During this time of crisis, a man has to consider taking up hobbies ......
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| Smoking Is A Risky And Expensive Habit ...... |
Now amongst other things, I used to be a heavy smoker 14 years ago, and so during these desperate times, I briefly considered smoking again (I know, I know!! .... it was just a fleeting, passing joke thought, of the sort we all get, like taking up clarinet playing ... not serious).
However I then wondered how expensive it was to smoke these days. It had been about £3.50 per packet of 20, for a fairly premium brand when I had smoked. A cost that could be brought cheaper, by buying them in multi-packs of 10.
So I looked it up today. It turns out that in the budget, the average pack of the most expensive cigarettes in the UK's big four supermarkets increased to £12.73. While for the cheapest 20-pack brand of cigarettes, the cost is £9.10. Now as the cheapest brands are real throat grabbers, I have to assume that it would cost me around £11.50 per packet to smoke something reasonable .... although I know some smokers who have migrated down the brands to throat rasper's, in order to keep the costs down.
I admit that I was a 25 to 30 cigarettes a day man .... so say 10 packs of 20 consumed in a week. Now it doesn't take a mathematical genius to do the calculations ... 10 x 52 x £11.50 = £5,980 ($7,468) per year. Anyone would have to admit that having £5,980 pa taken directly from your net income, is not an amount to be ignored.
According to what figures I could gather (single people are ignored as usual on most websites), currently single male UK pensioners in 2019 had an average weekly income of £233 pw or £12,116 pa which includes the full state retirement benefits of £9,110.40 pa (for those retiring now) or £6,718.40 pa if your on an old *SERPs pension (*those who retired pre 2016).
This is not a very large pensioner income, and according to many websites, pensioners income targets should really be in the £20k+ pa range, but if you have no housing costs (rent or mortgage), its surprising what is a perfectly manageable income. Personally, without any discernible change in my lifestyle (apart from not going on holidays - and that's for reasons other than financial), I have found my outgoings to be less than £12,116 pa, without my trying for any specific figure, and that's with running a car .... and also includes a weakness for buying eBay crap!! But even so, having £5,980 pa taken directly from your net retirement income, of say £13,000 pa ($16,234), is a very large proportion of your annual income ..... literally burning it away.
Now I am not denying that smoking gives a short burst of endorphins pleasure (that's why it's addictive), but I doubt that's ever going to be enough to cover the mental pain that taking nearly £6,000 per annum out of my living money each year would cause me .... even though I can afford it.
So NO .... I won't be counting smoking as a new hobby habit .... but maybe vaping? No just joking Hahaha😆
However I then wondered how expensive it was to smoke these days. It had been about £3.50 per packet of 20, for a fairly premium brand when I had smoked. A cost that could be brought cheaper, by buying them in multi-packs of 10.
So I looked it up today. It turns out that in the budget, the average pack of the most expensive cigarettes in the UK's big four supermarkets increased to £12.73. While for the cheapest 20-pack brand of cigarettes, the cost is £9.10. Now as the cheapest brands are real throat grabbers, I have to assume that it would cost me around £11.50 per packet to smoke something reasonable .... although I know some smokers who have migrated down the brands to throat rasper's, in order to keep the costs down.
I admit that I was a 25 to 30 cigarettes a day man .... so say 10 packs of 20 consumed in a week. Now it doesn't take a mathematical genius to do the calculations ... 10 x 52 x £11.50 = £5,980 ($7,468) per year. Anyone would have to admit that having £5,980 pa taken directly from your net income, is not an amount to be ignored.
According to what figures I could gather (single people are ignored as usual on most websites), currently single male UK pensioners in 2019 had an average weekly income of £233 pw or £12,116 pa which includes the full state retirement benefits of £9,110.40 pa (for those retiring now) or £6,718.40 pa if your on an old *SERPs pension (*those who retired pre 2016).
This is not a very large pensioner income, and according to many websites, pensioners income targets should really be in the £20k+ pa range, but if you have no housing costs (rent or mortgage), its surprising what is a perfectly manageable income. Personally, without any discernible change in my lifestyle (apart from not going on holidays - and that's for reasons other than financial), I have found my outgoings to be less than £12,116 pa, without my trying for any specific figure, and that's with running a car .... and also includes a weakness for buying eBay crap!! But even so, having £5,980 pa taken directly from your net retirement income, of say £13,000 pa ($16,234), is a very large proportion of your annual income ..... literally burning it away.
Now I am not denying that smoking gives a short burst of endorphins pleasure (that's why it's addictive), but I doubt that's ever going to be enough to cover the mental pain that taking nearly £6,000 per annum out of my living money each year would cause me .... even though I can afford it.
So NO .... I won't be counting smoking as a new hobby habit .... but maybe vaping? No just joking Hahaha😆
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