Is Coca-Cola Worth It?

I was reading an article entitled "85 Creative Ways to Save Money!"  The one tip that made me laugh was 45.  Remove soda from your diet - drink water, this will save hundreds of dollars per year.  I wondered if this was really true!  My dad and sister really love soda, but would they give it up to save a few hundred dollars per year? I will consider it from an American perspective.

Assumptions:

We can use Coke as the representative for all soda.  I know it's the most popular soda ever, and I know a few friends whose demand for coke is solidly inelastic.

The average American drinks one can of soda per day.  According to a 2012 Gallup survey, approximately half of Americans drink 2.6 cups of soda every day on average.  I decided to reasonably simplify this statistic.

The average American eats out five times a week.  When I google searched "how many times a week do americans eat out", Google smartly responded with:

1. "On average, Americans eat out about five times a week, according to the National Restaurant Association. Because those meals are generally higher in calories and fat than what we make at home, they can create a recipe for weight gain."

When the average American eats out, he or she orders a soda 60% of the time.  Sorry, I don't have statistics to support this.  This number is just based upon personal experience.

The average price of Coke at a restaurant is $2.00.  Also from personal experience.

What Did I Find?

At Costco.com, I checked the prices* of Coke.  Let's consider the cheaper option.  A 12 pack costs $5.37.  On average, the cost of soda at a restaurant is $2.50.  

The cost of consuming Coke cans per year is:

$5.37/12 Coke cans * 7 Coke cans/1 week = $3.13/week.
$3.13/week * 52 weeks = $162.72

The cost of consuming Coke while eating out per year is:

$2.00/Coke @ restaurant * 5 Cokes @ restaurant/week * 60% of the time ordering Coke = $6/week
$6/week * 52 weeks = $312

The total cost of consuming Coke per year is $162.72 + $312 = $474.12

You can tweak the prices to fit your budget.  Conclusion for me is it's too little reward for the cost (both monetary and health-wise) to drink Coke all year!

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*It's interesting: Coke Classic Fridge Pack comes in a package of 12 12-oz. cans for $5.37, while this other listing for Coke Classic comes in a pack of 24 12-oz cans for $11.45 - more than double the price of 12!  I thought Costco was encouraging people to buy in bulk.