An Analysis on Family Beverage Spend

THE FACTS

Our family beverages.loves

However, it appeared that too much money was being spent on drinks – money that could be better spent

elsewhere!

I decided to conduct an analysis on our family’s 2010 spend on beverages

to determine if there were cost savings that might be easily achieved.

THE NUMBERS

I listed the different types of beverages our family purchased and

consumed in 2010.

What do you think the total was?

93

Now you might think that number seems high – but how many total drinks

would you guess our family purchased in 2010?

5,011

Now this number may appear very large, but it is more important to understand the cost.

I then calculated the total spend on beverages purchased in 2010.

$4,475

THE LIFESTYLE

The family’s drinking habits

Mom Dad Jane JohnBottled water addict

Often purchases a bottle of wine for the weekend

Occasional bottle of expensive champagne for soirees

Purchases an occasional bottle of imported Irish whiskey

Always purchases a beer with dinner at a restaurant

A late night at the office always warrants multiple energy drinks

Study sessions always involve tasty coffees & lattes

Diet soda addict

Bottled water addict

Energy drink addict

Drinks a glass of orange juice every morning

Often purchases sodas at school

THE ANALYSIS

Next, I determined the total number and cost of beverages purchased

Number of beverages purchased in 2010

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

Mom Dad Jane John

Next, I determined the total number and cost of beverages purchased

Cost of beverages purchased in 2010

Mom Dad Jane John

$-

$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

$1,400

$1,600

The Troublemaker

THE SOLUTION

Instead of asking Dad to cut back on his beverage spend, I decided to ask each family member to cut back on one

of their own drink expenditures.

Mom

Number of Beverages Spend on Beverages

Will cut back on six bottles of wine to

save:

$128 in 2011

Focuses on Wine

31 bottles per year

$354 per year

Dad

Will order less expensive beer at

restaurants to save:

$196 in 2011

Focuses on Beer

209 bottles per year

$462 per year

Number of Beverages Spend on Beverages

Jane

Will cut back on the lattes, and order less expensive coffees to

save:

$104 in 2011

Focuses on Coffee

391 coffees per year

$342 per year

Number of Beverages Spend on Beverages

John

Will substitute energy drinks with

iced tea to save:

$128 in 2011

Focuses on Energy Drinks

184 per year

$486 per year

Number of Beverages Spend on Beverages

THE OUTCOME

We started a “Beverage Savings Fund”

with the money saved.

By the end of the year, we expect to have saved a total of: $556!

Enough to save for a new video game console for the family!

We hope that this analysis can serve as an example of the types of small changes that can lead to

big savings!