$7.89

I went to the gas station the other day and had to go inside to pay. I was in line behind some lady who didn't get gas, but was purchasing something.

I overheard the clerk behind the counter tell her

"That will be $7.89 Mam..."

That is when I realized she was only getting a pack of cigarettes!

$7.89 for ONE PACK!!!

Let's do some quick math:

If you smoke one pack a week - it is $410 a year.
If you smoke one pack a day - it is $2,872 a year.
If you smoke two packs a day - it is $5,744 a year.

That is a LOT of money to spend on something that
a) isn't healthy for you and
b) leaves you nothing to show for it.

Ouch!

I know life is all about priorities...and this is something that some people choose to partake in...but think about this:

**If you had a 30 year mortgage, you could pay your house off in 15 years with that money.
**If you had a kid that you wanted to send to college, you could tuck away over $110,000 in 18 years.
**If you wanted to buy a home, you could save almost $30,000 for a down payment in less than five years.

See where I am going with this?

WE have the power to take control of our futures...make the changes to our budgets to make life become what want it to be.

Is there something like a pack of cigarettes in your life, slowly sucking a bunch of your hard earned money from you and leaving you nothing to show for it?

For us, it was going out to eat at restaurants. We were spending almost $5,000 a year doing it...and had nothing to show for it! Mind you, we still go out to eat, but now use gift cards, nights where kids eat FREE and more.

Track your money for a month and see where it is really going - you might be surprised!