Do you want some extra incentive to make and keep more money? Here is some for you: more wealth can mean a longer life.

This was among the findings of a study discussed in a recent article on US News.  Now, of course there is no guarantee that having money will lead to longer life. However, wealth is seen to be a factor playing a role in longer life.  I’ve been a proponent of this line of thought for a while, suggesting that the role of money in each of our lives finds it interconnected with health and relationships.  Thus, I was interested to read in that article that some of this was actually studied.

It makes sense that there is a synergistic effect to money and health.  As you impact one of these areas, you can subsequently impact the other. The better your situation in one, the better off you will be as a whole. This can help to provide some financial motivation!

Taking a look at one side of this symbiotic relationship – how wealth can impact health – here are some reasons that immediately come to mind to me:

Medical Care – let’s face it, money can buy a lot of things. While it can’t necessarily buy health of course, it allows access to better medical care. With significant funds, you have less worry about expensive procedures, rehabilitation, medicine, etc. Somebody with a net worth of $5 million can do more in this way than someone with a net worth of $5,000.

Access to Quality Food – this might seem silly to some, admittedly. However, there are many people who don’t live in areas that have easily accessible supermarkets or fresh produce. Or, they may have transportation issues in terms of accessing markets.  There are even some big city neighborhoods that are supermarket deserts, where people have to go a long distance to reach places to buy good food.

Safety of the Neighborhood – generally speaking, the wealthier one is, the more options he or she has in terms of where to live. If someone is low on funds, these options can be quite limited, and the safety of a neighborhood might be compromised. Plus, some areas offer less opportunities for walking, fewer parks and gyms, and reduced opportunity for exercise and interaction.

Stress – To me, this might be a bigger factor than meets the eye. Back to the example above comparing someone with a net worth of $5 million versus someone with a much lower net worth. Who has more stress of earning money and bringing home a paycheck? Who can live a more relaxed life, with more financial freedom?

Of course, paradoxically, if we push ourselves beyond our limits in order to make money, we might encounter some impact on our health. Balance is important!

My Questions for You:

What do you think of the notion that having more money can lead to a longer life?

In terms of what motivates you to earn and save, is health something that drives you in some way?

Can you think of examples in your life where you’ve seen people have their health impacted in some way by financial issues? This can include either a negative or positive impact.

Hello everyone! This post was originally intended to be a recap of January here, with some acknowledgements, but I thought I’d first bring up the topic of buying organic. I’m curious what your thoughts are on the subject.

Buying Organic – How Often is it Truly Important?

This came to mind from a couple of places. First, the notion that seemingly everywhere we go in a grocery store, we’ll see some foods being labeled as organic. Be it fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, or anything else – it appears that there may be a really solid market out there for products sold as organic. The second place this topic came from was a conversation I had recently with someone, who strongly believes in organic as much as possible when it comes to diet, thinking it’s more than worth the extra cost.

Now, I do subscribe the the notion that investing in quality, fresh, nutritious food is a smart move. Obviously, your health will likely be better off with such purchases being consumed. Additionally, taking a financial angle, making smart choices each day can lower health care costs over the long run. It’s clear that choosing good nutrition can positively impact the quality of one’s life.

That being said, my thoughts have been that this more the case when choosing between alternative types of food. For example, choosing a frugal breakfast of oatmeal is likely a better choice than eating a bagel. It’s healthier and likely cheaper too.  However, when choosing between the same food – but one option is organic, and the other regular (non-organic) – the decision gets a bit fuzzier to me.

Here’s an example: if I want buy blueberries, and a container of regular berries costs $2.50, but organic berries cost $4.00, is it worth paying $1.50 for the organic version? Keep in mind that the quantity of berries is the same.

This example can be applied to any type of food, whether fruit, vegetables, dairy, etc. The idea of paying more for the same type of food that looks the same, but has the “organic” label, always makes me wonder. Personally, for the kids, I might get organic milk and cheese. That seems worth it, when I think about hormones and dairy. But I really wonder about some of the other types of foods, and often think that we can wash things thoroughly. I mean, if I buy a non-organic apple, for example, am I really doing something unhealthy? Is there that much of a difference between an organic apple and a regular one that’s been washed?

When you look at the potential volume of food that we can buy organic, the incremental costs could really add up. That gets me wondering how we should pick our spots buying organic, and how important it always is. I mean, I’ve seen cotton being noted as organic!

Feel free to convince me. I’m focused on nutrition now, and would like to hear any thoughts on this topic. If you think I’m wrong, please feel free to tell me why. I’m open to change

My Questions for You:

• Do you place a high value on buying organic, or do you look the other way
• If you do buy organic, what do you purchase in that category and why?
• Do you have any advice or suggestions for others deciding on whether or not to buy organic?

Top Referrers for January

The following are the “lucky dozen” – lucky for Squirrelers, that is. These are the 12 sites that brought the most visitors here in January. Thanks to each of you!

1. The Simple Dollar
2. Festival of Frugality
3. Yakezie
4. The Dog Ate My Wallet
5. Funny About Money
6. Get Rich Slowly
7. So Over Debt
8. Sweating the Big Stuff
9. Budgeting in the Fun Stuff
10. Digging Out and Up
11. Money Relationship
12. First Gen American

Squirrelers in Blog Carnivals

Squirrelers was included in the following blog carnivals in January:

10 Winter Savings Tips was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Sweating the Big Stuff

What Do You Think About Gift Cards as Holiday or Birthday Gifts? was included in the Canadian Finance Carnival at Canadian Finance Blog

Squirreling Gone Wild #31: The Surprise 90% Discount was included in the Festival of Frugality at Funny About Money

10 Ways to Save Money on Auto Insurance was included in the Totally Money Carnival at Mother Miser

15 Ways to Grow and Protect Your Net Worth was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Diva in Debt

Lottery Coupons: Save Money on Losing Money was included in the Festival of Frugality at The Frugal Toad

Sometimes we Have Rainy Days – Even With Money was included in the Yakezie Carnival at Prairie Eco-Thrifter

Crazy Job Interview Stories was included in the Totally Money Carnival at Passive Income to Retire

Will Less Teens Driving Today = Fewer Expensive Car Purchases in the Future? was included in the Yakezie Carnival at The Amateur Financier

Make Sure to Review Your Credit Card Statement was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance at The Jenny Pincher

How much is an hour of sleep worth to you?

To me, it’s worth quite a bit. There are probably some who share the same thoughts. On the other hand, I’m sure there are also many others who would say, “show me the money!”.

An short article I recently read, from The WSJ discusses a study that covers the topic of sleep vs. money. In it, there people are asked to choose between getting more sleep and less money, or more money and less sleep. Here were the actual choices:

1. An $80,000 job that has work hours that are manageable, and you end up getting 7.5 hours of sleep a day
2. A $140,000 job that has long work hours, and you end up getting 6 hours of sleep a day

Which would you choose?

I find this to be an interesting question – in terms of how this might be answered by everyone. There are some people that are very focused on health, balance, etc. Then, you have some people that are highly focused on making more money as the top priority.  In between, you have many of the rest of us, who don’t think the two are mutually exclusive.

A big help in the quest to be financially successful is the trait of perseverance. Often times, those who want something badly enough will work extra hard for it – and truly work extra hard. In the setting of a career, this might mean working super late hours and cutting into sleep. If you’re not doing it, inevitably someone else will. There is usually someone out there willing to outwork the next person.

I’ve been one of these people before, who have worked some incredibly late nights. I mean, we’re talking countless times working until well past midnight in the office, only to get up early the next day. Sometimes until 2am or later. There others who do that, and look at it like it’s some type of badge of honor.

Over time, I’ve moved more toward the side of trying to keep balance. I’ve learned that quality of life is important, and it’s important to take care of one’s health. If you do nothing but work, and view sleep as a waste of time, it will catch up to you. Sleep is not a waste of time, it’s really important.

The irony of it is that if people get more sleep, they might be more productive. Could it be possible, as discussed here before, that sleep can lead to wealth creation? Doesn’t that sound good?

Back to the question.  If I could reframe it a bit, and take out the dollar amounts – and focus on the relative percentages – I’d take less money and a proper night’s sleep. Continuing to get 20% less sleep than you need – whatever that exactly is for you – will take it’s toll over the long run.

I like the idea of getting the right amount of sleep and being well rested. Sounds more fun! Plus, you might be more productive and able to get more done in less time, when physically and mentally alert.

My Questions for You

Which would you choose from the options noted above - more money, less sleep – or proper sleep, less money?

Have you ever worked excessive hours like I have in the past?

Do you subscribe to the belief that increased sleep can lead to wealth creation, or do you think sleep is overrated?

In some lucky parts of the country, the weather is warm all year. Outdoor activities aren’t curtailed much during the seasons. Lucky for you folks! For the majority of us, however, summer is a great opportunity to fully enjoy the outdoors before the weather gets cold.  Of course, there are outdoor activities year round, but the range of what you can do in 80 degree weather with many hours of sunshine in greater than what you can do in 15 degree weather with less sunshine!

With that in mind, we recently spent a day driving a few hours each way for some outdoor fun. In lieu of an overnight vacation, I’m focusing on activities that are within driving distance and seasonal. Anyway, we set out to go from Chicago to the Indiana/Michigan border for blueberries and the beach.

Blueberry Picking

Just as you cross the border into the southwestern tip of Michigan, there are a number of blueberry farms. There, we picked fresh berries! Coming from an urban area, it’s almost a novelty to pick fresh fruit and vegetables. Thing is, it’s educational for kids to see where their food actually comes from. In this case, I thought blueberry picking was a good choice because it was right in the heart of the short season, and they’re quite the healthy food!

Anyway, we had a blast going out in the field and picking blueberries. For my oldest child, it was fun being able to run around and hunt for the best blueberries, and filling up the bucket with as many as she could.  For me, I was thinking about how tasty fresh picked berries would be, and how cheap they were:)

How cheap were they? Well, if you picked, they were just $1.40 per pound. What a deal! After we finished, we came out to nearly 2.5 pounds, totaling $3.45. As we were ready to pay, we discovered that you could buy berries that they had just picked for $1.90 per pound. So, we bought two more pounds.  In total , we paid $7.25 for 4.5 pounds of blueberries!  Compare that to a typical supermarket, where 4 pounds of blueberries might cost up to $40 all told. More than anything, it was a lot of fun.

The Beach

Then, following blueberry picking, we went to the beach.  Some of you might be wondering, “what kind of beach can be in Michigan?”. Well, I’ve been to 47 of the 50 states, have seen quite a few areas, and think this particular beach is a hidden gem. The name is Warren Dunes State Park, you can google it for more information.

The warm season to enjoy the beach is probably just a few months, but it’s a nice secret. There is a huge stretch of soft, sandy beaches, about as good as you can get if you’re not on the coasts.  Additionally, there are massive sand dunes adjacent to the coast. One reaches heights of 236 feet! We enjoyed the beach and got some great exercise climbing that massive dune.  It’s quite the challenge climbing something when your feet are sinking in deep sand!

Lots of fun for anybody healthy enough to spend time outside. Total cost: $8. Yes, for just an $8 entrance fee for our vehicle, we enjoyed a great beach, sand dunes, Lake Michigan, and a fun day outside.

Overall Assessment

We spent $15.25 between the blueberries and the beach/dunes park.  On top of that, we probably spent close to $25 in gas. Our food costs were no different than they would have been otherwise. So, for about $40, we had a great family day. We got to leave Chicago and go 2 states away for a totally different environment and great outdoor, summer fun.

Goes to show that fun doesn’t have to cost that much money. There are many times when we can have cheap fun.  In summer, when we can comfortably spend time outdoors, there are many opportunities to do so. We just have to find them!

My Questions for You

What are your favorite ways to spend time outdoors and enjoy the summer, without breaking the bank?

Did you get a chance to have any fun getaways this summer? If you’re a Squirrelers reader, I’m guessing you found ways to make it affordable:) Please feel free to share.

Doctors are service providers.

Remember this discussion, from about 3 weeks ago? It got some interesting comments and dialogue going, and people had opinions across the board.  You can read through it for reader feedback, but essentially my position was that when I visit a doctor, I expect some semblance of customer service. After all, a doctor – in my view – is a service provider like a waitress, plumber, electrician, etc.  We pay, and we expect service in return. My post illustrated an example of questionable customer service I received from a doctor I had recently visited.

Keeping that prior discussion in mind, you may not be surprised that I was happy to come across this article from US News detailing when you should replace your doctor.  I like the thinking! Again, as service providers, their job is to help you and treat you like a customer. Since you’re a customer, you should be listened to and treated with at least a basic minimum level of respect.

Here are the article’s 9 signs of when it’s time to move on from your current doctor:

1. You don’t mesh
2. He doesn’t respect your time
3. He keeps you in the dark
4. He doesn’t listen
5. The office staff is unprofessional
6. You don’t feel comfortable with him, or wonder about his competence
7. He doesn’t coordinate with other doctors
8. He’s unreachable
9. He’s rude or condescending

All good reasons to move on. Actually, they used the phrase “fire your doctor”, which is really what you’d be doing.

What’s interesting about this list is that many of these could be applied to other service providers. These could be a checklist for evaluating a plumber. Or, maybe a mover. Perhaps even a lawyer.

I’ve experienced all of these at one point or another. I’ve also dealt with doctors that were great, and didn’t fail on any of the factors above, or maybe just one.

Bottom line is that when we are spending our money, we have the right to expect at least the most basic service. The same rules apply to doctors or any of the aforementioned professions. Sure, you may have fewer alternatives to your current doctor as opposed to the wide selection of choices for other professional needs. However, it doesn’t change the notion that you’re the customer. A well meaning customer should always be treated with at least a minimum level of decency, right?

If you’re spending money, and if service is horrific, don’t just take it. Rather, take action!

The article makes great points about how one’s health could actually be affected by some of these issues. It’s actually moreimportant for a doctor to provide good customer service, as the downside to it could be far worse than it would be with those other service providers. In particular, competence is extremely important!

My Questions for You:

What do you think of this list?  Have you ever experienced any of these issues?

Have you ever flat out fired a doctor for such reasons, and moved on to another one?

Note: I really do like and value doctors, despite these last 2 doctor-related posts. It’s the bad apples and arrogant/entitled ones that are just unbelievable. Good doctors out there, no offense!

Have you ever made a resolution – new year’s or otherwise – that you kept for a long period of time? Even better, one that you thought could be a permanent change?

For me, there has been one this year and it’s been health related: giving up caffeine.

I set out at the beginning of the year to give up caffeine, and eliminate any caffeinated drinks from my diet. These drinks were primarily diet sodas, but sometimes coffee or tea.  I just didn’t feel right, and thought that cutting out caffeine could help out.

What happened? Well, I stopped drinking caffeine entirely this year. Stopped cold turkey, in fact. No sodas, and only decaf coffee on occasion (with tiny amounts of caffeine technically, but essentially caffeine free).

The health benefits were noticeable. I just felt better overall, as there were less ups and downs in energy levels throughout the day. Given my caffeine consumption before, this change was noticeable. Plus, I slept better through the night without any caffeine in my bloodstream. In short, my giving up caffeine had been a real success.

Just today, I broke the streak. After just over 5 months without any caffeine, I broke down and had a large, 32oz diet soda today.

Here’s my rationalization of the breaking point: I have had a couple of nights of poor sleep due to allergies/sinus issues that flared up, and I am exhausted. Plus, I was solo taking care of one of my kiddos earlier. I needed to be alert and plus I was in the car really thirsty on a hot day. Being tired, I just didn’t have the willpower – so I caved and decided to swing by a drive-thru and pick up a Diet Coke.

Certainly, this is no big deal in the big picutre. I mean, plenty of  poeple guzzle tons of coffee or sodas daily as a part of their normal lives….I was one of those people, and it’s unfortunately quite not uncommon I think! However, I did set a goal for myself and after 100% success for this year I just now caved.  This streak is over, and that’s what’s on my mind here….as I’m now a bit wired and feeling much more alert than earlier

Anyway, it got me thinking that sometimes we make missteps in our lives, whether small health/diet ones like this, or bigger ones. This can include the realm of personal finance, where people may blow their budget for a month, splurge on something, or carry a credit card balance after committing to not do so. Whatever the case, we’re human and don’t always follow our plans exactly to the letter.

However, many such mistakes are correctable. We can work to recongnize the mistake, diagnose what caused the slip up, and determine what we can do to move past it. And then, just move forward and learn from the experience.  Whether it’s a small thing like this or a bigger issue, sometimes you just learn from a slip up and move ahead.

My Question for You:

When have you ever “fallen off the wagon”, so to speak, only to get back on track with a goal or behavior you’ve set out to make habit? Any example can be shared.

Squirrelers in Blog Carnivals

Car Longevity: How Far Will You Go to Save Money was included in the Totally Money Blog Carnival at The Family CEO

Cheapskates Visit Vegas was included in the Festival of Frugality at My Personal Finance Journey

Are Stocks Ready to Take a Summer Vacation was included as an Editor’s Pick in the Carnival of Personal Finance at My Personal Finance Journey

Myths About Retirement was included in the Yakezie Carnival at Bucksome Boomer 

 The Recency Bias and Investing was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Miss Thrifty

Personal Finance Geekdom: The Economics of Picking Up Pennies was included in the Festival of Frugality at Bible Money Matters

Favorite Posts from the Personal Finance Blogosphere

101 Centavos shared Long Supply Chains and Business Ideas

Barbara Friedberg shared 3 Tips to Get Richer and Thinner

Budgeting In The Fun Stuff shared Freecycle – My Personal Experiences

Everyday Tips and Thoughts shared  Why I Hate Clothes Shopping

Financial Samurai shared The Average 401k Balance and Why It’s Too Low

Money Cone shared 10 Questions to Ask Your Bank Before Opening an Account

Money Talks Coaching shared I Quit Caffeine

Minting Nickels shared A New Tune For June

No Debt MBA shared The Graduate Student Lifestyle

PFFirewall shared How to Have a Perfect Vacation

Wealth Informatics shared Make your home safer with these cheap/free tips 

It’s great to wake up in the morning refreshed, energized, and ready to go, don’t you think? If you have kids, or remember back to when you were a kid, it seems like children can get up and charge into the day. For adults, who have to either go to work or take care of a family at home, it can be an elusive goal.

Many of us can use more sleep, and feel great when we get it. The thing is, we have so much to do that we often end up shortchanging sleep. As a consequence, we might drag in the morning instead of being energized and ready to have fun conquering the day.

Given a choice, isn’t having fun conquering the day better than dragging through the day? I think so.

Getting more sleep can help us with many aspects in our life. You might recall my thoughts on the role of money in our life, where I gave my views on how health, wealth, and relationships are all interrelated. When one is improved, the others can benefit as well. Thus, while getting a great night sleep of course helps our health, it can also help us as we relate with others and can impact our wealth.

Now, I suppose it would have been inappropriate to advocate “sleeping your way to wealth”:)  So, let’s rephrase that appropriately and operate with the premise that one can “spend more time asleep to help make money”.

OK, I know someone might suggest that while one person is getting a great night sleep, someone else is getting an hour less sleep and getting more done. Sure, some lucky people need less sleep, but if you’re cutting out the sleep you need, there will be a price to pay. It’s not easy to get something for nothing!

Here are 5 benefits to getting a good night sleep:

1. Better Diet.  So, how does sleep impact diet? Well, I can speak first hand about times in my career when I was tired after work, and either picked up dinner or ate at home but snacked on junk. Lack of sleep can affect our appetite, and can impact our metabolism. Again, back to the health/wealth connection, by avoiding this negative cycle, we can keep ourselves in better shape to make money.
2. Better Attention and Retention.  If you’re tired, it will be tougher to stay on the ball and be fully engaged. Additionally, getting proper sleep will allow you to retain information better than if you’re sleep deprived.
3. Better Mood.  If you’re cranky, impatient, or thinking of sleep, you won’t be as productive as you could otherwise be. Besides, who wants to work or live with a grouch? Get your sleep, and you’ll be more motivated and able to focus on activities leading to wealth creation and preservation.
4. Safety.  I recall one night when I had to work super late for a crunch at work, and was in the office until close to midnight. I was exhausted, and still had to make the commute home. Driving home, I felt myself lose concentration as my car was swerving to the next lane. If I had gotten in an accident, who knows what would have happened to my health? What about my ability to provide for my family?
5. Health.  This could be tied into #1 (Better Diet), but improved sleep can also help with other areas of health, such as less stress and less wear and tear on your body. You’re more likely to get sick if sleep deprived, which impacts your overall life….including ability to make money and good decisions.

My view is that if someone regularly shortchanges sleep in order to get more done, that person will get less done over the long run. Productivity will be down, and other factors can come into play in different ways that can impact health.

Getting a good night sleep as a regular practice can only help health, and ultimately wealth creation.

What do you think? Do you get enough sleep to feel energized and productive throughout the day, on a regular basis? Is this an area in which you need improvement, or do you already prioritize it?

Today marks a one month anniversary for me. A small anniversary, to be sure, but one that has taken some effort on my part to accomplish.

It’s been one month since I last consumed a caffeinated beverage.

OK, so like I said, this is a small anniversary. Perhaps you’re not much of a consumer of coffee, tea, or soft drinks. Or, perhaps you’re highly disciplined when it comes to food and drink, and wouldn’t have any issues with your eating and drinking habits. If so, that’s great! That’s a good place to be.

For me, this is a nice step in that direction.

If you’re like me, you might be someone who has your caffeine during the day at one time or another. Maybe it’s the morning cup of coffee. Or the cola at lunch. Perhaps it’s both. Maybe it’s at multiple times during the day.

There are many people that are hooked on caffeine, whether they realize it or want to admit it.

I have been advocating drinking water instead of less healthy alternatives, and had pushed myself to get to that point for the most part. However, my lifelong taste for Diet Coke emerged in a big way in recent months, with an extremely busy schedule at home and work.  I previously would have one occasionally,  but I slowly escalated my consumption until I was having at least 2 or 3 per day. This was reminiscent of my habits about 10 years ago. Additionally, if I came across free coffee anywhere (bank, office, etc), I would be sure to have it. That might be a few times a week too.

The result was that I just didn’t feel right, and decided that I needed to take steps to get more disciplined with my the food and drinks that I put in my body. So, eliminating caffeine seemed to be a good first step.

The first few days were rough, as I started to get headaches and felt nauseated. It felt as though I had some type of bad flu virus, for those initial days. Interestingly, when it was that bad during that initial time, I ran to a quick-serve place and picked up a fountain drink. After a short while, I felt good. While it was nice to feel better, it made me realize the hidden power of caffeine.

From that point, I resumed staying off caffeine, and I haven’t had any since. It’s been a month now.

No Diet Cokes, no coffee, no caffeinated tea.

Mostly lots of water every day.

There have been a few days where I had juice, and one day when I had two glasses of beer. That’s it.

The result: I actually feel better! Here are four benefits I have noticed:

1. Falling Asleep Easier. Caffeine isn’t preventing me from sleeping.
2. Getting Better Sleep. Once I fall asleep, I stay asleep more often
3. Less Ups and Downs in Energy. There are no bursts of energy followed by mini-crashes and lethargy; rather, I’m consistently at a good enough level of alertness throughout the day
4. Improved Concentration. It seems like it’s a bit easier to maintain focus for extended periods of time

In terms of the pocketbook, I’m clearly saving some money by having water instead of soft drinks, as I frequently suggest. But the bigger thing is that I’m able to maintain energy throughout the day – which I hadn’t been able to do as well before. This, I believe, can only make one a more productive, energetic, and innovative worker. It may not be directly quantifiable, but I think there’s at least a potential financial benefit that could be attributed to those factors.

Will I keep up this strict regimen? Probably not to this extent, but I hope to reestablish a long-term pattern of limited caffeine, with sodas being only an occasional indulgence once every few weeks. If I have a caffinated drink, maybe green tea would be a good option. We’ll see. 

Regardless, this one month exercise gave me a direct example of how good dietary habits can impact one’s energy, health, and even the ability to earn and save money.

The summer here in the U.S. is often a time where people take to the road. Whether taking time off from work or enjoying a break from school, people drive to see family and friends or to reach vacation destinations.  It can be a fun time of year, and quite warm at times in many place.

It can also be a time for complaining about gas prices.

Being annoyed at the cost of gas is understandable, I suppose. I certainly don’t want to spend as much as I do on gas. The lower the price, the better it is for the average citizen.

That said, most of us pay up anyway. Sure, there is public transportation in some cases, but inevitably we will need to fork over the dough if we want to fuel up that car and get moving. Thus, we will pay since we are dependent on energy. But it doesn’t stop many of us from complaining about how the oil companies and some oil-producing nations are making money hand over fist while we keep paying more and more for gas.

Ok, so they have us over the barrel, so to speak. 

To view this “money gouging” in a different light, let’s revisit these summer driving trips. Aside from gasoline, and a working car, what else do you need for a long journey?

How about water?

Sure, it’s possible (though not altogether healthy) to guzzle soft drinks, coffee, tea, or other beverages instead of consuming any water on a long road trip. But water is needed to make those other beverages anyway, right?

Thinking about it more broadly, aside from road trips, we need drinking water every day. We need it to stay hydrated; we need it for our organs, brain, and overall health.

We simply need drinking water. It’s a must-have. Without it, we perish.

Is gas a must-have? Well one could argue that it’s a necessary resource for us to be able to function in today’s world. I would agree, though let’s ask ourselves which resource we would choose if we were only allowed one: gas or water? I would say water, as would each person reading this.

What’s interesting is that water is available to the general public at a very low cost. For just the price of a water bill at home, and a water bottle to carry around, one can have an ample supply of the resource that’s about as valuable any. That’s a pretty good deal, when you think about it.

So, when we complain about the cost of gas, or really any other item – be it a home, car, shoes, airfare or toothpaste – let’s not forget that we are getting the most valuable resource at an incredibly low price.

Who knows, maybe drinking water will be a commodity that’s traded more fervently than gold. Again, going back to the question asking which would you rather have, let’s substitute gold for gas. Would this change your answer? Probably not. You can have all the gold in Fort Knox, but if you don’t have water, you won’t make it.

There is a never-ending demand for clean drinking water, yet here in the U.S., prices are so low. As long as this continues to be the case, we have reason to be thankful.

Recently, a new policy took effect in San Francisco which banned the sale of sugary soda beverages from vending machines on city property.  I don’t live in that great city, but this initiative caught my attention. If you’re thirsty and see a vending machine, don’t plan on getting your favorite cola. You may like that tasty, carbonated drink, but you’re no longer allowed to buy one from a machine.

But what about freedom of choice for thirsty consumers? Sorry. It’s gone.

Instead of sugary drinks such as certain sodas, sports drinks, fruit juice that’s not 100% pure, etc – there is to be a healthier set of alternatives.

What constitutes healthier, in this case? Well, diet soda (you know, that noted health food) can still be a small percentage of the offerings. Apparently, water, milk, soy milk, and rice milk are among the others covered in the recent directive.

Just imagine this scenario:

John Doe, doing construction work near city property, wants a break from his hard work, and would like to quench his thirst. He strolls over to the vending machines, ready for his treat.

He then scans the choices, and thinks to himself, “Juice, milk, soy milk. Hmmm….not sure that I see what I’m looking for yet.”

Then he keeps looking, and his eyes freeze on his target. His thoughts scream out at him: “Aha. RICE MILK! I want the rice milk. Just what I crave to quench my thirst! Perfect. There’s nothing like some rice milk on a day like this!”

Sure.

Now, I have to say that while I have a diet soda once in a while, I realize that they’re not good for us to drink. If sodas take the rust off cars, or dissolve coins if given enough time, they can’t be too good for us – particularly our teeth.  So, I do applaud the intent of keeping people healthy. And I have to admit: I do have soy milk on occasion. I even purchased almond milk once, though it didn’t do much for me.

That said, instead of restricting people from making specific purchases, how about educating them on good nutritional choices? Then let people make their own decisions. In schools, I’m absolutely in favor of restricting choices. But as adults we can make our own choices.

A better solution for people, instead of buying drinks from vending machines, would be to carry water. Make a small investment in a reusable canister that you can carry with you, and fill it with water as you leave home. It will save you plenty of money over the course of time. It will also keep you healthier. What’s a better drink for a thirsty person than water?

Let’s say you’re working 250 days a year, and have the existing habit of getting a drink out of the vending machine every day. If the cost of a drink is $1.20, you will be paying $300 over the course of the year.

$300 in savings and a healthy, calorie free drink instead of soda – or rice milk – seems like a pretty good deal to me!