March 18th, 2008 by john 
in Categories: 
Back 1998, a year after we quit smoking, something strange began to take place. My wife and I had put on more than a few extra pounds! So started our ten year battle of diets and exercise to try and return to our former glory!
I had read somewhere that it was very important to drink plenty of water while dieting and exercising. Makes sense, flush your system and replenish your perspiration. Not to mention the fact that my beloved grandmother has never felt that I drink enough water. She makes a point to always offer me a glass. Armed with this information, I had an idea. Our family needed to drink more water!
We began having a glass every night with dinner. This habit quickly spread to include going out to dinner. “No thanks, I’ll just have water” became our standard family answer. We have been doing this for more than ten years now.
Over the years, I have witnessed more than my fair share of servers’ facial expressions change from a smile to WTF, when you order “just water”. “You mean you don’t want a drink?” Like I just ordered a quart of motor oil or something. Years ago, you would have thought you just told the wait staff you have an incurable disease. Today, it’s trendy to drink water, no one cares.
So, some time ago, while looking at a restaurant menu, I noticed that a soda costs $2.25. That got me thinking. How much money had we unintentionally saved over the last ten years?
We generally go out to eat once a week. We go through periods where we will go 2-3 times a week, but mostly once a week. In my calculations, I’m going to say the average drink price over the last ten years is $1.75. That seems fair. There are four (4) of us. There are 52 weeks in a year. 10 years. Let’s see (1.75*4) = 7.00 per meal * 52 meals a year = $364.00 * 10 years = $3640.00…..WOW! Repeat after me “No thanks, I’ll just have water”. That’s $364.00 per year. $606.66 per word. OR $910.00 per person. Not bad!
Let’s take it a step further. Let’s say you took that $364.00 and invested it each year in a growth mutual fund. Apply the historical stock market average annual return of 11% and you would have $7,232.55.
If you continued to invest $364.00 per year for the next 30 years, you would have $93,474.64 in your retirement kitty. Not excited? Maybe you ought to just stick to Soda 
Whether you do it for your health or the few extra bucks, I recommend asking for water wherever you go.
DISCLAIMER:
I am speaking in general terms, using averages and can in no way predict what your actual return would be. This is for demonstration purposes only. Think I’m being over cautious, check this out!
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My name is John.
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Very interesting. I myself have quit smoking recently and found that I’ve put on a couple of kilos a few months ago, I’ve done some research and actually came to the point that drinking water is an essential part of a healthy diet.
Granted this health angle is more a sub-topic to the savings you’d make, but well, drinkin’ water here in Australia can sometimes get expensive, so you gotta make sure you say you want the tap juice else some of the more “posh” restaurants give you “designer water” which cost 5 bucks plus per pretty green bottle.
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David, Congratulations on quiting smoking! Keep it up! My wife and I quit 11 years, 1 month and 30 days ago….not that I’m keeping track
We started the whole water thingy for health reasons, the savings were an afterthought. But at $5.00 a drink, I might have to start collecting rain water! Anyway, thanks for the comments. Keep ‘em coming!
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I cannot agree more! I am currently giving up diet pepsi myself and water has so many benefits!
heidi
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heidityann, I gave up diet soda too! Thanks for the comment. Come back often!
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Pretty good; this really does show how small changes add up BIG over time. Imagine, too, how many calories you saved over time, and how much better your current health is vs. had you drank something unhealthy each week!
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Blake – Considering that I used to drink a couple of diet sodas a day (regular sodas way back when), I can only image how many thousands of calories I have avoided. It’s scary actually! Just out of curiosity, do you currently drink soda and if so, what effect does caffeine have on you. When I used to drink a lot of caffeinated drinks, I never noticed any thing weird. However, since I have gotten away from most caffeine drinks, I have noticed some extreme side effects. For instance, if I drink any caffeine after 5:00 PM, I will be up till about 3:00 AM. No kidding. All of that aside, I still have my one cup of coffee in the morning.
How about you?
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Those sound like some pretty insane caffeine rushes!
I’ve almost always stayed away from caffeine, but I sometimes struggle to say no to Sprite
. I’ll keep your post in mind though next time I’m eating somewhere. In fact, I’d like to write a trackback post from my finance blog to this post; this is good stuff!
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Nice one John! =) Are there health benefits to drink water during dinner? Jamie heard that the healthiest way is to drink one full glass of water each morning (before you consume other beverages). This is most effective in “flushing” one’s system. As for dinner, Jamie learned that tea, in particular green tea, helps to “absorb” excess oil in food (cleanses one’s system too). Looks like Jamie found a healthy habit at long last eh?
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@Blake – Thanks! Sorry for the delay, I have been out of town visiting my sister this weekend. I checked out your trackback post over at http://youngdough.com. You did a terrific write up with the value add about the compounding effect of calories. Great job!
Maybe I will research this aspect more thoroughly and post my findings. I believe you are correct about green tea. There are many health benefits associated with it. And it makes a nice, refreshing drink! Thanks for the observations!!
@Jamie – Thanks! Actually I read somewhere that you should not drink anything *during* your meal. Either drink 1/2 hour before or after. This has to do with the digestive acids in your stomach. If you drink while eating, you flush them out of your system, leaving your food not properly digested. I try not to drink while actually eating, although sometimes it’s hard not to.
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My doctor told me to drink water first thing in the morning, as a way to wake up and flush the system. My doctor told me that I was dangerously dehydrated and that water and tea aren’t the same thing; I actually needed to drink plain water. She also told me that when the metabolism gets “off”, the body often mistakes real thirst for a cigarette craving or hunger when it actually just needs a drink. Best advice I’ve ever had! I tried drinking plain water and Chi tea when I quit smoking and it really seemed to work in reducing cravings – for food and cigarettes.
For those trying to kick the habit of cola drinks, you might want to try Chi tea. This spicy tea can be found in black or green tea varieties, with Indian spices like cinnamon and cardamom added. Celestial Seasonings makes a nice Chi, although other companies produce less expensive varieties. It is just spicy enough to substitute for that tangy kick of soft drinks. If you also want the kick of a sweet drink, you can add Splenda to Chi tea. Splenda is an artificial sweetener, made from real sugar, which contains no calories, is safe for even diabetics to use, and doesn’t have as much of that bad aftertaste of other artificial sweeteners. I’ve gotten off cigarettes, so the next step is kicking cola!
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Yeah, just as it’s a long time from dinner to breakfast, it’s a long time too without any h2o. I need to get in a better habit of drinking water first thing in the morning to keep my hydration level more consistent.
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Genie – Sounds like your doctor gave you some sound advice. I have never tried Chi Tea, but you have sparked my interest! I will give it a try. Thanks!
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Blake – It’s hard at first to opt for water, but after you get used to it, you’ll be fine! I do drink a large glass of water, first thing in the morning, after my walk.
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John, If you have ever been to an Indian restaurant and ordered “Indian Spice Tea”, that is about the same thing as Chi Tea. Some Thai resaurants also have a spiced, or Chi tea. It is just tea with cinnamon, cardamon, alspice and sometimes other spices. As I understand it, “Chi” is Chinese, meaning “life force”, as in Tai Chi. Indian and Chinese medicine attribute cinnamon and cardamine with energy- producing, revitalizing attributes. [Great for a pick-me-up!] The restaurants often serve half tea, half cream, unless you ask for spice tea with no milk. Of course, from now on, I will try to drink the tea at home and order water more often at the Indian restaurants!
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Genie – Thanks for the info on tea. I really don’t know much about the subject. I have had “Lipton” tea and green tea! I guess that makes me a novice. I have looked over the tea section in the grocery store, but always chicken out and grab my green tea. The energy producing, pick-me-up has sparked my interest. I will make it a point to try the Chi Tea in the near future. Thanks again!
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Eeree Meeree Earthling John,
Water is good for health and saving money. So much better than colas – regular or diet. Unhealthy colas also potential lead to hight medical costs. Drink water but do not purchase bottled water to be green.
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I really impressed by your article about promoting the culture of drinking water instead of soda drink. Because of some reason, i will drink a lot of water just to make sure that my body function normally. I admit that water bring a lot of effect on our body, and it’s good to drink more water especially at the summer.
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wow, congrats man. Stop smoking is not easy and you did it! I have a friend which also experiencing weight gain after stop smoking. This info will be very helpful to him.
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