Tobacco is a costly and dangerous item. Tobacco products are full of nicotine, which keeps you addicted, and loaded with thousands of dangerous and toxic chemicals that can wreak havoc on your skin, hair, heart, lungs, and much more. You’re essentially spending money to destroy your body, and the cost of smoking doesn’t end with buying a pack of cigarettes or chewing tobacco.
Whether you’re new to smoking or you’ve been at it for years, there’s never been a better time to quit, or more productive things to spend your money on. Luckily, quitting isn’t as difficult as it used to be, and with resources like smokefree.gov and tobacco alternatives like those at https://blackbuffalo.com/, your options are pretty much unlimited.
Let’s look at some things you could be spending your money on instead of tobacco.
1. Gym Membership
It’s time to quit smoking and start taking care of your body. Smoking will catch up to you eventually, and although you may not realize it now, when it does finally catch you, you’ll wish you never started. Smoking can cause all manner of health problems, including cancer, lung disease, heart disease, and much more.
Instead of spending hundreds of dollars per month on tobacco products like cigarettes, get yourself a gym membership. You can replace your bad habit with one that will have benefits that reach far into your adult life. You’ll be fitter, leaner, have more energy, and your internal systems will heal from the damage smoking has caused.
2. Better Food
Of course, working out is only one half of the equation. With those few hundred dollars you’re saving each month from ditching smoking, you can also start buying better-quality food to eat. The American diet is loaded with carbs, fats, sugars, and cholesterol. Combined with smoking, this is a recipe for disease, malady, and death. Heart disease is still the number one killer of adults, and smoking/poor eating are two of the leading contributors to the problem.
When it comes to food, you get what you pay for. There’s a reason that McDonald’s hamburger only costs $5. There’s a reason the bag of chips is only $0.99. If you want good quality food that’s great for your body, you need to spend more.
3. A Yearly Vacation
Let’s say you’re spending about $250 per month on cigarettes. If you add that up over the course of a year, that leaves you with $3,000 total spent on cigarettes/tobacco products. What can you do with that? Take a vacation, of course! Most people don’t go on vacation simply because of the cost, but what they don’t realize is that certain bad habits might be all that’s holding them back from affording such luxuries.
A vacation can cost anywhere from $500 to $10,000, depending on your destination, package, etc. However, you can easily plan a relaxing vacation to somewhere nice for just $3,000—the equivalent of smoking for a year. Which do you think would be better for you?
4. Books and Resources To Improve Your Skills
Reading is an excellent way to improve memory, increase imagination, and inspire empathy and learning. There are also online courses that can help you improve your skills. Maybe you always wanted to learn to play the guitar, or you want to continue your education. While $2-300 per month might not go very far in a university, every little bit helps.
Spending money on your future is one of the best decisions you can make, and all that stands between you and that goal is your smoking habit.
5. Your Savings Account
Instead of paying the gas station or convenience store for cigarettes, you can pay your savings account for future financial security. Did you know that most Americans don’t even have $1,000 in their savings? If you were struck by a sudden illness (which is highly likely when you’re a smoker) and put out of work, how would you cover your expenses? Experts recommend you have at least 3-6 months’ worth of expenses set aside for an emergency situation like COVID-19.
6. CBD Gummies
Sometimes, the ritual of smoking or using tobacco is what holds people back from quitting. Replacing that ritual with something that’s proven to be beneficial is a good way to keep the ritual and ditch a bad habit. You can find amazing CBD gummies online, and they can offer more benefits than you might think.
CBD is a natural pain killer, anti-inflammatory agent, and helps with focus. There’s also some preliminary information that suggests it can be used to treat addiction!
Ditch The Tobacco For Good
Let’s be honest—using tobacco doesn’t do anybody any good. Smoking contributes to a larger public health hazard, creates tons of pollution and waste, and can drive you to financial ruin. Imagine everything else that’s not on this list that you could spend money on instead of tobacco! It’s time to quit and save both your physical and financial health from the dangers of tobacco.
