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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think fizzy drinks are a waste of money

97 replies

mammamia839 · 29/07/2018 16:01

DP drinks at least two huge 2L bottles of Pepsi every day, costing about £1.70 each. I know it's petty, but I think this is a waste of money, fizzy drinks aren't food and completely pointless IMO. I can imagine wanting a glass here and there as a treat, but all the time...I just don't get it.

I only have tea and water so maybe I'm just odd. But he buys all these drinks on the joint account while getting groceries which means we're spending huge ammounts on fizzy drinks.

AIBU to think this is bloody silly?

OP posts:
happypoobum · 29/07/2018 16:48

Diet Coke is 2 x 2 litres for £2.50 in my south east city Grin I thought everything was supposed to be more expensive down here???

Anyway, it's far too much - agree with PP, it sounds like a sugar addiction.

NutElla5x · 29/07/2018 16:48

I agree with you op.Fizzy drinks are just empty calories and I'd be worried about the state his teeth are going to be in if he continues to bathe his teeth in them all day.Never mind the price of the pepsi,wait till those dental bills start rolling in!

Gottokondo · 29/07/2018 16:50

Since the average person drinks 2L a day and your DH drinks twice that amount you might want to have him checked for diabetes. It is a lot of drink in any case.

JacquesHammer · 29/07/2018 16:52

Squash or water would be healthier, pop isn't something anyone needs

I find this a little odd. If you're saying pop isn't something anyone needs, why would they need squash?

The issue in this case isn't the fizzy drink.

The issue is - as with anything - over-consumption

Rebecca36 · 29/07/2018 16:59

Fizzy drinks are no good for you. OK occasionally, like everything else. Plenty of water in the tap.

LeroyJenkins · 29/07/2018 17:03

did you see the eat well for less where the man was drinking 3.5 litres a day - they told him that he would have to cut down on the drink as to stop suddenly would be very dangerous

also - the amount of sugar in there was about a pint glass full

wrenika · 29/07/2018 17:19

I don't think it's a 'waste' anymore than any other non-necessary consumable is. On that thinking we should all just drink tap water and like it. Health wise it's maybe not such a good idea, and that would be the angle I'd take for broaching it!

Fabricwitch · 29/07/2018 17:21

Unless you can't afford it I don't see the problem. Teabags cost money too!
I probably drink a 2 litre bottle of fizzy a day (normally Tesco sugar free ginger beer or sugar free lemonade, sometimes Pepsi Max). I'd think it's about 50c a day seeing as I mostly drink the Tesco cheap stuff. DH's teabags cost about 5c a bag, and he drinks at least 10 cups of tea a day! We both drink other things too, but unless you're only drinking tap water and can't afford it then I can't really see it as a waste of money.
I might be worried about his caffeine and sugar intake though...

Allergictoironing · 29/07/2018 17:27

Diet Coke is 2 x 2 litres for £2.50 in my south east city

Diet coke doesn't have the "sugar tax" added, so costs a fair bit less than the non-diet version. Unlikely you're getting 2 x 2l for that price too, as Coke changed their bottle size a little while ago so it's only 1.75l per bottle now - the price didn't change though.

formerbabe · 29/07/2018 17:27

I'm eternally grateful that my parents banned me from drinking fizzy drinks as a child. Now, as an adult, I really dislike the taste and sensation of them. I'm a fairly easy going mum as far as food is concerned, but I'm very strict on fizzy drinks. In fact, I'm so anti them that my ds at one point assumed they were illegal! Grin

HildaZelda · 29/07/2018 17:27

I don't think it's the cost that the problem, more what 4 litres of Pepsi a day is doing to his health. A friend of mine used to drink about 3 litres of coke a day. She's only in her thirties but her brown stained teeth are literally rotting out of her mouth. She's overweight and I'm sure if she ever had her blood sugar checked, it would probably be off the chart.

happypoobum · 29/07/2018 19:26

allergic

I just checked my bottles that I bought yesterday - definitely 2 litres. I just checked the Tesco website and they sell diet coke in 2l bottle sizes too, although slightly more expensive at 4l for £3.00. Pepsi Max is same price.

www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/297132631

Allergictoironing · 29/07/2018 19:30

happypoobum the price differential is all down to the sugar tax - diet drinks don't have this added so cost less.

I've just had a look at the Adsa website & can see they now do 2l bottles of diet Coke again, at £3 for 2. "Classic" however is 1.5l bottles at £3 for 2. So sugar tax....

9amTrain · 29/07/2018 19:32

People drink fizzy drinks because they like the taste and/or want a sugar/caffeine fix. Nobody is under the illusion that they are food. YABU.

BoxsetsAndPopcorn · 29/07/2018 19:37

Not good for his health but no worse money wise than the tea you drink etc and water still has to be paid for.

Everyone wastes money. The amount some spend on alcohol a year is astounding.

PineapplePower · 29/07/2018 20:45

It’s not about the money on fizzy drinks. Think of his future health—calories alone would be huge!

My DH has this exact problem, not 4L/day mind you, but not far off. When he went to the dentist and found out he had no less than 11 cavities, he made the big step of cutting them completely out!

That’s ... where the real money drain came from

Coyoacan · 30/07/2018 00:21

I think he is setting himself up for diabetes and kidney stones, let alone possible obesity and all the problems that entails.

Otherwise, everyone spends some of their money on treats. I spend a fortune on coffee, others are drinking alcohol or tea, eating sweets or crisps.

NaughtToThreeSadOnions · 30/07/2018 00:34

Tea isnt food either op is that a waste of money? Weird arguement thag because something isnt food its a waste of money.

That said like everyone else, my concern would be about his heath. The caloriez and suger content in full sugar pop is amazing even in the diet versions you have aspartatain.

FASH84 · 30/07/2018 04:52

It is the caffeine and sugar, DP would drink a lot more fizz if we had it. I buy two 2 litre bottles a week one aldi version of Pepsi Max and one lemonade or similar, the lemonade doesn't go every week. When we first lived together he would only drink branded drinks and could get through a litre to to litres a day, when I said to him that it was costing £12-£14 a week and I don't drink them so felt it was unreasonable for that much to go on the joint shop he acknowledged it, and said he hadn't realised how much of it he was drinking. We now have a large bottle of water in the fridge and a made up bottle of squash, and we usually have some fruit juice available. I think it's often laziness and easier to just get a drink from the fridge rather than make one even though it's not much hassle. He noticed when he cut down and switched to sugar free he didn't get caffeine headaches anymore.

TheDowagerCuntess · 30/07/2018 06:37

Tea isnt food either op is that a waste of money?

I don't think you can really compare them, though - Pepsi is nutritionally worthless, and it's loaded in calories and will rot your teen.

It is pointless.

BitchQueen90 · 30/07/2018 06:47

Even if you can afford it it's really unhealthy to be drinking that many fizzy drinks a day, I'd be concerned for his health!

I enjoy fizzy drinks at the weekend, I buy a 2ltr bottle on a Friday night and it lasts until Sunday. I wouldn't drink them every day.

NaughtToThreeSadOnions · 30/07/2018 07:03

countess i was responding to the op where she said fizzy drink werent food, neither is tea! Tea has has no nurtional value its water tanin and cafine.

rot your teen
Rot my what? Theres many things that rot teens bullying, porn, peer pressure.

leanne9312 · 30/07/2018 07:08

1.70 where are you getting it from it's about 2.50 around here

FinallyHere · 30/07/2018 07:17

4l would weight about 4kgs, does he get it himself? That is a lot to carry around every day...

p.s. i used to think they were harmless treats til i worked for a major soft drinks brand. One look at the state of the pipework carrying syrup to the bottling lines was enough to put me off for life. Oh, and drinking fizzy pop just makes you thirsty, its the ultimate marketing person's dream and, yes, a complete waste of money. Sigh.