Drink Economics
In summary, buying a drink is usually not stonks. Why?
Well tap water, though arguably unsafe, is orders of magnitude cheaper than bottled water and bottled water is around half an order of magnitude cheaper than coffee (and sometimes about the same price as some sodas). So if the game I'm trying to play is called "keep myself hydrated at the lowest price", the answer is obvious -- just drink the tap water.
Thus, given how cost effective (and effective at hydration) boiled + filtered tap water is, for the past few months, I've been avoiding buying drinks as it's just not that economical. Furthermore, given that I lean into drinking water (with my big Nalgene and the fact that I think it's "better"), I just don't really buy drinks anymore.
On the cost-effective side, admittedly, not buying drinks does not net that much in savings. But a drink here and a drink there adds up pretty quickly; a very, very conservative estimate would be drinking a $3 soda twice a week for an entire year which adds up to about $300 spent annually. That's assuming it's a $3 soda -- an assumption which is shaky given coffees, bobas, and juices cost $6-10 and that it's drank twice a week -- also shaky given that sometimes people get drinks every day of the week. As such, by not buying drinks (or at least not buying drinks as often), a non-negligible amount of money is saved; the conservative $300 a year isn't at all a lot, but for students, renters, those going check-to-check, that kind of extra money helps immensely.
But don't treat what I just said as a condemnation for buying drinks altogether; beverages have lots of benefits that go beyond the price tag. Having a bad day? A good beer or soda or whatever can help a lot with your mood, which is probably worth much more than $5. Eating out at a good restaurant? Maybe you'll want to order that drink -- sure it's overpriced, but buying that drink doesn't just mean trading your dollars for some liquid; buying that drink also (arguably) buys some heightened experience and lets you relax more into the atmosphere and (arguably) makes a moment more complete. Moreover, sometimes it just feels right to get something. And that's cool and probably for the better and all this economic analysis can get thrown out the window.
But in those "quiet moments" when you want a drink -- when you're looking for something besides water to drink and want to go buy some boba; or when you want to get some Sprite whilst also knowing it won't change much; or when you go get a drink even though sleeping is probably the better option and it's not like you're going for some event -- in those moments where getting a drink is unnecessary and extra, I would argue that economically at least, it makes no sense to get that drink. Fun and relaxing that drink may be, but if you wolf it down without really tasting it, was that overpriced flavored water really worth it? Or would you have rather saved it, drink by drink saving your way towards a new video game or book or poster or concert?
Yes, I haven't posted in a while. School's out, and I'm just living (and slightly rotting at home). There's much that I can probably write about but sometimes nothing just "fits", hence the lack of writing. Also it's getting harder and harder to do stuff (post-high school senioritis?).