Drink More Water: It Makes Cents

Lots of personal finance bloggers and writers love to write about frugal living. I personally am no exception. The article that follows is an extremely small change that you could make in your lifestyle that, over the long-term, could save you a significant amount of money.

Most people know that you should drink between 6 and 8 glasses of water per day (size and exact amount will vary by expert). This makes sense when it comes to biology. Our bodies are made mostly of water, so drinking more water keeps our bodies hydrated and healthy.

One observation about grocery prices last week while shopping got me to thinking about water. While I was in the juice aisle (I try to stay away from sodas and corn-syrup based juice products in favor of healthier 100% juices), I noticed that the price of juices was increasing astronomically. However, lately, I have been drinking lots of juice and milk with my meals.

Save on Milk and Juice

Although juice and milk are great ways to get vitamins and nutrients, I realized that I should also be drinking more water. I use a water filter, but even when factoring the cost of that in, the filtered water is much cheaper than large glasses of milk or juice. You can generally buy a water filter every month or two and they only cost a few dollars. If you spend 5 dollars per month on a water filter and drink 3 glasses of water each day, you are only paying about a nickel for every glass of water you drink. It doesn’t get much cheaper than that. Most storebought bottles of juice cost at least two dollars or more and you only get about 8-10 glasses out of each, a cost of at least 20 cents per glass.

Save on Snacks

Furthermore, often, our bodies become hungry because our hungry and thirsty responses have become confused. One option, if you are not sure if you are hungry is to drink a small glass of water before you become starving. The water may in fact satisfy you and save you from having to eat a snack or meal that your body really didn’t want or need anyway. The reason for this is that our bodies often generate a hunger response when we may really only need water. As our attitudes and eating habits develop, these signals can be difficult to determine and the result is sometimes that we eat more than we should, simply because we are craving water or other thirst quenching liquids.

Save at the Dentist

Despite my cravings for Juicy Juice™, I know that the constant barrage of sweet coffee, milk, and juice is not great for my teeth. In the end, instead of a glass of milk or juice before bed, lately I’ve been electing to have a large glass of water. This helps by making sure that I am not putting a fresh coating of sugar onto my teeth and gums before bed. And with any luck, I’ll even have fewer cavities next time at the dentist.

It is likely that your office has some sort of water cooler or dispenser somewhere. Consider getting a cup or a water bottle and keeping it filled throughout the day. A similar strategy can also be done at home. Personally, I prefer covered containers in case they get spilled by my cat overnight. Whatever strategy you choose, I wouldn’t recommend switching to water entirely or all-at-once. Instead work it into your routine gradually. And remember, healthy juices and milk can be excellent sources of vital nutrients that our bodies may not get otherwise. However, if you don’t drink much water now, you now have more reasons to start!