The Question: How Much is Drinking Soda Really Costing Me?

Money Answer Guy’s Answer: As long as I can remember, probably since I was 10 or so, I was a big soda drinker. Mellow Yellow and Mountain Dew were my favorite. I probably had 2 or 3 cans of pop each day. I’m sure there have been periods when it’s been up to 4 or 5 cans a day, but I’ve decided that enough is enough, and it has time for my addiction for caffeine and soda to come to an end. If you are in a similar situation, you might want to consider these facts about caffeinated sugar water.

How much is that pop costing you? Let’s say you get one twelve pack a week, plus buy another 4 soda’s from gas stations or vending machines. That’s about $8 a week on pop, or $416 a year, or $4160 every decade. It adds up to be a lot over time. Instead drink nice cold healthy and delicious water.

The actual cost of the beverage it self is nothing compared to the other costs which come along with drinking a lot of soda. First if you drink large amounts of pop, this will contribute significantly to tooth decay, and also cause you to have expensive dental operations such as crowns and root canals performed. Over a long period of time you will accumulate many cavities and the situation in your mouth will be not very good.

There’s also the added risk of adult onset diabetes when it comes to drinking soda. Insulin can be a very expensive proposition, and nobody wants to have diabetes! The constant rush of sugar will cause your body to stop producing insulin, and you will have to take pills or injections on a regular basis in order to compensate for that.

There are other physical implications as well. Each can of pop has between 150 and 200 calories in it. If you drink 4 pops a day, that’s nearly two pounds worth of fat every week that you wouldn’t have to burn off otherwise!

Many of us do not realize this, but pop is addictive. There’s a lot of caffeine in each and every one of these beverages we consume, and when we don’t get enough caffeine, we get headaches and start to have withdrawals. Drinking pop is nothing more than a more moderate version of smoking. Because of all of these health and financial reasons, I’ve decided that soda is something that I can go without.

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