Save Yourself (a Fortune)
See How Much Your Habit is Costing You
We hate to nag you about your health since you smokers already know you should quit. But looked at from a purely financial standpoint, smoking is one of the worst habits you can have. Say you smoke a pack per day, and spend $5 per pack. If you quit today and put that money into a stock index fund that history shows should average 10% growth per year, in five years you could have over $11,000. In ten years, nearly $30,000, and in thirty years you could have over $300,000! Of course that's just an example, but you can use this calculator to see how much you'll save in your own situation.
Additional Costs
Keep in mind this is just the savings from buying the actual cigarettes. Smokers also spend more on insurance, have lower resale value on their cars and homes, and can spend a small fortune on things like dry cleaning and teeth whitening. Then there's the increased medical costs smokers have to pay. Quitting smoking now and saving the money you used to spend on cigarettes will yield you a huge windfall over time--you can literally fund a big part of your retirement if you can quit.
Resources to Help You Quit
For more information on how to quit, check out the American Cancer Society. And for info on what to do with your smoking money once you quit, check out Sharebuilder.com . You can set up automatic investment plans that will invest a set amount each month.