This post is sponsored by Klean Kanteen & Green Sisterhood.
One reusable water bottle can save your family over $500 a year.
Americans are purchasing more and more water packaged in plastic bottles. According to IBWA, bottled water sales were up 6.7% in 2012, now at 11.8 BILLION! There is no reason to spend so much money on bottled water, yet it happens so easily.
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Ashley jerked her minivan into the parking spot outside her local warehouse store. She sat for a moment, trying to regain her sanity, as her kids yelled from the backseat, “Mom! Mom! Mom! Mommy! Get me out! Let’s go, Mom! Mom! Mom!” Ashley unscrewed the cap of her plastic water bottle, chugged the remaining sips, took a deep breath, and said with a sigh,
“Okay. Let’s go inside.”
She unloaded the children, putting them side-by-side in the gigantic cart’s seat, and pushed the hulking device towards the door. “Mommy, me thirfsty,” said Ashley’s 2-year-old, Brayden. ~sigh~ Ashley had left the extra bottle of water she brought in the car.
“Okay, let’s get you some water.” She pulled the cart up to the small, refrigerated case by the cash registers.
“Me, too! Me, too! I’m thirsty, too!” Now Ashley’s oldest, 4-year-old Gracie, was hollering for a drink. Ashley grabbed two bottles from the cooler, then thought about how she’d better grab one for herself, too. Her children had a lovely habit of not liking to share. Ashley paid for the drinks, opened the bottles for each child, then continued her shopping.
On Ashley’s list for this trip was another two cases of bottled water to refill their refrigerator. “It’s summer, now, though, and we’re going through this water quicker than usual, anyway. Better get four cases,” she thought. She roamed the store, found the remaining items on her list, kept the children occupied, paid for the order, and left.
On warehouse-store day, Ashley always took the kids out to lunch at a local sandwich shop. In an effort to keep them healthy, she declined the juice and soda with their meals and instead opted for bottled water. (Their bottles from earlier were either finished, spilled, or had rolled under the car seat.) They enjoyed an easy lunch, and Ashley drove the kids and their purchases home.
Ashley unpacked the groceries at home. Her husband, Brian, walked in the door, then, placed his briefcase and half-empty water bottle on the table, and gave her a kiss. “Hey, how was shopping today?” he asked.
“Great!” replied Ashley. “Got a lot of great deals!”
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But, did she?
Case of water: $5.98/24 bottles= $23.92
Assuming Ashley’s bottle and her husband’s came from a case of water they kept at home, that’s $.25 each.
We’ll average a guess and say that the three bottles Ashley bought at the warehouse store, plus the two at the restaurant, cost $1.00 a piece. So, $5.00.
In one day, Ashley’s family spent almost $30 on bottled water.
If Ashley continues to buy cases of water for her family, and we’ll figure the amount conservatively, counting the children as one person:
For a family of 3:
2 bottles/person per day is
7.5 cases/month for family of 3, which equals
$44.85/month or$540/year!
And that’s not taking into account the extra bottles they might purchase at restaurants, at sporting events, at the beach, or on a road trip!
The Money-Saving Option:
1 stainlesss steel water bottle: 27 oz, $19.95.
$59.85/family of three
$79.80/family of four (if each child has her own bottle)LASTS FOREVER
Imagine never spending another dime on disposable plastic bottles. I asked some moms what they would do with an extra $500:
“Buy a plane ticket to California for a friend’s wedding!”
“I’d put it in savings ($100 for each child and the rest in my savings).”
“Buy the vintage credenza I have had my eye on and have it delivered; I would have money left over for the vintage painting that I want!”
“Use it to pay for flights to visit my family.”
“Pay it towards the balance of our bathroom remodel!”
“Buy a bunch of expensive cookware I’ve been wanting.”
“Pay for the gas to drive cross-country with the fam.”
“Buy a ton of bulk herbs and pretty glass jars to keep them in.”
“Buy a lot of local grass fed/organic meat and stock my freezer.”
So, why keep spending money needlessly? Get yourself a reusable water bottle and carry it everywhere. Because: What would *you* do with an extra $500?
photo credit: lululemon athletica via photopin cc
photo credit: pdxdiver via photopin cc
Money images via Microsoft Office Images
Love the break down. You are absolutely right about saving the money. We don’t realize how much money we waste on disposable items.
It’s so easy to blow $5+ on water for the family when out and about. Water fountains are free.
We used to be THAT family when my kids were little. A case here, a case there….they all added up! But no more since we started using reusable bottles…even for my dog when we travel! Thanks for the breakdown…great to see how much disposable income I’m saving. Pun intended…
You have no idea how much I love a good pun.
I always have my water bottle full and the kids whenever we go out. I have been known to bring an extra for a friend when we have play dates at the park just in case they get thirsty too. We have saved so many plastic water bottles from the landfill/recycling center and the money helps buy all those expensive organic fruits we love so much. All we have to do is remember to bring them with us, but my kids are learning they check with me before we leave “do you have my water bottle Mommy?” – That always makes me smile.
Yes! It helps that everyone has a bottle to “own,” too. I have one that says “Hip Mountain Mama,” my husband has a sleek black Klean Kanteen, my son has a smaller version. It helps me remember it when I treat it like an accessory to my outfit 🙂
If I had an extra $500 right now I would use it to buy a big mature tree to have transplanted into our backyard #needshade
I love that idea!
So true — b/c disposable products are “cheap” we don’t think about the cost. But any small amount repeated frequently is going to add up quickly and over a relatively short period of time. It doesn’t make any sense to keep buying bottled water when you see the math as you’ve done here. Also, and I can personally attest to the importance of this, you don’t have to worry about kids mixing up their water bottles when they each have their own reusable water bottle in their favorite color or pattern. Try keeping track of your own disposable water bottle at a party/ social function!
Good point about the sharing of water bottles!
I have thought about going to bottled water for a number of reasons. The city water where I live is not pleasant at all. A tap water filtration such as pur is costing me around $20 a month and I am still not sure how good the water is that we are drinking. Reading this did make me reconsider, although one of the things mentioned, 2 bottles of water per person per day to me is a very low estimate. When I travel I usually drink at least 6 bottles per day alone, even more in the summer. I will add water filtration back into my budget for now. I will still continue to buy bottles for travel as I refuse to use tap water from a strange place or buy water at an extravagant cost anywhere else.
I definitely estimated low, Deborah. As per tap water, unless you’re buying certified spring water, bottled water is municipal water, and no “safer” than tap. It wasn’t in the too distant past that we had no problem using drinking fountains. We’ve been duped to believe they are somehow unsanitary.
I can count the times on one hand that I have purchased bottled water..I absolutely refuse to waste money on such a thing.. I try not to buy small bottles of juice either unless I’m in a bind. I buy 1L containers of apple juice and frozen orange juice when they are on sale. I have an aversion to any sort of plastic container but unfortunately it’s difficult to buy liquids in any other container. I at least reconsisttute any frozen juice in a glass jug, and always use stainless steel for travel or glass at home.