Soda Makes You Fat (but it’s delicious)

This weekend I picked up some delicious takeout BBQ at Sonny Bryan’s here in Dallas because I was hungry and I’m a sucker for jalapeño sausage. Seriously, whoever came up with that combination deserves a Nobel Prize.

So when I paid for the food, the lady at the cash register asked if I’d like something to drink. I said

“That’s a great idea, yes, I would love a delicious beverage. However, I intend to purchase said beverage at the grocery store instead of at your establishment because it’s about 93% cheaper there.”

OK, maybe I didn’t say that. But I thought it.

I have a rule that I don’t drink soda unless it’s free to me. I can drink it on business trips or when I’m at a friend’s house and they offer it, but I don’t buy soda. The main reason I don’t want to buy soda is because I’m already a crappy cook and I eat a lot of frozen pizza and Velvetta Shells and Cheese (mmmmm). Adding a consistent helping of soda sounds like a great way to get fat and ruin my dreams of being on Glee. I allow myself to drink soda when it’s free is because I don’t want to give it up completely and that’s a good way to give myself a random soda surprise.

This rule is great in theory, but it is so hard to execute. There are some things like pizza or chicken wings or BBQ or Chinese food that just doesn’t taste right without a soda.

Side Note: In case you’re wondering, here is a list of beverages I do not like: White Milk, Iced Tea, Hot Tea, Flavored Tea, Diet Soda, Anything with Alcohol, and Anything with Vegetables. I pretty much only drink soda, water, chocolate milk, and juice.

I went to the grocery store after picking up my dinner to find something to drink and I found a pretty amazing deal on soda. They were selling 12-packs for $5, but it was buy 2, get 3 free. So basically, it was 60 cans of soda for $10. That’s $0.17 per can. Now I’m assaulted with a strategic decision:

Should I buy a lot of cheap soda in bulk and get rid of the “no soda unless it’s free” rule, or should I walk out with a gallon of chocolate milk and try to do better on giving up soda? Here’s my thinking:

• If I start bringing these sodas to lunch, I’ll trade a $1.19 fountain drink (when I’m weak and give into the high fructose goodness) for a $0.17 can of soda.
• I’ll also only have 12 oz of soda from the can, as opposed to 20 oz in the fountain drink; less soda = less disgusting fat stomach padding.
• Dr. Pepper is so delicious, and way cheaper than my general practitioner.
• I can also have a soda with dinner at night if I choose instead of always drinking chocolate milk or water, which will make me happy.

You can probably already tell, but I bought the soda. I’ve been bad about cheating and buying soda, so I think it’s important to at least be smart about it financially. But, it’s obviously cheaper and healthier to just stick to the plan and drink water instead of soda.

So for today’s Thousandaire Question, I want to know what you think about my new strategy. Was I right to accept my soda drinking tendencies and put myself in a situation where drinking soda is cheap and I get a smaller portion? Or should I have just sucked it up and committed to my original rule?

Kevin McKee

Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.