Cigarettes are out, vegetable garden is in
HIGHLAND PARK | Improved health an added benefit
Highland Park resident Beth Dick has found a way to save money and improve her health.
The 30-year-old, who was smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, quit after gas prices started going through the roof and in the face of higher utility and food bills.
(Tom Cruze/Sun-Times)
The savings: roughly $1,500 a year.
"That's how much I figured it out at Lake County prices," she said. "Cook County is like about $7 a pack, where Lake County is about $4.50 to $5 a pack."
Dick, who had smoked steadily for about 12 years, said she sought help from her doctor.
"It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be because I took a prescribed medication from my doctor," she said. "That did help ease the nicotine fits that I would have gone through if I had gone cold turkey."
She took medication for about six weeks. It cost about $125 a month. Compared with what she would spend for cigarettes, she noted, "I actually still saved a little bit of money," even while on the medication.
Beth and her husband, Bob, work with the developmentally disabled for the same employer in Deerfield. To further cut costs, they carpool.
Beth also takes advantage of discount coupons and plans to cut their grocery bills by teaming with a neighbor to plant a vegetable garden.
How are you saving money? Write to psmith@suntimes.com.