I don't smoke. Cigarettes are not appealling to me. This post is not about the health risks of smoking or tobacco addiction. More though about the economics surrounding individuals that smoke that I find quite perplexing.
This morning I wasted more money on golf clubs. I am terrible at golf as my score card resembles a good day bowling. I was downtown at the K Street Mall in Sacramento, and I had some time to kill before the mall opened. If you have ever been downtown to this mall, you'd remember the "colorful" people walking around. I saw skinheads, vagrants, Jehovah's Witnesses, handicapped people all waiting for the train. I stopped in a Rite Aid for some sun block for today's golf excursion and while I was waiting in line, it dawned on me: Lot's of poor people smoke. Holy Crap! That is totally not right, especially at 5 bucks or so a pack.
I thought about this a little further later while walking through the mall back to the car. I see a guy my age, driving a car like me and my wife's, smoking. His mortgage is like mine. He's driving a late model BMW and so his payment is like mine. He probably has an income like me. He's probably married like me. He's me, but smokes. Granted I have a Starbucks habit and he probably does to, and smokes! Does he play golf too?
This morning I wasted more money on golf clubs. I am terrible at golf as my score card resembles a good day bowling. I was downtown at the K Street Mall in Sacramento, and I had some time to kill before the mall opened. If you have ever been downtown to this mall, you'd remember the "colorful" people walking around. I saw skinheads, vagrants, Jehovah's Witnesses, handicapped people all waiting for the train. I stopped in a Rite Aid for some sun block for today's golf excursion and while I was waiting in line, it dawned on me: Lot's of poor people smoke. Holy Crap! That is totally not right, especially at 5 bucks or so a pack.
I thought about this a little further later while walking through the mall back to the car. I see a guy my age, driving a car like me and my wife's, smoking. His mortgage is like mine. He's driving a late model BMW and so his payment is like mine. He probably has an income like me. He's probably married like me. He's me, but smokes. Granted I have a Starbucks habit and he probably does to, and smokes! Does he play golf too?
FIVE BUCKS A PACK??
Let's do the math. According to Oprah the average smoker, smokes 20 cigarettes a day. That's what, a pack? So that's five bucks a day. 30 days a month so $150. Times 12? $1,800 a year? Where does this equal me? Cost of everything you buy is going up, gas, milk, Starbucks, and movie tickets. Our belts tighten when this happens, but smokers get around it. Wake up everyday, head to the gas station or liquor store, buy a pack of cigarettes, plunk down 5 bucks. The smoker does everything I do, go to restaurants, buy clothes, and everything yet spends 5 bucks a day. Where does this 5 bucks a day come from if everything is the same economically for me?
So you smoker's out there, how do you do it? Because if I could save or waste 5 bucks a day and not suffer somewhere else, I would.
So you smoker's out there, how do you do it? Because if I could save or waste 5 bucks a day and not suffer somewhere else, I would.
1 comment:
All right, Steve. I used to smoke (until my stroke) but as a smoker I had medical costs planned too. I stopped buying regular cigarettes years ago. I rolled my own to save money. I spend about $40 a month for all the cigarettes I could smoke. No packs a day, just..whenever I felt like it. Probably 30 cigarettes a day. When I used to smoke Marlboro, though, it did eventually get too expensive. $200 a month expensive and more now since smokers pay for our highways and any other inflated state budget pork that they refuse to cut. So, from an x-smoker - I had to cut back when it was $5 a pack. I still only but store brand on many things. I go to farmers market's instead of buying vegetables at the store. I still scrimp and save and cigarette addiction facilitated the need for frugality. Great blog and thanks for the funny read, Steve.
X-smoker Barry
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