Originally published August 5, 2008

Editor’s note: One in a series of stories to help readers save money.

So, you’re driving your hybrid car, adjusting your thermostat, buying in bulk and you still need help keeping cash in your wallet.

Step awa-a-a-y from the pop machine, pass by the drive-through, snuff the cigarettes. Those on-the-spot purchases you make each day could cost you hundreds of dollars a year, financial experts say.

The financial Web site, Bankrate.com includes vending machine snacks, coffee, cigarettes and bottled water in its list of top 10 money drains. The Web site said that spending a dollar a day on bottled water alone could end up costing $365 a year.

Hilldale High School junior Austin Bradshaw said he stops by a convenience store for a Gatorade “probably six or seven times a week.”

He said the trips cost him $20 to $25 a week, but he doesn’t mind the expense. He said the Gatorade is important in this hot weather.

“A lot of it is because we’re starting football practice, and I’ve got to stay hydrated,” he said as he left a Kum & Go on Chandler Road.

Resisting the call of the candy machine or convenience store soda fountain takes discipline, but it can save money in the long run, said Rachel Lockwood, Wagoner County Family and Consumer Science Extension educator.

“The best thing to do is to track your expenses,” she said. “Save your receipts and go back and see how much you spend in each category: Food, gas, household items, everyday items. Then you see how much you are spending. You can spend money on that one or two pops a day or save money by buying liter bottles at the grocery store.”

Of course, vending machines don’t give receipts, so Lockwood advised writing such purchases in a log.

“It’s good to keep a calendar,” she said. “It’s going to take much more self-discipline to track how much you spend.”

Lockwood said keeping healthy snacks at your desk could help you resist the temptation for the afternoon vending machine snack. She listed peanuts, mixed nuts, granola bars, trail mixes, dried bananas, “any kinds of dried fruits.”

Switching from candy bars to healthy snacks now also can save hundreds of dollars in health care costs later, Lockwood said.

Those lunches out can cost money, too, she said.

“You can save $2.50 to $6 a day by packing lunch. That’s about $913 a year, and that’s just fast food,” she said. “If you spend $2.50 less a day, you’ll save $12.50 a week, and that will help with gas.”

Angie Houston, manager of a Kum & Go Convenience Store, said her store often runs sales on items to help people save money.

“This summer, we have a special for 32-ounce fountain drinks for 49 cents, or two-for-$3 Gatorade,” she said.

She said higher gas prices haven’t changed customers’ habits.

“With convenience stores, it’s mainly husbands picking up milk,” she said. “They’d rather walk in and stop and pay $10 for a gallon of milk than fight women and crowds at Wal-Mart. Women will go to grocery stores.”

She stressed that milk at her store doesn’t cost anywhere near $10 a gallon, but closer to $4.


It all adds up
• Coffee from a store, one every workday for 250 days at 90 cents a serving: $225 a year. Brew your own coffee, approximately $8 for two-pound container, yields approximately 200 9-ounce servings.

• Canned pop from machine, 65 cents; candy from machine, 80 cents, $1.45 a day for 250 days, $362.50 a year. 10-bar box of granola bars, $2.80, or $70 a year.

• Cigarettes, $4 per pack, one pack per day, $1,460 a year.

Source: Survey of area convenience stores, Kmart, restaurants and vending machines.


10 Money drains
1. Coffee.

2. Cigarettes.

3. Alcohol at bars.

4. Bottled water.

5. Professional manicures.

6. Drive-through car washes.

7. Weekday lunches out.

8. Vending machine snacks.

9. Interest charges on credit cards.

10. Not using your health club membership.

Source: Bankrate.com


You can help
We want your ideas too. If you have any ideas or tips for saving money, e-mail them to news@muskogeephoenix.com or send to City Editor Elizabeth Ridenour at 214 Wall St., Muskogee OK 74402.

Reach Cathy Spaulding at 918-684-2928 or Click Here to Send Email