The Lifetime Cost Of 13 Bad Habits

[FarCenter]

We crunched the cost of various bad habits over the course of 60 years (starting at age 18). For all figures, remember the math changes depending on how much one partakes.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/expensive-bad-habits-2012-5?op=1

- Playing the lottery
- Paying your credit card bill late
- Withdrawing cash from out-of-network ATMs
- Drinking soda
- Your online porn membership
- Your morning latte
- Not packing your own lunch
- Eating fast food
- Smoking
- Letting food go to waste
- Drinking bottled water
- Smoking weed
- Drinking too much booze

[sadbear]

1. People still pay for online porn?

[Xyzse]

4. LOL

That makes me wonder as well.
What am I guilty of...

- Not packing your own lunch
- Eating fast food

Oh, not getting enough sleep.

[FarCenter]

6. I guess if you want the really good stuff....

Or the really kinky?

[4th law of robotics]

9. Or illegal

It seems like they catch a lot of people who pay for illegal porn using their credit cards.

[Warren DeMontague]

18. Yeah, I thought that was just rolled into the monthly fee for internet access.

I think I maybe bought a copy of Penthouse (for the articles! I swear!) back in 1998. That was the last money I spent on it.

[Courtesy Flush]

20. For 60 years? nt

[Cleita]

2. I'm only guilty of drinking bottled water and I

drink the least expensive. I'm still broke.

[cthulu2016]

3. They left out "Not living in a cardboard box under an overpass"

[cthulu2016]

5. "Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff."

[Politicalboi]

7. Smoking weed

Isn't just for recreation these days. Is taking a prescription medicine a bad habit now? They left out going to church in their list. It robs the mind of free thinking.

[FarCenter]

11. Taking too many pharmaceuticals should be on the list

Drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, often screw people up.

Any chemical powerful enough to have its intended effect usually also has other deleterious effects, particularly if taken for too long a time. The chemicals are not that precise in targeting one and only one biochemical pathway.

[gratuitous]

14. No it doesn't

[NoPasaran]

8. How much booze is "too much"?

[4th law of robotics]

10. Occasionally drink soda

but cut way down. And I probably drink more than I ought. No to the rest.

I guess I'm doing alright.

[hunter]

12. How did they leave out driving?

Cars are expensive!!!

[Taverner]

13. They say smoking weed will cost you, but they don't explain why

[Renew Deal]

26. It's the same as many of the other ones.

It's a choice and not doing that thing costs less money.

[TBF]

15. Well I've got 3 of those for sure -

bottled water (but would you drink water in Houston ... c'mon)
latte (for when I get sick of bottled water)

late bills (suck at money management - it's my worst trait)

[Fumesucker]

16. I didn't see TV watching on the list..

That's a damn expensive one in terms of time wasted and time is money as we all know.

[Renew Deal]

25. Paying for cable certainly belongs on the list

Is there even free TV anymore? Can you get TV with bunny ears?

[Fumesucker]

29. Oh yes, often you can get dozens of channels..

I get about three dozen, some ten or so of which are in HD..

[RebelOne]

17. I am only guilty of 2 of those bad habits,

smoking and drinking booze (though I am only a wine drinker). I do not have any credit cards. I never withdraw cash from out-of-network ATMs. Never drink soda, don't have any porn memberships and do not get a morning latte from Starbucks. When I was working, I did pack my own lunch every day. I do not drink bottled water as I have a water filter pitcher. And I never eat fast food. My weed-smoking days are 40 years in the past.

[Nye Bevan]

21. Stop smoking.

Within 20 minutes: Your blood pressure and pulse rate drops

Within eight hours: Carbon monoxide and oxygen levels in your blood returns to normal

Within 24 hours: Your chance of heart attack decreases

Within 48 hours: Your ability to smell and taste is better

Between two weeks and three months: Your circulation and lung function improves and walking becomes easier

Within one to nine months: Cilia grow again in the lungs, fatigue, coughing, sinus congestion and shortness of breath decrease

After just a year: Your risk of heart attack is less than that of smoker

After five years: Your odds of developing lung, throat, mouth and esophagus cancer drops by almost half

Between five and 15 years: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker

After 10 years: Your lung cancer death rate is similar to that of non-smokers

After 15 years: You have the same risk of heart disease as a non-smoker

[CTyankee]

27. I stopped smoking over 30 years ago. I must be super healthy!

The added benefit was my realization that I wasn't addicted, altho I had been smoking for a long time. For some reason, not having to do with self control at all, I don't have an addictive personality. I am grateful for this. It's saved me from several of the bad things on that list...

[RevStPatrick]

19. I don't see many of those things...

...as being bad habits.

They're just trying to sell advertising.
Not even going to bother clicking the link.

[Renew Deal]

23. I guess it depends on what you consider a habit

But I agree with the list. These are all optional lifestyle choices that cost more money than not doing these things.

[Renew Deal]

22. Mine seem to be all about food

These are an issue for me:

- Not packing your own lunch
- Eating fast food
- Letting food go to waste
- Drinking bottled water


These are extremely rare for me, but do happen:
- Playing the lottery
- Withdrawing cash from out-of-network ATMs
- Drinking soda

[ieoeja]

24. My dad estimated his booze bill much larger than that.

After four decades of drinking and driving he finally got caught for a DUI in his 60s and and had to go to the class. They asked everyone to estimate how much they had spent on drinking. He came up with around $750k.

"And how did you get started drinking in the first place?"

"Government."

"Huh?"

"When I joined the Guard between my junior and senior years in high school they always bought us a round of drinks after drills. Then I went into the Marines, they issued us rations of beer in Korea."

"Well, imagine what you could have done with all that extra money."

"I bought a 600 acre farm and put three kids through college. Can't imagine much more I'd want to do."

They took him aside, pointed out that he was really not helping the class and assured him they would report him to the state as having successfully completed the course if he would just leave.

[CreekDog]

28. Well if I never did any of the things I liked, I could save a ton of money

Okay, I get the point of the article. But you know, life isn't just about having the most money at the end, is it?

[GeorgeGist]

30. playing golf ...

is worse than all of them.

[ctaylors6]

31. I'm so bad about letting food go to waste

But okay on rest!