check out beer prices.
KenThe2, you bring up two issues: 1) prices, which do admittedly vary from region to region. I bet your OJ is less than $5/gallon. 2) You noticed that I temporarily forsook my midwest roots by using "soda" instead of "pop." Can you believe I debated this decision in my mind ever so briefly?
I made the conscious decision to start calling it "soda" years ago, even though I grew up calling it "pop."
Entries like this kind of crack me up, because personal preference will outweigh cost any day of the week.
For most people, MadMup. For most people.
For most sane people, yes.
:D
Making informed decisions based on cost rather than only personal preference is the essence of living on a budget. So I would contend that information like this is useful to people living on a budget. That's not to say that budget-conscious people never buy things they like; but there are times they don't buy things they like.
With that said, I don't expect to convert all my readers to my lifestyle. (Just you, Mup.)
Speaking of paying for water. . .did you notice that the Watertown Water Department will no longer be taking internet bill pay? It is the only place that won't take checks from my bank. I have to send them in an envelope or physically drop off the checks. Either way, it is a pain.
Personal preference...French's mustard over all others. But of course, I don't drink mustard...or do I...?
Post a Comment