Lent 2019
If you weren't aware, lent kicked off today for the next 40 days & 40 nights.
We've complied a list of things that you can give up, that will not only help your pocket, but also your health.
Daily Coffee
The average price of a takeaway coffee in Dublin City comes in at around €3.
For the next 40 days, why not scrap your daily coffee purchase and instead take advantage of the kitchen in work.
Buy a jar of coffee and use this instead to help feed your caffeine addition
You could save yourself €120 across the next 40 days.
Social Media
With social media taking over all our lives, this is the perfect excuse to totally cut out or maybe even cut back on your social media usage.
In Ireland, One fifth of Irish people spend between 1 - 3 hours on social media every day.
A further 64% of 17-29 year olds feel panicked, desperate or sick if they leave their phone at home.
With the ever growing trend becoming more popular amongst Irish people, this is the perfect chance for you to take a social media break, or even just cut back on your usage.
Use this extra time to go for a walk, catch up with friends or even watch a movie instead of being stuck in your phone.
Snacking
It's just too easy in this busy world to snack between important meals.
In a report by Bord Bia, on average us Irish snack 2.55 times per day.
With the top three snacking categories being confectionery (21%), crisps and (15%) and fruit (12%)
On average we spend €2.13 per snack in the Republic of Ireland, twice a day. Meaning after Lent you could save an average total of €170.
You don't have to stop snacking, but instead cut it as a habit and introduce fruit or other healthy alternatives.
Fizzy Drinks
This might sound like something you'd say to your kids, but by cutting out fizzy drinks you could notices a difference to your waist, wallet and overall wellness.
A 330ml can of Coca-Cola has a total calorie count of 139, which is about 7% of an average adults recommended daily intake.
That's not even the worrying part! There is about 35g or sugar per 330ml can.
Take from the FAQ section of the Coca-Cola website they say, "As a general rule, there’s 10.6 g of sugar per 100 ml of Coca-Cola original taste. 35 g of sugar amounts to about 7 teaspoons of sugar."
To put those figures into context....
Smoking
This isn't as easy as the previous suggestions, but why not use Lent as your opportunity to try.
According to the HSE, "Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland with almost 6,000 smokers dying each year from tobacco related diseases."
In one day, the average Irish smoker consumes 20 cigarettes a day.
With the average packet of cigarettes costing €12.70, you could save yourself a whopping €508 over the 40 days.
If you keep going after Lent, imagine how much you could save in a year.
You could also reduce your risk of getting serious disease no matter what age you give up.
Check out Quit.ie, a free of charge service from the HSE. With their help you're twice as likely to quit for good!
We're no doctors, but by taking some simple steps this Lent you will see a change to your wallet and your health!
