Breaking Even

[Pugzley]

I was wheezing before I started this and it was starting to scare me. I'm no spring chicken anymore. It's stopped, I go to the gym all the time. I'm strong and healthy again.

There's no accounting for how much sickness and medication we're avoiding by doing this. Getting sick is not cheap, either. I am going to have what I want and need to vape, because I sure made it a point to afford as many cigarettes as I wanted when I was smoking. So, yeah, to heck with that. And if we need to we CAN save money by vaping instead of smoking, no doubt about that.

My thing is staying stocked, just in case.

 

[Paranoyed]

When I think about how much I spent on "FDA Approved" NRTs that never worked at all I am way ahead of the game.

 

[pianoguy]

I finally put pen to paper (actually keystrokes to Excel), just for grins. It'll be about 16 weeks until I break even if I don't spend another nickel, but I have enough supplies to last much longer than that, and have given away some equipment and cartos to hopefully get a couple other folks started. And I imagine I'll spend another nickel or two. The up-front costs don't bother me - I'm recouping them steadily day after day, and it would be hard to put a price tag on how much better I feel. I do kinda miss my after-work nap, but I don't need it anymore ;-)

 

[Skyler]

That's right pianoguy, you can't put a price on your health or even your life. The extra we spend now will pay off at the end. We should look at it that way.

 

[callofthevapor]

I've smoked for 20+ years. Tried everything to quite pretty much except hypnosis and acupuncture. Even when I did quite I still craved nicotine tried cigars and skoal. I really feel this will work. I managed to stay off analogs for 5 days. I didn't order enough carts on my first order. All have been filled up over 5 times and they losing it, though it seems they still work with the passthrough The other problem I've had was they just wasn't strong enough this time I ordered the 24 carts. I think smoking them for a while I can work in some lower doses. Keep the higher ones for high need times, like in the morning with coffee.

I hope I can spend less money with e-cigs. Analogs aren't going to get any cheaper and I think we can count on even more taxes on them. I understand the health risks of smoking but I think a lot of it has to do with...budget crises ... who can we shake down for more money and a lot of people will cheer us for doing it. That's right those nasty smokers

 

[JohnnyVapor]

That's great news! Congrats! I know technically I've reached break even, even though I've spent a decent chunk of change. I look over my collection and know that I have enough vaping supplies for a few months, at least. Considering my next step will be DIY mixing, I feel confident that I'll be stocked for a year or two, at least.

 

[Guineahill]

When I figured out my break-even point I never even thought to include the cost of NRT items that I was purchasing! Now that I have included those my break-even point will be even sooner! I was spending a fortune on gum and patches and prescription this and that! My insurance didn't/doesn't cover any of it.

I should also remove the cost of items I have purchased for others to help them to quit smoking. (I was including ALL of my PV expenses in my calculations and those obviously don't belong as they were gifts to others.)

And I have a couple of 'kits' that I take out with me so that I can introduce others to vaping - those should be removed also since they are essentially charity expenses (although I'm sure the IRS would not agree!)

And if I include all of my stock (and I am very well stocked) as valuable inventory rather than simply an expense I think I have technically reached break-even already since I could go a year without buying anything! (Okay... maybe not a year, but one heck of a long time.)

But I'm still planning on placing an order today or tomorrow. I really want some of those new flavors!

 

[Davo]

I have to agree with Pugs and a few others, the health risks "Hopefully" we're avoiding should more than make up the difference. I know I sure feel a whole lot better; I smoked for over 30 years and it been over 2 months vaping without cigs. I pretty stingy with a buck and I've got this down to about $3 a day including everything, batts, carts, juice, PT, etc. I sort of look at vaping as a new hobby so I dig into it and learn the tricks.

 

[leeshor]

I feel like I'm in the minority. I know I'm spending $300 less a month on analogs and so far have only spent around $750 in the last 3 months on E-Cig supplies and still have enough to last me a month or 2. (Maybe it's because I don't have a 10 year stock that I seem to be saving so much )

Last time I added it all up I was saving a lot of money going into the second month of vaping. I guess it depends on our habits. I don't use the VK the same as an analog, just a few puffs at a time, not like a whole cigarette. It's more spread out. I have to say that I am resisting holding one in my hand full time. Maybe that makes a difference.

 

[Leeroy5150]

It my current rate of spending I'll never "Break Even" but I assure you I already feel "Way Ahead".

 

[Belletrist]

i think depending on how heavy of a smoker you are you 'see' the break even point faster, would you guys say that's right? cause at me and hubs buying 2-4 cartons @ $40 a piece per a week... we'll 'break even' from our first order in 2 weeks, lol. & i *think* what we have in order #1 is a 2 wk supply. though hard to tell, honestly, since i don't really know what i'm doing yet.

but i def agree with this:

I think I would have paid just about anything if someone could have made me forget that I ever started smoking.

& i intend to enjoy spending every cent i would have spent on analogs on new carts and batts and whatever else, if that's what it takes.

 

[Guineahill]

Definitely! I was a heavy smoker and I do believe that the break even point is much earlier than for a lighter smoker.