WFMW- Drinks

On this Works for Me Wednesday, I'm going to discuss a frugal yet sensitive topic. I read somewhere a few months ago that if you want to save money, DON'T BUY DRINKS at the grocery store. What?! Don't buy drinks?!?! Yes, the main point is to drink WATER! Water is cheap, easy to acquire, cold when you need it, easy to heat and readily available! You don't have to mix it up to get it, just turn on your tap!

One way to eliminate a lot of health issues and cut your grocery budget is to buy only milk. You really do not need to drink soda, it is filled with LOTS of sugar (aka high fructose corn syrup) and caffeine. I'm all for caffeine, I love a good cup of coffee or strong tea. (Here's proof!) I like to drink a refreshing cup of lemonade or ice cold tea (sweet tea is even better!). But I don't buy tea or lemonade to have all the time. It has helped our grocery bills to not buy juice (also lots of sugar) or soda. We didn't buy much soda anyway, before I read and starting using this tactic. We buy soda mainly for birthdays, but I think I may offer juice at parties instead.

I know juice can have some good qualities, such as vitamin C and other nutrients. But if you want to get vitamin C, just eat FRUIT! I'd rather eat an apple to get the vitamin C (as well as fiber) than a cup of apple juice to get some vitamin C, lots of sugar and water. Fruit has more fiber and fewer calories. Read about that here. Think about it...

I like having juice around, I think it is a nice alternative to water. I get tired of water. But when I do, I'll add a lemon slice or lime slice to the water and it gives it a nice zest, and a little of the benefits of the lemon/ lime vitamins, etc., But juice is loaded with sugar, and the last thing my kids need is more sugar to fill them up! No wonder they don't want to eat anything good, their belly gets filled with sugar water instead of the good stuff! Here is a web page talking about the benefits of drinking lemon water. Here is an article that says juice is as bad as soda! Here is another article that says the same thing, and also says that some juices have more calories per cup than soda!

If you think I am crazy, and you can't imagine going without soda or juice drinks, at least try to cut down on what you buy. Try drinking more water and see if you don't feel better.

It works for me, and my grocery budget is roomier for it!