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Spend Less on Beverages

Paying full price for beverages is something you will rarely find my household doing.  For nearly every full priced juice, soft drink, or any beverage, there's a lesser expensive alternative.

Water

Let's just start with water.  Naturally, you'd expect me to say don't buy bottled water and, instead, use your tap.  For some, that IS the best option, particularly if you have a well rather than city water and your water is virtually free.  If that's the case and you have good well water, by all means drink it and don't purchase bottled water.

We all know, though, that bottled water is one of the fastest growing products sold on the market.  People have finally acknowledged that water is good for you.  If you're one of these people that buy it by the case, consider the option of purchasing a water cooler for your home.   Yes, there's the cost of the cooler itself, usually between $60 and $90, but the price difference in water makes it much more cost effective in the long run.

Let's just say you regularly purchase 16.9 oz. Nestle Spring Water by the case of 24.  A quick search on the Internet tells me that purchase averages between $9-11.  If my math is correct, that's just over 3 gallons of water for $9 at best.  I consider $3 per gallon pretty pricey for water.  A water refill of a 3 or 5 gallon water cooler bottle is a sweet .37 cents per gallon in our town.  That's a huge difference that truly adds up.

There are a couple other benefits to having a water cooler.  First, kids love it.  They love using the cooler and end up drinking more water.  Also, most of the models come with a hot water tap.  Before we purchased one, I never even  considered how convenient that little tap would be. 

Concentrated Juice

All the juices that are actually good  for you are pretty expensive these days.  Concentrated juices are considerably less expensive as, again, you're paying for convenience.  They are just as healthful and can be found with calcium added and the pulp amount you like just like the bottled or carton versions.  To stretch your dollar even more, play around with the amount of water you add to the juice.  You may find  you can add quite a bit more than what the directions suggest with little difference in flavor. Another way to stretch juice is to offer smaller portions.  With kids, fill their glasses with ice first and let them believe they're getting more.

Crystal Light Fanatics

I would be one of these, but if you've read this much of my site, you know there's no way I'd pay for the real thing.  Wal-Mart’s Great Value Sugar Free Drink Mix is just as good and much less expensive. It comes in a lot of great flavors such as grape, orange, fruit punch, lemonade, cherry, raspberry, tea, and strawberry. There are also single pack servings that are very convenient for those on the go. 

Our family is addicted to these drinks.  We usually have three pitchers or bottles mixed in the refrigerator at any given time.  I love that the flavors are kid friendly but without any added sugar or calories and everybody stays hydrated and happy at a low cost.  They currently cost about $1.67 and make a total of 12 quarts! That's THREE gallons! Even if you add the cost of water at .37 cents per gallon, you're still well under $1 per gallon!  It's a really good way to save that penny while your family enjoys a great tasting beverage that's good for them.

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