Fuel or water...Which will you choose

Today the cost of unleaded fuel per litre was $1.09 and diesel was $1.19 in AUD. That's $4.14 and $4.50 per gallon respectively if you're American. Of course we have to drive to work, drive the kids to football practice, drive to the shops...You get the idea. We need to put diesel or unleaded into our cars and so we pay for it.

It seems expensive though right? Well, nope, you're wrong! So totally wrong!. It's not costly at all...Not when compared to say...bottled spring water that is!

Let's consider a typical 600ml bottle of water that one may buy in a snack bar. It's not unusual to pay $3.50. At a restaurant $4.50-$5.00 and at an event it could be $7 to $8 a bottle. I certainly don't mean Voss water. No no no. That's more expensive again!

So, this means that a litre (1000ml) of bottled water costs $5.80 compared to a litre of unleaded at $1.09. Hmm, really? Yep, that's what it is. ($3.50/6 = 0.58c/100ml*10= $5.80/L)

Now, I know that some bottled water can taste pretty good. Think, Voss water for instance, but it certainly doesn't taste as good as other beverages of the same sort of price. Still, we're prepared to pay for it.

I've been doing a little digging and...don't spread this around...have found out that most bottled spring water is simply tap water filtered through a 2-4 micron filter prior to bottling Yep, the same water you sit your ass into when you take a bath. It's the same water you spray on your garden and yep, the same water you flush down your domestic toilet.

But, we still buy it.

I drink about 2-4 litres of water a day depending on activity and temperature. Let's call it 3 litres. That's $17.40 per day or $6,351 per year if I was buying bottled water. As a comparison I put 140L of diesel into my 4x4 a fortnight. That's $4,331 a year on diesel to get me to get me around for an entire year.

So, some time ago I stopped ordering bottled water at restaurants, installed a water filter tap in my house and take refilled bottles of water from home pretty much everywhere. It helps having a fridge on board my 4x4 so it's always chilled. Now, I'm not miserly, quite the opposite really, however I decided to make the change nonetheless. Sure, every so often I buy bottled water, but it's rare these days. I still drink the same amount of water and don't seem to have any side-effects from drinking water sourced from the filter tap rather than the pristine artesian springs deep beneath the lost city of Atlantis, lovingly poured into artfully crafted bottles by nubile mermaids and sealed with a kiss or possibly coaxed from the teat of some buxom Playboy bunny or Instagram babe. Sounds inviting, but not at $5.80/L though.

Bottled water factory worker with the finished product of her efforts in coaxing... :)
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I'm not trying to preach or convert your way of thinking. Take a look at the facts yourself though, look past the clever marketing and attractive bottles. I'm not 100 percent sure although I don't believe a person drinking Voss water is any better than the next person, say...me, drinking water from my re-used bottle of filtered water from the tap in my kitchen. I don't know what our fixation with bottled water is but it seems unnecessary and somewhat wasteful. It also put a lot, and I mean a lot of plastic into landfill. What the hell, who cares about that as long as we have great bottled water to drink right?

Voss water. It tastes pretty good if you can afford it.
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Thanks for reading.

Images from: girlinyourworld.com.au, download-wallpaper.net, au.pinterest.com/pin/319403798544510844, bamazingwallpapers.blogspot.com.au