Projected Cost Savings of Vaping vs Smoking

[jphurley]

Having made the decision to try vaping as an alternative or supplement to analog smoking, I worked out the following cost comparison as sort of a 'sales pitch' to my husband. We've both been smoking around 15-20 years. Between the two of us, we currently have a pack and a half per day habit (me: half pack | him: pack). Our typical monthly investment smoking analogs is $300 per month (around $7/pack).

So I've outlined our current analog usage below and compared that to our initial e-cig investment with the projected revolving expenses for vaping. At the very end, I've calculated the cost savings based on how much we reduce our analog smoking. I think my revolving e-cig expenses are a bit off, but as we haven't started vaping yet (in the mail!), I didn't have anything to base it on yet.

Anyways, I'm posting this in case it would would be helpful to someone else and/or if veteran users see anything I have completely wrong or am missing in regards to revolving expenses.

CURRENT ANALOG HABIT:

$100/mo - American Spirits | $7/pack
$200/mo - Camel Crush | $7/pack
===========================================
$300 per month or $3600 Annually to Smoke Analogs



INITIAL E-CIG INVESTMENT

Personal Vaporizers:

$42.95 - M-401 Gold Ed. DualAtty Hybrid Starter Kit ( 2 attys, 2 bats, 5 carts - litecigusa.net)
$42.95 - Joye 510 Vaporizer (2 attys, 2 bats, 5 carts - litecigusa)
$27.96 - KR-808 Choice Elite (1 atty, 2 batts, 5 carts - choicevapor)
$29.00 - KR808D-1 Disposable Starter Kit (6pc cartomizers, 2 auto batteries - healthcabin)
----------------------------
$142.86 - Hardware Subtotal

Accessories:

$2.95 - 5pc Blank Cart Pack for M401 (litecigusa)
$2.95 - 5pc Blank Carts for Joye 510 (litecigusa)
$6.50 - 5pc Blank Capsules for KR808D-1 (healthcabin)
$11.50 - 1 Black Manual Battery for KR808D-1 (healthcabin)
----------------------------
$23.90 - Accessory Subtotal

Juice:

$4.95 - 10ml Camel Turkish Blend / 16mg (litecigusa)
$4.95 - 10ml Cool Menthol Liquid / 16mg (litecigusa)
$4.95 - 10ml Black Coffee Liquid / 11mg (litecigusa)
$4.95 - 10ml Creamy Cappucino Liquid / 16mg (litecigusa)
$4.95 - 10ml Pineapple Liquid / 11mg (litecigusa)
----------------------------
$24.75 - Juice Subtotal

$ 22.99 Total Shipping Charges

========================================
$214.00 - Total Initial Investment


UPCOMING PURCHASES
(ONCE WE ESTABLISH FAVORITE MODEL(S) ABOVE)

$60 - 2 PCC Cases
$30 - 2 USB Passthroughs
$15 - Projected Shipping
---------------------------------------------------
$105.00 - Upcoming Accessory Purchase


==================================
$320 - TOTAL STARTUP INVESTMENT (ROUNDED UP)
==================================


REVOLVING VAPE EXPENSES:

Note:
I'm not sure how accurate this will be, as we still don't know which of the vaporizers above will be used most often and what kind of part replacements will be required based on our usage. So I'm pretty much just guessing on everything based on typical usage I've seen posted on these boards for vaping as a complete analog replacement. I'm just using prices listed at the websites I made my initial purchase from so far.

$40.00/mo - Juices: 4/30ml bottles per month at $10/ea (at places like healthcabin)
$15.00/mo - Batteries: If we average at least one battery a month between all the models above
$12.00/mo - Carts: Two 5-piece blank cart packs a month (thinking 1 cart will last a week with refilling)
$16.00/mo - Atomizers: Average of 2 atomizer replacements per month between all models (not sure about accuracy on this)
$10.00/mo - Cartomizers: One 5-pack blank replacement pack per month
========================================
$100 per month or $1200 per year revolving costs


So our cost for vaping using the numbers above:
$320.00 - Initial Investment Total
$1200.00 - Projected Annual Cost For Revolving Expenses
=======================================
$1520 - Total Annual Vaping Costs (or roughly $120/month)
=======================================


PROJECTED COST SAVINGS:

Note: Because continued analog smoking would reduce the revolving e-cig expenses projected above (which were calculated on vaping as a complete replacement to analog use) - the numbers below reflect the reduced costs of revolving e-cig expenses based on the amount of analog use:


CUTTING ANALOG USE IN HALF:
$150/month Smoking : ($300 Previous Analog Use/2)
$80/month Vaping : ($600 New 1/2 Use Revolving E-Cig Costs + $320 Initial Investment) / 12 months = $80/month (Rounded Up)
--------------------------------
$230/month Nicotine Habit = $70 savings per month over previous analog only usage
($850 Annual Savings)


CUTTING ANALOG USE BY 2/3RD:
$100/mo Smoking : ($300 Previous Analog Use/3)
$95/mo Vaping : ($800 New 2/3 Use Revolving E-Cig Costs + $320 Initial Investment) / 12 months = $95/month (Rounded Up)
--------------------------------
$195/month Nicotine Habit = $105 savings permonth over previous analog only usage
($1260 Annual Savings)

QUITTING ANALOGS ENTIRELY
$0 - Smoking ($300 Previous Analog Use-$300)
$120 - Vaping (Original Revolving & Startup E-Cig Use Calcualted Above)
--------------------------------
$120/month Nicotine Habit = $180 savings per month over previous analog only usage
($2160 Annual Savings)

I'm almost sure that I've miscalculated or forgot something...but overall, this was useful to me in making a case for the initial startup investment of multiple vaporizers. In the end...I think the health benefits (or rather....reduced health risks) far outweigh the fiscal concerns. Even if the revolving e-cig costs above are too conservative, I see this investment as being completely justified if we end up cutting our analog use even by half.

 

[angjen0816]

wow and I thought I had this thought out with my spreadsheets and store comparisons lol. I'm a noob but its seems to me like you got it figured out pretty well. I am ordering the 510 from Litcig tomorrow Hope it works out for you and your hubby!

 

[DC2]

I didn't read it, because honestly I didn't have the patience.

But if you buy your own juice to refill with...
And don't start wanting to try every device known to mankind...

You will save a LOT of money, no problem.

 

[props76]

To much effort was put into those calculations to be honest. You cannot predict your expenses down to the dollar, if you spill one bottle its shot.

Its as simple as if you quit smoking you have $300/month to play with.

What you will find is that you spend more than you think because you want to try the new latest and greatest PV or a new flavor of juice. Then when you find the new flavor is so much better and the new PV is better, your old stuff gathers dust and was not used to it full potential as expected in your calculations.

Vapeing is going to cost you less than analog cigs. How much depends on human nature, not a spreadsheet

 

[angjen0816]

hey now! lol my spreadsheet is just an extensive list of stores and prices for all the parts and general prices on juice. Theres a ton of sites out there and I'm so po' I can't afford the extra o or the r!

 

[darth väper]

I am with props76 on this one...While its nice to see what the bottom line could/would be there are many variables to add to the equation. You might get bunk equipment to start with, and have to deal with the hassle of retuning item(s) to China at your expense...You may get a big bottle of juice that you dont care for and it ends up going to waste. You start looking around at the many websites dedicated to e-cigs and find another PV or a bottle of juice you may or may not be interested in. Dont forget to factor in shipping for multiple small purchases. Then you may see a thread about DIY liquid, and want to try every flavor under the sun, and then you'll need little bottles from USPlastics, and Loranne oils, PG this, VG that......It is enough to make your head explode!!

When I made the switch from analog to digital-I did some research to get an idea of how much I would save, and quite frankly its not really any less than smoking regular cigarettes right now (and I am sure many others will attest) -Although I will be at even in about 10 days provided I dont get an urge to buy another kit or something.

 

[jphurley]

Yeah...I know this was a bit obnoxiously detailed - but as mentioned at the top, I was using it more as a pitch to my husband, who is far more detail oriented and frugal than I am. Some people (like my husband) just like having a detailed break down of what typically to expect in terms of startup and revolving costs. Even with minor adjustments of accessories & juice...the numbers don't really change that much and it showed him that it made sense financially.

Everyone is motivated by different reasons. Personally, the costs are far less important to me than the health & convenience factors. My spouse...however...would have been a much harder sell if vaping cost as close to or more than regular smoking.

 

[oldtechno]

Buy the highest nicotene you can fine, then get some mixing juice and cut it. You can reduce your juice cost annually to 1/4!