This is a little tidbit that I found at The Dollar Stretcher.
We all know that little things can add up in a hurry. But, often we fail to realize just how much the small stuff is costing us.
As a junior high math teacher, it's always fun to shock my students by having them work up a few calculations like the ones below.
I can always hope they'll become frugal adults someday!
A $1 soda every day for a year = $365
If you must have that $3 latte instead, your annual cost = $1095
Paying just one bill with a $3 late fee every month for a year = $36
Over the course of a 50-year adulthood, that late fee = $1800
One fast food meal ($16 for a family of 4) per week for a year instead of quick hotdogs at home (about $4) = $624
If your family usually prefers the local buffet for $28, those annual hotdog savings would = $1248
If you buy a bag of ice for $1 every two days instead of making your own, your annual ice cost = $182.50
Keep buying that ice for 50 years of your adult life, and its cost = $9125
If you discard half a gallon of spoiled milk per week at $2.30 per gallon, in a year your waste will = $59.80
Keep wasting that milk for 50 years of your adult life, and your loss will = $2990
If your family buys half a pound per week of $5/lb. deli cheddar cheese instead of $3/lb. American slices, your annual cost = $52
If you keep buying the cheddar for 50 years of your adulthood, its extra cost = $2600
If you mail five bills per month at a cost of about 40 cents each instead of using free online banking, your annual cost = $24
If you continue to mail your bills for 50 years, your cost = $5200
If you buy four new books per year at an average cost of $15 each instead of buying used at around $4 each, your annual added cost = $44
Keep buying those new books for 50 years, and your cost = $2200
If you rent one new release video per week at $3.50 for a year, your cost over borrowing from the library = $182
Keep renting those videos for 50 years, and your cost = $9100
If you buy the premium cable package at an additional $35 per month, your annual cost over basic cable = $420
Keep buying that premium package for 50 years, and your cost over basic cable = $21,000
If you carry a credit card balance of just $1000 for a year at 18% annual rate, your annual interest = $180
If you keep the $1000 balance for 50 years without ever paying it off, your interest = $9000
So yep, those "little things" do add up!
July 24th, 2006 at 03:27 am 1153711633
Hmm....
July 24th, 2006 at 12:44 pm 1153745047
This would be $104.00. I am not being mean, but your students need the correct answer or they will correct you, which is even better, cause then you know they are doing the math.