Drink bottled water? Read the label and tap into savings
There’s been a lot of debate about the decline of bottled water sales in the United States.
Environmentalists like to claim the public is more eco-conscious and has found other ways to hydrate without using single-serve disposable containers.
Water bottlers are quick to point to the sour economy and consumers cutting back on overall spending, not just on their particular product.
But we here at On The Cheap have another theory not likely to get much traction in the mainstream media. After several years of rapid growth, U.S. bottled water sales started falling in 2008, the same year the first On The Cheap column appeared in The Morning Call.
And what was one of our first-ever columns about? You guessed it. Bethlehem resident Don Mellinger suggested we bring an icy container to Musikfest and refill it at the water fountain rather than buy expensive bottles of water.
It’s all coming together now, isn’t it?
It’s likely to be another tough year for the bottled water industry after we share this tip from Lower Macungie resident Dawn Smith, a shrewd cheapster who likes to read the fine print.
“This is a good one,” Dawn said. “Want to save on the full price on bottled Nestle Pure Life water? Read the label.”
Dawn was nice enough to include a label in her note to us. It says: “Source: Public Water Supply, Allentown, PA.”
“So, just fill your empty Nestle water bottles from any Allentown faucet,” Dawn said.
That’s great news, Dawn. We drink Allentown tap water every day from a pint glass we got at the Allentown Brew Works. We fill it up at the office water fountain, which is between the men’s and women’s bathrooms. The only downside is the water pressure drops at the fountain when you hear a toilet flushing. But you get used to that after awhile and it still beats dropping a buck for a bottle of water from the office vending machine.
We did some number-crunching in the On The Cheap lab and figure Dawn’s tip could save you nearly $2,500 over 20 years.
NSA Water Filters