Does anyone else having trouble breaking even?

[Drummel]

I can't say I have shinyitus, so to speak. I have 1 primary PV, and one backup and some very old box mods I made back in the day MIGHT still have an ego and clearo somewhere...maybe..?
I do have 4 tanks 3 of those 4 are rebuildable and 2 rda's though. I decided to only keep a few Aspire coil heads on hand for emergencies. LIke if I am out and about and I need a quick change and no time for a tear down and rebuild.

Juices.. Hmm, including those currently steeping I believe I have 36 total juices. And I wont be buying anything for several months at this point.

it's seems the money up front is higher as you figure it out and feel out your own way, but after you find your flavor profiles of choice and a device that suits you, it gets soooooooooooo much cheaper.

 

[Tommy-Chi]

Haha, just a bit of a frivolous comment, but as I am an uncurable spreadsheet nerd I thought I'd try to forecast when I'd break even after vaping after seeing all the inpressive banners.... Oh dear - shouldn't have done that! I live in acountru where cigs are extremely cheap - they were just hiked up to USD 4 per pack. I spent a good 7-8 months tinkering and didnt quite commit to vaping, but bought USD 1,500worth of gear, juices etc (including a faulty ego one and a provari which is mostly relegated as a back-up to my i-stick, sorty, don't see what the fuzz is all about). Now that I have switched 100pct (22 days yay!) I find that the one thing that really sustains me is my Kentucky Premium blend. At 4-5 ml a day that's a wopping 65USD per month. Factoring in atomizers, some diy flavours and some smallish buys as well as the KBP it will be around Mid-2017 before I break even - and that's for a 1-2 pack a day habit. Arghhh. I really wanted the subox mini!! Anyways - just sharing. I guess the good bit is that I am in so deep now that going back to analogues would make all the investment worthless. (And just to lighten up - I am a runner and am now seeing massive improvements in both pace and distance I can run, so truly seeing the benefits!).

Does anyone else feel that the economics just aren't as rosy as they had thought?

I started vaping Sept 7th, 2015. Initially I didn't get in to this to save money, I got in to it to quit smoking. It worked. I no longer smoke.

Within 2 months of starting to vape, I probably spent ~$2,000+ if I take in to account everything purchased. Now I'm looking at changing careers, but I'm waiting for the FDA rules to come out and see what effect I think it will have on being a distributor.

I've started to buy raw nicotine, TEN - 250ml of 100mg/ml in November of Nude Nicotine Armor, and I'll be DIYing soon enough. I'm getting in to rebuilding Aspire Atlantis coils, RDAs...etc. I'm developing a deeper background in vaping and not just buying juice.

Whether I go in to this as a business or not, it's already had a major impact on my life, and I do not see quitting in the foreseeable future.

 

[Vapez]

The biggest expense for most of us in the first year or so is finding the right setup and that usually means lots and lots of spending! [emoji38]

But, once you've found what you like, the cost plummets drastically. Nowadays, apart from consumables (VG, PG, nic, wire, cotton, etc), I'm hard pressed to find anything I really need. (though, I have just bought my second mech mod )

Having said that, whatever the financial cost, the health benefits from vaping far outweigh the cost of smoking.

I have a kind of shineytis. Although it is forced by the EU.

If it wasn't for the TPD article 20 enforcing May next year, I'd never buy as much as I do now. I have to stock up on things if I want to keep vaping after May 2016.

Vapez

 

[Bunnykiller]

save money, break even.... nope, all the money not spent on smoking now buys BEER

 

[Steamix]

Hmm...

Before vaping I was rolling my own, which was less costly than ready sticks to begin with.

Rebuildables, Pass-thru mods, DIY ... the actual expense of vaping can be squeezed into ranges that puts smiles on the faces of even the most miserly tightwads.

Principle is still the same : a power source heats a coil which vaporizes liquid - but vaping has come a long way fast. Upgarding or shinyitis or backup of back of backup hoarding...

It can turn into a hobby and just as an avid hobby photographer has no problem with forking over major dough for hi-end gear, why should vapers feel bad about spending on their hobby ?

Cigs at my end of the world are fairly expensive - so breaking even is a given. But when or if at all ? I don't give a rat's backend. 'Cuz I am having a good time with vaping. 'Cuz it's easier on the system too.

If I put a price tag on my good time or on my health ... sorry, not gonna devalue myself

Vape on and - have good time with it

 

[sig-cmt]

I never thought of vaping as a way to save money. As soon as I saw the prices on some of the mechs that I wanted, I knew that I would be in the red for the long haul.

 

[Skitterpop]

I stated keeping a record 4 months ago. My wife still smokes and since August has spent $1250 on smokes. I have spent $360 and have 5 Mods, 10 RTA's, 3 18650, a charger, more wire cotton and rayon than I can use in a life time and 4 mostly full 100 ml bottles of juice. I know I am saving money.

 

[MyMagicMist]

For cigarettes:

2 pk per day = 1 ctn per week @ $4 per pk = $40 per ctn
2 ctn per week = 4 ctn per month = $160 per month

For juice:

Juice cost you: $65 per month

Doing the tally:

$160 - $65 = $95

You save $95 per month using juice instead of cigarettes.

My monthly gear cost is around: $8-10 per month
My monthly juice cost is around: $5-7 per month
My All in Average Monthly cost is around: $20 or what a carton of cigarettes cost ten years ago.
Annually that works out to around: $240 if I want to hedge a little I'll say it's around $250.
Annual Cigarette costs: $1,920 and hedging I'd say $2,000.
Savings: $1,680 at least

I buy 236 ml bottles of my favorite Mt. Baker juice roughly every six
months. Roughly, every six months I may buy a few bits of new hardware.
There are exceptions, sales though. At times I may opt to not buy any
new gear. My current kit seems to be doing well. I have given thought to
buying an RSST tank. I can wait even though it would only cost $25-30,
it is not a have to item. Every six months on hardware, I may spend $50.
That averages to around $8-10 monthly.

Hardware I Use:

Two of these: Innokin iTaste VV V3.0 Battery
One of these: Innokin iTaste MVP V2.0
Several of these: Smoktech ARO Glass eGo BCC
Several of these: T-Dux 3.0, 1.5 Ohm Dual Coil | Vaping Mall
One of these: XPro M22 Mod $19.99 | Vaping Mall
One: T-Dux 4.0, 1.5 Ohm Dual Coil, Stainless | Vaping Mall ( May order a second soon @ ~$7 a unit a good value )

Also have the makings of a Kanger Aerotank which is no longer used,
parts for an Iclear no longer used, a few RGM2 tanks.

At times I may only buy coils. I get the standard 5 piece packs. Find
single coil heads run around $5 for 5, dual run around $10 for 5. I
buy those as they are needed. Of course, I sometimes rebuild or have a
friend rebuild some. I see no great difference between single or dual
coil. I enjoy dual a bit more yet could easily use only single coil.

Sorry, I do not love vaping equipment, it is things and people aren't
supposed to love things. Yes I enjoy vaping, yes the stuff I use works
alright for me. No, don't love it. I'm not after fashion, fad. I may
desire a stainless steel ming type drip tip, but that's only minor
preference. At less than $5 for such a drip tip, do not see much wrong
in buying one or two.

Have I broke even? Hell yes I have and then some. I feel better not
using tobacco. Presently I feel a bit out of sorts. Foolish me stumbling
and indulging, back sliding a bit. I will get there, to vaping only,
though. I will start today. And Yes, I need to, no point excusing
myself.

 

[Richu75]

I spend more on vape gear than i ever have or would have on smokes.
But the savings to my health and overal fitness are priceless.

 

[DingerCPA]

I was spending about $5/day on a pack of smokes. I last bought a pack of smokes in March, 2014. I have mods, tanks, RDAs, wire, cotton, PG/VG/Nic, flavorings, batteries, etc., and even though I haven't detailed it all, I feel very confident that I haven't spent nearly as much on all my vaping stuffs as I would have smoking.

Plus, I feel better, and I have a fun hobby ALL wins to me!

 

[BreSha6869]

I have OCD for sure when it comess to new "hobbies". Vaping, guitars, wine, etc. I always go overboard.

In my case, I have spent about $500 in 2 weeks of vaping for 3 mods, a bunch of tanks, coils, batteries, coils and a bunch of juice.

Call that $50/month for the next year for the HW and even if I buy $15/30ml bottles of juice and vape 5ml a day (high for me and I am buying cheaper juices), that puts me at another $75/mo for juice. $125 a month vs. $300 a month for cigarettes.

Moving forward, I will likely get the juice cost down to well under $10/30ml which will help.

My wife is just starting to vape a bit, but we spent $7000 on cigarettes last year. Insane. She may not totally convert, but she is cutting down which is amazingly

So yes, I will do much better than break even.

 

[drugarth]

Break even?? Only if I buy nothing until the end of 2016 LOL.....last 3 months I spend $2500 on vaping and saved $500 on not smoking....so have a while to go
But I have enough stock to also last me till somewhere beyond 2020 in coils, wire, cotton, nicotine etc.
And also have some nice quality mods, rta's and tanks to last a long time.....so I'm all set to start saving and for when the TPD hits.

I have no regrets, I can afford it, it's fun, and feels good to be prepared for all eventualities and it's better for my health

 

[Poolea77]

At 4 months in, as long as I stay away from the shops I will be saving money now. It took four months and around $800 to find the set up and juice that will work for me. I was spending $150 per month on cigarettes. I now have a setup and back up that work for me. I found less expensive juices that I really like that average to .20 per ml. I vape between 3 and 4 ml/day. So it should be around 20 / month for juice and at the most 20 for coils. I do have RBA's for my tanks and a couple of RDA's, but honestly buying coils just works better for me. So I am now at a savings of 110 per month. I was going to start DIY, but knowing myself I would end up spending a lot of money to get it right. So I will not be doing that.
So for the first year-
ecigs: 1,120 vs cigarettes: 1,800
Going forward (not considering other variables such as taxation etc) Annual comparison:
ecigs: 480 vs 1800 for analogs.
Even if I end up spending a couple hundred bucks on a new setup or slip up and buy occasional premium juice - still saving money.
Saving money is not my main priority - but it is a consideration, especially when my still smoking analogs fiancé tells me "you might as well keep on smoking because of all the money you are spending". Time for me to make a spreadsheet.

 

[Froth]

For my first year I didn't really break even which I mostly attribute to spending $45 per week on juice and buying tons of mods and stuff.

Fast forward to now, I've been doing the DIY juice route for at least six months if not longer, I have not set foot inside of a single vape shop in those six months which not only saves me money on buying juice but it also saves me from all of the little impulse purchases I might make at the B&M, say for instance I see a drip tip I figure I can't live without or a new RDA on sale...if I was there buying juice I would be very likely to also go for one or two impulse purchases. Now that I DIY I entirely avoid the B&M's which seemed to plague my vape budget AND my total initial cost for getting in to DIY juice was under $100 and I am now on the path to saving $2000+ per year on my juice budget.

 

[NoFumus]

My first year, I saved a tremendous amount of money. Cigs had just gone up to $6/pk (they're now $8-9), and I only spent $350 in 12 months, including the $80 I spent at a B&M for an ego & Aspire BVC setup & 15 ml of juice.

Then I broke both my little aspire tanks in the same week and found ECF while looking for something new. Spending in nine months post-ECF year has been about $1,200. Most of that was vapocalyspe spending, including a lifetime of nic. It's still less than I would have spent on 2 PAD, and I'm probably set to vape for the rest of my life for about $10/month.

 

[MorpheusPA]

I've saved a small fortune over 3 years, but I DIY my liquids, rebuild heads, and treat batteries as gently as I can manage.

What with the potential Vapeocalypse, I'm spending a bit on box mods right now to overstock. Even so, over the period I've spent less than $3,000 and would have spent over $28,000 smoking.

When you include the sinus infections I haven't gotten, it's an even bigger win!

 

[MyMagicMist]

What I am reading here and elsewhere culminates that rebuilding coils, diy juices are where savings are found. This and borrowing a friend's Smok RSST is enough to convince me buy SMOK Pyrex RSST Rebuildable Atomizer - 3ml or Pyrex RSST | Vaping Mall and maybe offer my friend about $15 for his poly tanked one, a few hundred feet of Kanthal Wire 28 Gauge RW0118 - 100 Ft 0.61oz Series A-1 Resistance AWG and say fifty to a hundred foot of READYxWICK™ .

Then, I'll need to perfect the art of subliminal messaging over the Inter-Webs, and have one James Thompson of Mount Baker suddenly have this idea that he must give mass quantities of Hawk Sauce to one MorelyMagicMist at at least half price, if not free. Muhahaha Hahahamu! I will survive vapeocalypse.

In reality, I can also buy up PG & VG, nicotine from Wizard Labs and flavoring from Mount Baker. Hawk Sauce is one of their signature juices. Not found the flavor sold elsewhere, and I have looked. I try other juices as well. Keep returning to the sauce. It tastes a lot better on the RSST too. Yummy! Also; "oh my fracking gosh the clouds, the clouds ahhh they keep coming!" * Morely slowly fades into the Mist and becomes one with the vape, is the vape ... no more, Morely *

 

[MorpheusPA]

What I am reading here and elsewhere culminates that rebuilding coils, diy juices are where savings are found.

To a point, yes, and the greatest savings will be achieved with DIY and rebuilding. Quality gear with replaceable 18650 (or whatever) batteries also really helps. Rather than popping $30 a month on average on pen style batteries (I vape constantly), it averages out to $3.50 per month on new 18650s.

Buying liquids, which for me is almost 10 ml per day, would set me back a pretty penny per month. I make liquid for $0.03 per ml, so my monthly cost is around $15. Online I'm seeing 300 ml for around $85, quality unknown.

I replace a set of coils (12) per month, $1.95 each new, for $23.40 new. Replacement cost using Kanthal and silica wick (which I prefer) is around $0.50.

For most people, costs will be lower. Like I said, I'm a very heavy vaper

 

[OpenUpShop]

Hello everyone,

My coworker who put me on to vaping told me, he basically was spending about as much now, as he was when he was smoking analogs. When I looked at the prices, how many ml per day, etc. etc.... I thought, "no way," it definitely has to be cheaper to vape.. Especially if you are from a state like NY (which am formerly from) where cigarettes are above $10 a pack now.

But Morpheus and some of the others are spot on, when they say the actual savings come in when you DIY what you can. For me this is all new and I've only been a couple weeks cigarette free. However, because of the great people at ECF, I realized in order to save money, I would have to learn DIY.

The only thing with vaping is, there is an "initial" investment your mod, atomizer, liquids, etc. etc. I am in this boat now.. ordering my second tank. Obviously you don't have these costs with analogs, but once you have your equipment, DIY would definitely save you a ton compared to analogs.

Regardless, the fact that I am not coughing out my lungs every morning, makes vaping 1 billion times more preferable to cigs. The cost factor (though important) has to be a secondary aspect when you consider the health ramifications.....

Best Wishes..

 

[JJOOHHNN]

I saved but would have saved faster if I didn't keep hearing the word cheaper. It took a long time to find my main device that works for me. I am still searching for my small device.