Have you ever sat down and figured out how much money you’re spending on cigarettes every week? Every month? Each year? It’s time to see how that nasty habit adds up.
At the low end of the scale Missouri residents pay the lowest average price for a pack of cigarettes: $3.33 each. Smoke a pack a day? That’s $23.31 per week. And $93.24 every month. Every year, you’re spending $1118.88 on your smoking habit.
At the high end of the scale, Maine residents pay an average of $6.46 for a pack of cigarettes — nearly double what the Missouri folks are shelling out. So if you smoke a pack a day, you’ll be paying $45.22 every week for your nicotine fix. That makes $180.88 every month. And your yearly tally? A whopping $2170.56 going into your lungs.
Okay, maybe you don’t smoke a pack a day. Maybe you’re only smoking a pack a week? That’s slightly better for your wallet. On the low end, you’re throwing away $173.16 each year. I’m sure you can’t think of anything you’d do with an extra $170 right about now. On the high end, you’re still saying goodbye to $335.92 every year. That’s just slightly more than I paid for my round trip airfare to California last month. Tough decision: choose between a vacation and that smoking habit.
I’m sure it’s easier to keep on puffing if you don’t work it out this way. But do yourself a favor and grab your calculator and figure it out. Take the price you paid for your latest pack of cigarettes. If you smoke a pack every day, multiply that price by seven. That’s your weekly cost. Multiply the new number by four for your monthly cost. Multiply that number by 12 to get your yearly cost. Then take a moment and think about what you could do with the money you’d save by cutting back or quitting entirely.
The answer might just surprise you.
Still not ready to quit? Read more about the benefits of quitting and some strategies for you and your family.
Cigarette average prices courtesy of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.