So I know that you’ve heard, about ten million times over, that you should quit smoking. All of those advertisements and statements that you’ve been bombarded with, all are concerned with with your health, but did you know that if you quit smoking you have the potential to save hundreds of thousands of dollars. Oh, and you can also live longer and live a healthier life.
Now let’s think about this for a second, how much do you really smoke? If, like I used to you smoke about half a pack a day your health is not going to be as seriously impacted as it would if you smoked two packs a day, like my stepfather used to. Currently, where I live a package of cigarettes costs about $10. That means that I’m spending five dollars a day on cigarettes. If you multiply that five dollars per day times 365 you get a grand total of $1825 per year. Now the average smoker, will smoke for about 40 years and that only half a pack a day they can be expected to spend roughly $73,000 over their lifetime.
Now lets think of what you could gain by using this money as an investment, over forty years you could possibly quadruple it or maybe even octuple it. I’m not a financier at all, but I know that smoking is basically taking your hard earned cash and burning it. You may think that smoking is relaxing and it is worthwhile because it calms your nerves, but the truth is, billions of people around the world do not smoke. Somehow, all of these people are calm and relaxed without the aid of cigarettes.
So, $73,000. Let’s actually think about what you can acquire with $73,000 worth of cigarettes. Firstly, you take $73,000 and just give it to a tobacco company. Or, you could take that $73,000 and give it your government. Did you know, that tobacco is one of the most heavily taxed items. I know that the government where I live continually increases taxes on this luxury item at a rate of approximately three dollars per pack. Which is, as you know, 33.3%.
I don’t know about you, but if I was paying 33% income tax, I would probably lose my mind, unless of course I was making some astronomical seven figure income. Then, I don’t think I would mind is much.
$73,000 is only the cost of smoking half a pack a day. There are many people out there who smoked two packs or more per day. Two pack a day habit is extremely disgusting. As a former smoker I still don’t mind the occasional whiff of tobacco, unlike some people who lose their mind and think that they will immediately get cancer as soon as they smell someone’s cigarette. A two pack a day habit will cost you $292,000 over your lifetime. That is currently the cost of a new home. Not just a regular home, but a nice home, or a regular home and a car. They could also buy you a nice house and a college education. The things that you could buy with $292,000 are infinite.
So with that in mind, you should realize that not only are you going to live longer if you remove cigarettes from your life but you are also going to have more money to spend during that longer lifetime.