Spend less on water and you'll have more for gasoline
I, like many fitness professionals around the world, am a huge proponent of drinking lots of water. The benefits are tremendous and should even be considered necessary. What I am not a huge proponent of though, is the need to buy bottled water consistently. Of course some times it is perfectly appropriate to do, and the best choice for the moment. But bottled water shouldn't need to be a staple in your day.
A better choice would be to get yourself a couple of reusable bottles, containers, jugs etc...., and refill them when they're empty. This habit would not only be better for the environment, but better for your wallet! The January/February 2008 issue of Women's Health Magazine reports the savings you could create based on your consumption if you choose to make the switch.
If you buy........you'll save:
- Five bottles a week............$391 a year
- Seven bottles a week........$548 a year
- 10 bottles a week...............$782 a year
- 14 bottles a week............$1,095 a year
- 25 bottles a week............$1,955 a year
Ouch! That last number looks pretty high, but it is only the result of drinking less than four bottles of water each day. Think what the amount would be if several members of your family were plowing through disposable water bottles. Imagine what you could do with that money! I personally, would prefer a vacation in Hawaii in exchange for washing and refilling a reusable bottle. Unfortunately right now, I'll probably just have to put my saved cash towards gas. Oh well ... at least it takes some of the sting out.
Check out this gallery to see the better choices available to you.
Gallery: Reusable Water Bottles
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-26-2008 @ 8:44AM
marcie0305 said...
Helping the environment is paramount in my book. I found that in a lot of places, even if you recycle the bottles they end up in the landfill anyway!
http://feedingblackmail.blogspot.com/2008/04/stop-recycling.html
That said, I recently found that more and more companies *are* using recycled drink bottles, using Mohawk as an example, for carpet and other textiles.
http://www.mohawk-flooring.com/green-flooring/default.aspx
In any case, we need to concentrate on the "reduce and reuse" part of the mantra and recycle the rest - responsibly.
I see that the math used puts the bottled water at $1.50 each - I had to check because I drank a *ton* of bottled water when I was pregnant and nursing - probably like 35 a week (let's not do the math on that :) ) but I was getting mine from work at .30 each - whew.
Anyway, I get annoyed when people complain about gas prices, because they are often spending money on other stupid things (bottled water to be included) like designer clothes and giant vehicles. I think it's a good way to remind us where to place our priorities. I liked this post on That's Fit on this subject :)
http://www.thatsfit.com/2007/10/11/cubas-economic-crisis-good-for-health/
~Marcie
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5-27-2008 @ 2:53PM
Judy said...
People who refuse to drink tap water drive me crazy! I have a friend who is pregnant right now, and her doctor even told her not to drink our tap water. I have viewed our official water report from our city, and another that was done by an independent water safety group, and compared it to other major cities, and ours appears to be safer and better than a lot of other places. I just can't get my head around it, and wish someone could explain it all to me.
Seriously, too, unless you are using bottled water for cooking, bathing, washing your dishes, and everything you use water for, what difference does it really make?
I've also often wondered if people who drink only bottled water drink less water. When you are paying that much for it, I would think you would ration it more closely than if it's coming straight out of the tap.
Of course, there ARE places where the tap water tastes so bad that bottled water is absolutely justified. But that is a different issue altogether.
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