Although there are a number of health benefits that occur when you stop smoking, today we’ll be looking at the financial implications of tobacco use. Hopefully it can be used as additional motivation to get you or your loved ones to consider quitting this nasty habit.
Annual Cost of Cigarettes
Let’s see the financial implications of smoking one pack per day for 10 years in the state of Massachusetts.
The average cost of a pack of cigarettes in MA is $9.95 with state excise and sales tax taken into account. Let’s make our math easy here and call it $10.
$10/pack x 7 days/week = $70/week
$70/week x 4 weeks/month = $280/month
$280/month x 12months/year = $3,360/year
That means regular smokers are paying roughly $3,360 per year to destroy their cardiovascular system, predispose themselves to early onset degenerative disc disease and emphysema, smell gross, develop wrinkles, and increase their risk of cancer. Not to mention their loved ones are exposed to second- or third-hand smoke. Probably not the wisest investment.
Cost After 10 Years
Let’s see what that money would have made had it been invested it in an index mutual fund factoring in a conservative 6% return over a ten year span:
What can we buy with 50k?
Let’s have a bit of fun here and dream up all the things we can buy with an extra 50k lying around:
A Tesla (35k)
A year-long trip around the world (20-30k)
Retiring a year early
Cost in 20 Years:
Let’s see what that what this amounts to in 20 years:
What can we buy with 130k?
A 30 foot deep sea fishing boat:
A Single Engine Cessna:
Retire 3-5 years early
A vacation home
A night of playing Black Jack with Michael Jordan
Cost in 40 years:
Let’s see what that what this amounts to in 40 years:
And in 40 years:
Pay for the grandkids to go to college
Beachside retirement property
A yacht
Vacation where you want, when you want
2 batmobiles (average cost $247,000 ea)
I don’t know about you, but relaxing on a beachfront property that you own sounds a whole lot better than paying the Marlboro Man swaths of cash to make you sick.
How about you? What would you buy with all the money that you'll save once you quit smoking?