How Much Do Bad Habits Cost?

Christina Couch




Smoking cigarettes

Yearly cost: $2,555
Savings after 30 years of compounding interest: $201,994



But renouncing the habit pays off. Quitting smoking at age 39 can reduce the "excess risk of death from any cause" by up to 90 percent, according to a January 2013 article in The New England Journal of Medicine, and can qualify you for the same insurance rates as nonsmokers, says Kappers.

"Generally, they want you to be tobacco-free for 12 months before you can get the nonsmoker rates," he adds.


Drinking alcohol

Yearly cost: $1,560
Savings after 30 years of compounding interest: $123,331


"They will do a blood and urine specimen (during insurance medical underwriting)," she says. "(Alcohol) is tested in there, same as drugs. That could increase your premium," though how much depends on the level of the damage.


Drinking can still take a financial toll even if it's done in moderation. Consume five drinks per week at a cost of $6 per drink (budget more if you're swigging cocktails versus beer or wine), and you'll rack up a $1,560 tab by the end of the year. If you instead invest that amount annually, after 30 years, you will have amassed $123,331, assuming a 6 percent return.

Poor eating habits

Yearly cost: $432 to $4,879
Savings after 30 years of compounding interest: $34,153 to $385,725

More than 1 in 3 U.S. adults is obese and therefore more prone to obesity-related health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They're also prone to higher health and life insurance costs, medical expenses, food and clothing costs, decreased productivity, and lost wages from missing work.



"Now you see diabetes and weight issues at the top of the reasons why people are getting declined (for life insurance coverage)," he says. "They're hand in hand."


Yearly cost: $1,200
Savings after 30 years of compounding interest: $94,870

"Human beings are simply wired to spend," says Jean Chatzky, author of eight personal finance books and head of the online financial literacy program Money School. "Our brains get a lot of pleasure out of rewards that we can have right now and very little, if any, pleasure out of waiting for things."

That may partly explain why the U.S. savings rate is currently a dismal 2.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Research shows that overspending isn't just fun; it's easy to do without noticing. According to a survey from the life insurance and capital management company Country Financial, more than 1 in 5 respondents said they spend more than they earn for at least half the year, but only 9 percent classified themselves as living beyond their means.

"If it's a minor problem ... then track your spending for a little while. You'll see where the holes in your budget are and should be able to stop yourself," says Chatzky.

Keep in mind that overspending costs you in the long term, too. Exceed your paycheck by just $100 per month -- the equivalent of a modest date night -- and you'll rack up expenses of $1,200 per year.


Yearly cost: $600
Savings after 30 years of compounding interest: $47,435

We're wired to overspend, but we're also naturally inclined to put off things we don't want to do until it's too late. Witness the hordes who don't sign up for their 401(k) plans even though they get matching contributions from their employers. Even modest procrastination comes at a cost. Lose $50 monthly to an unused gym membership or grocery coupons that never got clipped, and you'll lose $600 per year.

"If the cost of procrastinating something is high enough, you won't do it," says Dean Karlan, an economics professor at Yale University and co-founder of the goal-setting site,

One way to avoid procrastinating, Karlan says, is to make the cost of skipping that to-do item so high that you won't avoid doing it. Sites such as stickK and apps such as GymPact allow procrastinators to attach a financial reward (or punishment) to their goals. But for incentives to work, Karlan says you have to want to change first.

"There is some needed self-reflection for any true behavior change," he says. "It doesn't have to be superdeep and intense, but there does need to be some 'aha!' moment."

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