10%By itself, not a terrible number. Well, maybe if it was your chances of surviving the year or something like that but saying you spent 10% of your money on something over a full year doesn't sound so bad. Groceries maybe? Sure, that would be a pretty good guess but if you know me you know where all that money went...
Craft beer.
Yep.
I know, right?
Wait, you heard I got everything for free and was basically a paid spokesperson or (according to some) a shill? Oh, don't I wish...
Numbers Don't Lie
Why I thought I should go back through 2018 and see exactly where we spent all of our hard earned cash is beyond me but with the dawn of the new year I guess I hoped it would be beneficial for us to look what we bought and how we could do better when it comes to our finances. But still, the total even shocked me. At that level, we could have enjoyed a vacation somewhere warm a couple times over and still spent less than most people do on beer, with money for Starbuck's coffee every damn day left.
How did this happen? To be honest, it kind of crept up on me without me even knowing. We visit a lot of breweries in a month, some for the first time, others because we love returning for the beer and the people but even I was not prepared for just how much money we laid out. So let's break it down and see where we went and how we spent.
we do this often |
Collective Arts Ransack the Universe Our most visited brewery in 2018 |
one of our favourites, Muddy York Brewing on Toronto's East side 10 visits in 2018 |
Most of you know we take a week every year, for the last 3 years, to celebrate Ontario Craft Beer with the Polkapolooza tour. This year was the largest and most ambitious as we hit 61 breweries in 7 days from Windsor to Muskoka and all points in between for a total of over 2400 kilometres. We did day trips for most with one overnighter in Windsor mid week. Lodging, food and gas ran us a fairly reasonable $850, not bad when you are travelling from early morning to late at night and need that Timmies to fuel your passion. It was what we spent on beer that caught my eye as I examined our purchases month to month. At just a little over $1060, we perhaps were a little too generous in our support and despite some freebies along the way, we wanted to spread the love and make sure we bought something at each stop. It only averages out to $17 a brewery, but when you're visiting 61 of them, it adds up fast.
a good chunk of Polkapolooza |
meeting Sam for the first time was amazing |
LCBO and Asking my Pals
That one month was a big chunk of what we spent and the 100 plus LCBO visits were perhaps the other. Hitting different ones in the city a couple times a week wasn't uncommon as I sought out new releases and old favourites alike and while I should perhaps stop going in so much, it is still the most convenient way to get beer from further a field and of course a few international gems. My overall average spend was much lower, under $10 for the most part as I usually only bought one or two things.
As I compiled all this data I got curious as to what the beer people around me were spending and I did a Twitter poll and another one on Facebook. The vast majority of beer drinkers who I know tend to fall (they think) into the $100 to $200 dollar a month average when it comes to their beer. Even a decent macro lager consumer is probably at say 2 or 3 cases month and hitting the hundred easily so I am pretty comfortable with that being the average. While I am not comfortable posting the actual total of what we spent because at that point I am pretty sure I would have way too much explaining to do to concerned family members, let's just say I was way above average when it came to monthly expenditures in beer...
Perhaps the only time in my life that I am in the 1%.But what fuelled this mad spending? I have a few thoughts and I know that most of them are about my love of sharing my day with the world. I enjoy the posts I get to make everyday on Instagram and the short videos on YouTube. It is like leaving a part of me that will last long after I have left this earth to say that I was here and I existed. It is my legacy and my way of communicating with a world I often have trouble being a part of. Outside of work and home, I sometimes struggle to go anywhere. Visiting a taproom makes me feel like I am part of something special and it brings me peace to hang out or even stop in for a little bit to just get a few beers for home. I enjoy trying new and unusual beers and while I have gotten better at not buying one of everything when we are at a brewery, I think that is where I could learn a little self control.
What I learned and what I hope to do
It would be a lie if I told you I will now totally cut back my beer purchases and pledge to cut back on our trips to breweries. I know myself well enough to know that it doesn't work that way but this exploration of where our money went in 2018 has given me enough pause to see that as part of a new way to approach beer in 2019, I need to add this delectable beverage to the budget and try to stick to it as best I can. I need to learn to just buy the beer that truly interests me and not think I have to one of everything or multiples so I look cool or some other nonsense that pops into my head. I need to drink what's in my fridge and maybe make a little room for new beer. And finally I need to find a way to accept that I am so very lucky to have a good job, an active partner in this and a community that is so much fun to be a part of that I don't have to buy all of the damn beer I come into contact with.
I promise I am looking at myself with a jaded eye after all of my past forays into trying to be moderate but I do have an end game in mind when it comes to saving some beer money for something a little more grand and I hope that goal will help me along the way. Spending a week somewhere with some cold cervezas, warm sun and white sand would be a right proper thing to aspire to and it is just what I am going to do.
The empties most certainly won't pay for that...well, not all of it anyway.
Cheers!
Polk
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