Let me start off with the disclaimer that I do not promote
smoking at all. I wish I had never
started and if you are not currently a smoker please do not start! If you are a
smoker, please keep reading.
That picture to the right used to be my brand of choice. I was 16 when I first started smoking. I started out on Marlboro Lights and switched
to Camel lights. Then at about the age
of 19 I switched to Basic Lights because they were cheaper. I smoked Basics for years, even when they became
more expensive than Marlboro and Camels because I was hooked on that brand.
After several failed attempts at quitting, I
decided to at least find a way to reduce my cost on cigarettes until I am ready
to quit. I am not proud to be a smoker
and I do wish I had never started. However, I know that I really have to want to
quit before I can really do it and I guess I’m just not there yet. A friend at work was rolling her own
cigarettes for a while and I thought they were OK, but I just never tried it
myself. I didn't think they were as good
as my brand and I didn't realize just how much money she was saving. She said it was also a pain to roll all the
cigarettes. She used a little machine to
do it, but had to do one at a time.
The other day, I thought I would at least give it a try
because I was tired of spending $190 a month on cigarettes and with all the
debt we have to pay off I had to try something. I stopped into my local tobacco store on my
way home from work and learned that there is a machine that rolls a whole
carton of cigarettes in about 8 minutes for you. You have to join a club to use it and it was
located right next door to the tobacco shop. I believe they can’t legally keep it in a
tobacco shop. It costs $5 each time you
use it. I spent a total of $22 and about
20 minutes of my time to get a carton of cigarettes. This was exciting enough, but I was afraid of
what it would taste like and worried that I just wasted my money and would go
back to buying my Basics. I was wrong! I actually enjoyed them just as well as my
Basics (if not more). I can’t believe I
didn't try this sooner. I just went from
spending $190 a month to $66 a month for a savings of $124 (65%) per month! That will equate to $1,488 a year and $5,952 savings
in the next four years (if I don’t quit before then),
Ask around at your local tobacco stores and at least give it
a shot. I live in Ohio so I am not
familiar with the laws in other states and countries, but if it is an option,
you will most certainly save money. And I
do believe the laws regarding the roll your own cigarettes are the same
countrywide. If you do try it, let me
know how it works out for you in the comments below. Did the quality of the cigarettes meet your
expectations? How much did you save?
Labels: frugality
