Tip #5 – Liquid Savings

I’m going to say something shocking.  You might not want to hear it.  One of the main ways I save money is by….

drinking tap water

That’s right, tap water.  Not bottled, not filtered, but straight from the tap.  This is obviously only applicable if you live in an area where tap water is drinkable – but that’s the majority of the developed world.  Even when I visited China, where it was impossible to drink the tap water, tea was given free at restaurants, and boiling water was provided in most public places, including trains.  So bottled water was unnecessary!

I could go on and on about the health benefits of drinking water.  They’re enormous.  It’s sugar-free, fat-free, chemical-free (well, that’s debatable), but this is a blog about saving money.  The fact is it costs nothing to drink tap water.  Granted, many countries charge for water delivery to houses, but the cost is minimal compared with juice, coffee, tea, or (heaven forbid!) soft drinks. 

I’m going to go further, now, so bear with me.

Don’t drink alcohol.

Seriously.  It’s the most expensive thing you could possibly drink.  Simply cutting out alcohol will lower monthly outgoings significantly. 

I realize that this is all extremely horrifying, and you may be unwilling to go fully over to the “unflavoured” side.  So I have a couple of solutions:

1 – If you’re super-unwilling to drink straight tap water, or it’s not possible to do so, buy a simple water filter like Brita, OR fill large bottles with water from a source which you know is safe.  I did this throughout first year university when the water in my residence tasted horrible, and it’s a standard trick for people who have cottages or boats where the water comes straight from a lake.  As an added bonus, you don’t have to pay for filling up your water bottles from a public place J

2 – If you’re unwilling to completely forego the alcohol, set yourself a nightly limit.  Mine is usually 10 in whatever currency the country I'm in uses ($10, ₤10, €10… adjustable for different countries) and I don’t go above it.  That’s usually one or two drinks.  Nurse those for the length of the night, and you won’t feel hard done by AND you’ll save money AND you won’t get a hangover.  Win-win-win in my books.

3 – If you’re a soda- or juice-junky, I suggest you do your arithmetic.  Find out how much you spend on your liquid addiction each month by writing down the price of each drink you buy - in a restaurant, corner store, or supermarket.  Tot up the amount at the end of the month.  Have a minor heart attack.  Resolve to reduce the amount spent on it by drinking more tap water.