Beverages: The Black Hole

When I was first learning to be frugal, I did plenty of research and reading. I came across several statistics, but the one that jumped out at me the most was what the average American spends on beverages. Are you ready???
30% of our grocery bill goes to beverages!

I can hear you now...."Not me!"  But, it is sadly true.

If you consider all that goes into this category, it becomes more real:

• milk
• orange juice
• all other juices
• tea
• coffee
• soda
• wine
• beer

When we realized this expensive phenomenon, we made a rule in our home: when you are thirsty, have a glass of water. If you still want the other beverage you were going to reach for, then you can have it.

This rule applied at all meals as well: water first, others second.

Our bodies need the water more than we need the other items.
I get into discussions with moms all the time about milk and calcium intake, but that is another blog for another time. But here is a sneak peak: there is calcium in other less expensive sources.

To help you understand the cost, here is a breakdown to help you see the value of water:
1 gallon of milk costs $3.50
1 gallon of orange juice costs $3.21
1 gallon of soda pop costs $1.50
1 gallon of bottle water costs $1.00
1 gallon of tap water costs $0.01

This is an area we can make a quick dent in.