Unintended consequences

While I set out on my New Year's Resolution to lose weight by conducting an experiment: can I lose weight by giving up soda?; it occurred to me that there might be another benefit. Saving money! Now that our country is in the midst of a major recession, people are finding ways to save money on everyday expenses. While gas prices continue to drop, most other commodities have not followed in oil's footsteps. Cost of living increases is something that most people do not think about all the time, but when you get a price increase for something, it makes you think. Take stamps. Over the years, the price of a stamp has risen from say, a nickle, to 42 cents. I don't remember paying a nickle for a stamp, but I do remember paying 32 cents not that long ago. What about cars? Back in the early 80's a new car would set you back about 10 grand, and now you are lucky to find one for less than $25K. That's some serious inflation! But have you ever thought about the price of a soda? I remember when you could get a soda at a restaurant for 50 cents or less. Today, most places charge over a dollar. Fast food joints will charge anywhere from $1.29 to $1.99 depending on size. Sit down restaurants will routinely charge $1.99 and I've noticed many that charge up to $2.99 for a soda! This is one sneaky way that restaurants keep their menu prices down. They make it up on drinks. They know that most people want to drink something with their meal, and many prefer sodas to wash down their food. So an unintended consequence of my water diet experiment will be saving some cash on over priced sodas. I just wished they would give you a regular cup when you ordered water!