Stop Smoking and Build a Modest Nest Egg With the Savings

Besides being a known health hazard, smoking is expensive. At $4.63 a pack, a pack-a-day cigarette smoker spends almost $1,700 each year. If, instead of taking the risk of suffering from a smoking-induced illness in the future, the smoker stopped and invested the money saved by not buying cigarettes, the now ex-smoker could accumulate a tidy nest egg. For example, investing $1,700 each year for 30 years at a six percent rate of return, adds up to $134,398.92.

This pile of money seems much more preferable than diseases like lung cancer and emphysema.

Posted January 1, 2007.