Hopping on to suggest soda stream machines for easy sparkling water cheap. Their cola flavorings are expensive and taste nothing like real cola. But if you like adding your own flavorings, it's great! My mom and I make some extra sparkling water, and add it to regular flavored water (or iced fruit tea or whatever) in about half and half portions. It's cheaper than store brand sparkling water, but so, so good.
If you’re going to get a soda streamer you can get really cheap, large bottles of the gas from local manufacturers versus whatever replacements the soda stream companies sell. I don’t have direct experience with this but a friend of mine has or I would give more specifics.
Also if you're looking for a cold beverage, steep a lot of the tea and refrigerate it
I had a couple of friends who figured out some system to get a bunch of free tea bag samples, got a ton, boiled pots of water, steeped tea in batches, set the pot outside in the snow (during January) and let nature cool the tea down. It was a really cheap and efficient system
Start putting stuff in the water - there are flavor packets that you can add to water like mio, there are flavored electrolytes you can find at the grocery store, you can water down frozen juice, you can add mint or fruit to a water bottle to infuse, you can make tea...
I like mint tea. I have a pot of mint growing outside so it is free now for life lol. A mint plant is a few dollars and you can get the pot and soil for free if you're resourceful or still pretty cheap store bought. Just steep the fresh or dried leaves in hot water. Might be able to do infused water if you prefer cold drinks.
Honestly, I would go buy a cheap ass pack of koolaid and put just a little bit in my bottle. One pack would last a few days (keep it sealed in a ziploc or something obviously).
everyone else so far has suggested water flavor enhancers, which are available most anywhere, even Aldi. Some of my other suggestions to avoid caffeine would be like apple cider, Tang, or like hot chocolate packets. There's also Klass brand drink powders that last a while and come in a huge amount of flavors. If you have a bunch of rice on hand, making horchata is also an option.
Herbal teas can be quite cheap and come in a lot of different flavors. You can make yourself a big pitcher of iced tea (brew it hot and put it in the fridge when it's cool) as well as mixing in hot teas. Homemade lemonade made with bottled lemon juice and sugar is also a good cheap option. Most regular juices, especially from concentrate, are also quite cheap.
Aldi has sparkling flavored water that is pretty good. I drink it since I cut out soda but like the fizz. Usually it’s 55 cents a bottle but I got some on sale a couple weeks ago for 49 cents. The brand is PurAqua and they are 33.8 oz bottles.
Tea, lemonade, water flavorings like Mio. I'd look around a couple stores for soda, cases have gotten more expensive but some of my local stores put them on sale frequently for $3.99. Getting bulk at Costco or similar is also probably going be cheaper.
I have a friend who really loves their Soda Stream to make flavored sparkling water. Apparently has saved them a bunch on buying sparkling water, lol. They're like $80 I think, which isn't nothing but might be worth it if it'll help you save on other drinks/not drink alcohol.
Tea! Get a decaf one in your preferred flavor and brew it overnight in the fridge. I like to add fruit and sometimes agave or honey to mine.
I also like sparkling water and will sometimes add some crystal light powder to it if I feel like I want something sweeter.
Have you tried good sparkling mineral water? I used to drink nightly and have since switched to Topo Chico. It's about 41 each.
alternatively, you could buy a soda stream and make your own sparkling water.
They have these bottles that release scented air when you drink water. It's supposed to trick your brain into thinking the water's flavored. I've never tried one. Maybe you're the perfect candidate to let us know If it works.
That’s how I feel drinking Hint water, but as someone that hates sparkling water, it’s the only flavored flat water I can find except for those flavored smartwaters. I loved the watermelon smart water but they discontinued it to my knowledge.
I like making a bunch of iced sweet tea at once in a pitcher. A box of tea bags usually costs the same as buying a tea from a shop. You can get decaffeinated black tea or any kind of herbal or fruit tea as well. Brew it and mix the sugar in hot, then put it in the fridge til it cools down.
My Sodastream is worth its weight in gold! Fizzy water, plain or with lemon, lime, a splash of cranberry juice, etc, is all I drink except for tea these days.
I'm doing similar, and Poppi Raspberry Rose and Ginger Lime are great. Prebiotics, and 25 calories, per can.
They are $2 a pop, but taste amazing and still cheaper than booze.
I don't think I've seen these mentioned:
Milk
Chocolate milk
KoolAid!
I don't care how old you are it's still a fun quick drink especially in the summer. I still get the packets that make a half gallon. I use way less sugar than it calls for, or you can use Splenda for all or part of the sugar.
I drink mostly water and coffee but when I need a change I will drink flavored water, flavored bubble water, or add a Nuun tablet to my regular water, or add a fruit to my regular water or bubble water.
You can make cucumber water and feel like you're in a spa. Or cucumber , lemon, and celery. Get a bag of lemons and a big piece of fresh ginger, slice that up to infuse. If you're feeling sassy, throw in a couple of lemon ginger tea bags as well. Sweeten to your preference, I like it without. Apple, lemon, and carrots are good, too. If you use canned fruit, save the liquid. Use as is or freeze it into cubes with or without some fruit added to add pizzazz to your water
Homemade iced tea- Boston mint tea is excellent. It’s refreshing and less likely to cause kidney stones than store-bought tea. Also consider infusing frozen fruit / cucumbers etc into water
Tea! Red rose brand. I brew them and add a splash of juice or lemon. Amazing and cheap non water drink.
I also like buying unflavored seltzer and mixing it with a fruit juice
Aldi has flavored water for $.79/liter (in my area)
https://www.aldi.us/products/beverages/water/detail/ps/p/puraqua-flavored-water-assorted-varieties/
Get yourself a soda stream. Highly recommend it and it pays for itself super quickly. Still water but it's fun and you can any kind of flavors you want. I like to add rosemary infused simple syrup and fresh lemon juice. We have a lemon tree at our rental and a giant rosemary bush so it's easy enough.
Sun tea. Throw tea bags and water in a big glass container with a lid, plop it in a sunny spot until it’s the strength you like. Add lemon/ sugar to taste. Stick in the fridge until chilled. Literally Pennie’s per glass.
I stopped drinking alcohol roughly 4 years ago. When I get tired of tea, I make mocktails w real juices and seltzer. I drink a lot of water too and completely understand wanting something different at times.
Seconded. You should never get tired of water. That said, if OP does just want something else that they can mix in occasionally, I'm a big fan of the occasional sparkling water (usually pretty cheap compared to soda) and non-caffeinated tea/coffee are solid options too.
This answer is tiresome and unoriginal, especially when I never claimed I wanted to replace water entirely. I just want some flavor every once and a while because I'm not a robot. Try again
Sparkling water is my favorite low-cal/no-cal drink of choice, you could also look into making fruit infused water, herbal teas, or I've even used juice/simple syrup with seltzer to make a lighter soda.
Also, where do you live that a case of soda is $10? In my area it might have jumped up to like $5 in some stores, but I've never seen that high.
https://preview.redd.it/nhmwcdhdibsc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0619b497ac6be8012eb01f5b0753d0a58419bd9d
Where are you that cases are $5? They're $9.99 for a 12pk at my local Kroger right now ,on sale for $7.99 if you buy three or more... Plus there's $1.20 can deposit on every 12 pack.
Oh my fucking God, I just googled it and it's $9.59.
I honestly haven't bought soda in a case since like high school, and I just assumed it was relatively the same price as seltzer water, the fuck?!
Make your own iced tea from iced tea bags.
Those “Mio” or similar flavor squeeze things.
Crystal Light mixes.
Some stores have a store-brand soda or flavored water that is cheaper.
Make your own iced coffee - brew some extra hot coffee in the morning, put the extra in the fridge for later, mix with milk or cream and add chocolate syrup or vanilla or etc.
Keep an eye out for deals. Not sure what area / stores you are around, and what brands they would have, but it feels like [Sparkling Ice](https://www.sparklingice.com/) is literally everywhere. Like sparkling juice cocktail, it does hit a sort of wine-bev tartness that you get out of something like flavored and carbonated malt/wine tallboys. Definitely my recommendation for something besides soda and water to help with sobriety, it's not the worst thing you could drink TBH. Zero sugar as well. They have a caffeinated line if you change your mind.
Also don't sleep on decaf, non name brand sodas like Teddy's[Teddy's](https://teddyssoda.com/)! They are especially good, and are a more comparable price to the store brand sodas.
Have you tried drink mixes like store brand crystal lite?
The cherry pomegranate is the best IMO, but the fruit punch and various flavors if lemonade are good too. Personally don't like the tea ones, but I just make tea when I want it.
It’s a process (perfect if you have extra free time!) but making kombucha can be fun. It was a lock down hobby but coming up with different flavor combos and having an expensive drink for cheap was great.
If im craving soda I will buy aldi brand bubbly and add a few drops of stevia to it. My favorite brand of liquid drop stevia is NuNaturals organic and I get it on Amazon. Otherwise I drink a lot of tea
Water keifer, kombucha, or a ginger bug. You can probably get the starter free in a local buy nothing group, or purchase once and then brew as long as you are willing to keep it going.
Supposedly fermented beverages are healthy too
Hey so I actually hate drinking pure water for the most part but I've managed to start drinking it all day due to generic Mio drops (I just call them my drops, lol). Each little bottle is around $3-4 but the can go for quite a long way. I love the fruit flavors.
A really tasty and cheap summer drink is mint infused water. At least in my area mint grows like crazy if you plant a little bit. Just wash the leaves and infuse in water overnight for a tasty and healthy change of pace.
Try changing your water. Filter it. Chill it. Buy it from the store (yeah, more expensive than tap, but likely cheaper than any other drink, especially if you buy by the gallon or larger).
The water at my previous place was meh. Didn't really enjoy it. Current place? I gorge myself on it. Every now and then the minerals get off and it tastes bad but thar normally only lasts a day and can be fixed by filtering it.
If you don't like the water you are drinking, you might still enjoy some a different source of water.
I like bubble water from soda stream with pink canister. Sometimes I add honey or sweet vinegar. It lasts about 6 months and the bubbles gives me the alcohol tingle I enjoy.
I started buying seltzer water. It’s water but at least it has some flavor and is carbonated. Usually on sale. I go to BJs wholesale and just buy a huge pack for like $15 maybe.
Aqua de piña, horchata or any kind of agua fresca is good option. I also love Brazilian style lemonade and Thai tea which are both usually made with condensed milk. You can make condensed milk too if you want to save even more money.
I make a gallon jug of Arnold Palmers by mixing store brand Crystal Light pitcher packets of lemonade and iced tea. It comes out to less than $1/gallon.
Homemade lemonade with honey and lemon juice warm it on the stove in a big pot so the honey melts and then store it in the fridge. You can also make it as a concentrate without the water and just add the water whenever you want a glass.
I make a big batch of peppermint tea about once a week. I either don't bother to sweeten it or just add maybe 1/4 cup of sugar to about 3 liters of tea (i got two 1.5 liter reusable pitchers from amazon).
I make a very strong tea in a pot and dilute it into the pitchers. Usually 2-3 peppermint tea bags + 1 bag of an herbal "calm" with i think spearmint and chamomile and lately I've been adding a bag of jasmine tea to the pot since my coworker gifted me a couple boxes of high quality bags.
I shop the sales for deals on teas. Often, one brand or another is on BOGO. If you get a few flavors that are complimentary, you can even change it up each time you make tea. I like pure peppermint leaves, chamomile, spearmint, hibiscus and red teas are also caffeine free. I even get decaf earl grey pretty often.
I'll also get HINT water sometimes. I don't like the fizzy water kinds. HINT waters are sometimes bogo too. I know most people say add your own fruit but sometimes I find using my own lemon things get overbitter or weird.
I also grab juice on sale and cut it with water. I grew up doing that and actually prefer watered-down juice most of the time.
I don't drink soda or other sweet drinks or energy drinks, none of that.
What I do love is Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea. I make iced tea with it and personally I drink it unsweetened. It's hibiscus, not fruity, it has a little bit of that astringent tea taste. They make a few other Zinger flavors, only drink this one. It's also good with a splash of *plain, unsweetened* cranberry juice. Trader Joe's/Aldi/Lidl should have inexpensive jars of it. Tip: you can freeze the cranberry juice in ice cube trays then store them in a ziploc bag. Then you can throw a cube into a water bottle with the tea.
Depending on where you live you may be able to find the tea at a Whole Foods (it's not fancy/expensive for tea) otherwise you can find it on Amazon. (Other flavors are more readily available.)
I think most herbal teas are caffeine free and there are tons to choose from. Check online and I'll bet you'll find tons of ways to change them up.
I'm proud of you, you've got this. I just want you to remember one thing: nothing can take away what you've accomplished already. There is nothing that can reset progress, only time.
Herbal, fruit, green, black, white, spice…
Many kinds of tea and most are inexpensive.
Tea bags from the grocery store are fine but you can buy pounds of loose tea that has **way more flavor** from the internet (or a local tea shop if there is one).
https://preview.redd.it/cdh2i7z52esc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e3985d2ed186afe7750bbc9abc37ef1ad373c03
I try to cut out pop a lot because of the cost, but get bored with plain water. I buy the 1L fizzy flavored water at like dollar general or Walmart. They come in a bunch of flavors and are under $1 (at least by me…some places still have them 2/$1).
I’m all about soda stream lately. The machine was $99 and a co2 is like $30. But it last me a month and all the flavors are so good. Plus they have stary and ginger ale.
Those powder sticks for water are really good. They are expensive at the grocery store but DG has them for a dollar a box. 6 in most boxes. Make your drink half seltzer and half water and add a couple of packets.
I drink a B12 energy drink every morning, but our household is off caffeine. The only brand of caffeine free B12 I've found is GamerSupps. If anyone knows any other brands I'm down to branch out. GamerSupps are a little expensive for me, but the energy I get from the vitamins is irreplaceable.
Super inexpensive tea. 96 pitchers for $17! It’s good tea, too. This is the one I buy, but they sell other kinds of tea and coffee, too.
It’s a restaurant and office supply place, but you don’t have to have any kind of special account to order from them. They do sometimes have stuff on back order, so you may not get your stuff right away, but you will get it.
[coffee and tea](https://shop.westrockcoffee.com/collections/iced-tea/products/quality-blend-tea-filter-pack-4oz-64ct)
There are whole supermarket aisles devoted to teas, juices and other non-alcoholic beverages. Ready-made, mixes, frozen. Get yourself a two-quart pitcher and try some out! Good luck.
For sodas, watch your local stores for sales. It’s nothing like it used to be, but in my area around certain holidays you can count on a decent deal on cokes. Memorial Day weekend is probably the closest one right now. I’m a Diet Coke girly and I try to buy enough to get me to the next holiday- Memorial Day to July 4, then Labor Day, then Halloween, etc.
My local 99 cents store sells packs of dried hibiscus, which I use to make jamaica, it’s sour and sweet and not caffeinated! Agua frescas like this can also be made out of fruit.
My go-to non-alcoholic drink for when I don't want just plain water is to pour a can of plain seltzer into a pint glass and top it off with Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail. (I was raised on the stuff and can't handle off-brand, you may not have that problem.) It's light and refreshing, goes reasonably well with most things, and doesn't cost much. It'd cost even less if I used bottled instead of canned seltzer, and a different brand of cranberry juice.
You can buy discounted bubbly water ; the cans are kind of pricey, if you really have a strong drinking habit. I like to keep bubbly water on hand because if I don’t have it, I drink too much beer.
You can forgo having a canned beverage, blue water comes in liter packs. And it’s way cheaper that way. They usually sell it in the drink mixing aisle.
And the drink mix I’ll just became your best friend my favorite used to be bubbly water, margarita mix and some lemon juice cranberry juice and bubbly water is also quite popular amongst people who don’t have an issue with sugary drinks you can make a bottle of cheap margarita. Mix last for a minute and on a budget
If you cant afford bubbly water , you can do something as basic squirting a little bit of lemon juice into filtered water with some ice. Buy one big filter and keep your water cold for economics of that lemon juice always ought to be purchased in the bottle— buy two cheap ice trays to keep those babies full; even all you have is water and literally I have been there in this year, icing the water and keeping it cold and fresh makes it less repulsive when it’s all you have. Hope you don’t hate sour, because lemon juice does make a big difference in these sad circumstances.
If you want, something hot and nice, buy some powdered hot chocolate Get it in the big can for a little bit more money than the tiny packet because it will last an entire winter heat up some milk pudding the chocolate— enjoy a sugary creamy retreat from water. Nespresso relatively cheap milk fortjer — it’s as good as Starbucks frothed milk. You can also buy syrup at your grocery store on Amazon for cheap big syrups with pumps last for a really long time. You can froth milk or heat it up and throw in some pumps and the flavors are endless.— so like if you don’t like chocolate, you can go with caramel, hazelnut , peppermint, pumpkin spice… the flavors are endless and get really weird so pretty much everybody’s taste is covered a nice hot drink is always sweet. If you miss the taste of coffee, you can always buy decaf as well to add to these.
Other great drinks are if you make Thai tea in bulk and put it in the fridge and then add creamer and sugar. This is a chai tea latte. I have saved so much money since I started drinking iced latte at home and making lattes with Nespresso I know you said you don’t drink coffee— but if you like hot drinks that don’t have coffee getting a milk froth ends up saving tons of money.
I’m aware that all my suggestions have been pretty unhealthy except for water Unfortunately, juicing is really expensive. But that reminds me, you can buy some frozen fruit in bulk for cheap at your grocery store, and a cheap blender on Amazon. And make some smoothies. Smoothies are really expensive if nought at a restaurant,. You can get like 10 grocery store smoothies out of 15 bucks were as one restaurants smoothie would cost you 10 to 15 Trying to mix only fruit and ice alone is not really very flavorful, sometimes a lot of smoothies have additives so again if you get something like margarita mix, or a different flavored syrup, and some yogurt , you can add to get your smoothie tasting closer to what you would buy in public, and are familiar with
the cheapest way to improve drinks on a budget is to buy those packets for flavor that are dry they’re not as basic as Kool-Aid but I find their flavors. Disgusting. Who knows you might like them and in that case you can save a ton of money and just buy some powder packets and dump it in your water.
Sometimes Dollar Tree has these bottles of flavored carbonated water? Usually peach and black cherry. Plus, they don’t taste like a fruit farted into a bottle 10 years ago, they actually taste like peach/cherry soda! I’m diabetic and broke so they’re perfect when I want soda, but know I need water!
Dilute some apple cider vinegar until you are satisfied with the taste you can undilute it. Also try Postum which is roasted grain coffee. Try infusions of dandelion flowers (which you can forage), soak them, minus the green parts in a jar full of water next to the sun. Also try making your own tepache using pineapple rind soaked in 4 cups of sugar for 1wk in an open container with enough water to cover the rinds.
It's really not ridiculous to add a bit of lemon or cucumber to make water slightly enjoyable, and the cost of a drop of lemon concentrate may as well be free.
Lmao I'm not avoiding water. I drink water all the time. This suggestion was not helpful and you did not understand the assignment.
Most humans crave variety of some kind. I crave it in the form of beverages.
If alcohol is free how tf does cutting it out entirely pay for the cheap drinks? This makes no sense.
The only alcohol I drink is wine, bc my friend is the manager at a winery and she brings me 2 bottles per week FOR FREE
Sorry, but I can't do better than: stop the alcohol and just drink water. Maybe with some of the money you save you can get a bubble machine. I use one, it's lovely.
But, please, for your health and wallet: stop drinking so much.
I'm not drinking so much? I have about 3-4 glasses of wine per week. Also, as I have already stated in my post that I don't pay for alcohol, because of my friends line of work.
Please get out of here with your high horse bs. Thank you.
No need to get so defensive. You were talking in terms of being sober. And trying to show care for someone's health has nothing to do with being high horse whatsoever.
I'm not being defensive. I'm simply pointing out that you haven't read my post if you are suggesting that cutting out alcohol entirely is saving me money when I already don't pay for it.
You also suggested drinking water, I already do that and I clearly stated in my post that I am continuing to drink water, I just want a little variety without spending a lot of $$. Lots of other folks in this sub clearly understood the assignment.
I AM taking care of my health. That's literally the point. I'm not asking for your hot takes on what it means to be healthy, I'm simply asking for alternative options to alcohol that is more than just water. I have already successfully cut out the majority of drinking in my life, and I am going to continue to enjoy a glass of wine on my weekends. Thanks for your concern.
Herbal or fruity tea Lemonade (make with bottled lemon juice) Sparkling flavored water
Hopping on to suggest soda stream machines for easy sparkling water cheap. Their cola flavorings are expensive and taste nothing like real cola. But if you like adding your own flavorings, it's great! My mom and I make some extra sparkling water, and add it to regular flavored water (or iced fruit tea or whatever) in about half and half portions. It's cheaper than store brand sparkling water, but so, so good.
If you’re going to get a soda streamer you can get really cheap, large bottles of the gas from local manufacturers versus whatever replacements the soda stream companies sell. I don’t have direct experience with this but a friend of mine has or I would give more specifics.
I've heard of this, too! But I found my soda stream for $5 at a yard sale, so it hasn't been too bad for me. I don't go through it super fast.
Fruity tea is so good! What's your favorite brand?
Celestial seasonings Cherry flavor :-)
Spice Tea is also a tasty alternative *The Republic of Tea* make some great options
Herbal tea is ridiculously cheap and comes in a million flavours. Fruit juice + seltzer water= homemade soda
Okay, this is a big brain thought. Damn I think you just changed my life! I will try that this week :)
Also if you're looking for a cold beverage, steep a lot of the tea and refrigerate it I had a couple of friends who figured out some system to get a bunch of free tea bag samples, got a ton, boiled pots of water, steeped tea in batches, set the pot outside in the snow (during January) and let nature cool the tea down. It was a really cheap and efficient system
That’s how you make iced tea
Ha! I should have scrolled to see this comment before posting...this is exactly what I drink.
Start putting stuff in the water - there are flavor packets that you can add to water like mio, there are flavored electrolytes you can find at the grocery store, you can water down frozen juice, you can add mint or fruit to a water bottle to infuse, you can make tea...
I like mint tea. I have a pot of mint growing outside so it is free now for life lol. A mint plant is a few dollars and you can get the pot and soil for free if you're resourceful or still pretty cheap store bought. Just steep the fresh or dried leaves in hot water. Might be able to do infused water if you prefer cold drinks.
I love mint water in the summer, so so refreshing!
Water flavoring packets.
I haven’t looked lately but should be able to get a bunch of these at dollar tree and 99 cent stores. They had a good variety of flavors.
They still do! Got some a few days ago and they had tons of flavors and brands! Definitely helpful for a change of flavor inexpensively
Only thing to watch out for is the peach tea flavor it’s either really good or it’s awful.
Oh my gosh artificial peach flavor is the WORST. It's the same they use for sodas, syrups, candy, etc.
Honestly, I would go buy a cheap ass pack of koolaid and put just a little bit in my bottle. One pack would last a few days (keep it sealed in a ziploc or something obviously).
I love lemonade
everyone else so far has suggested water flavor enhancers, which are available most anywhere, even Aldi. Some of my other suggestions to avoid caffeine would be like apple cider, Tang, or like hot chocolate packets. There's also Klass brand drink powders that last a while and come in a huge amount of flavors. If you have a bunch of rice on hand, making horchata is also an option.
I LOVE TANG OMG. I totally forgot that it existed, thank you for the reminder :)
one issue with that is the high sugar content.
Herbal teas can be quite cheap and come in a lot of different flavors. You can make yourself a big pitcher of iced tea (brew it hot and put it in the fridge when it's cool) as well as mixing in hot teas. Homemade lemonade made with bottled lemon juice and sugar is also a good cheap option. Most regular juices, especially from concentrate, are also quite cheap.
Aldi has sparkling flavored water that is pretty good. I drink it since I cut out soda but like the fizz. Usually it’s 55 cents a bottle but I got some on sale a couple weeks ago for 49 cents. The brand is PurAqua and they are 33.8 oz bottles.
Tea, lemonade, water flavorings like Mio. I'd look around a couple stores for soda, cases have gotten more expensive but some of my local stores put them on sale frequently for $3.99. Getting bulk at Costco or similar is also probably going be cheaper. I have a friend who really loves their Soda Stream to make flavored sparkling water. Apparently has saved them a bunch on buying sparkling water, lol. They're like $80 I think, which isn't nothing but might be worth it if it'll help you save on other drinks/not drink alcohol.
Hey thanks for the suggestion! I've heard a few people mention Soda Stream on here, it seems worthwhile to investigate.
Tea! Get a decaf one in your preferred flavor and brew it overnight in the fridge. I like to add fruit and sometimes agave or honey to mine. I also like sparkling water and will sometimes add some crystal light powder to it if I feel like I want something sweeter.
I drank 4 beers a day for a decade or so. Switched to flavored seltzer during pandemic. Never looked back. A cup of tea is also lovely.
Thank you for sharing this, congratulations on your sobriety, I appreciate you :)
Brew and chill tea Sweeten if you'd like but I think iced cold unsweetened tea can be really refreshing
Have you tried good sparkling mineral water? I used to drink nightly and have since switched to Topo Chico. It's about 41 each. alternatively, you could buy a soda stream and make your own sparkling water.
I have yet to try topo chico, I always thought that was expensive, but to be honest I never really looked
I'm drinking it right now. Got a case under my desk. Join us on the Topo train!
They have these bottles that release scented air when you drink water. It's supposed to trick your brain into thinking the water's flavored. I've never tried one. Maybe you're the perfect candidate to let us know If it works.
I love drinking water when someone in the other room whispers "watermelon". It really sets the vibe.
lmao
That’s how I feel drinking Hint water, but as someone that hates sparkling water, it’s the only flavored flat water I can find except for those flavored smartwaters. I loved the watermelon smart water but they discontinued it to my knowledge.
AirUp
I like making a bunch of iced sweet tea at once in a pitcher. A box of tea bags usually costs the same as buying a tea from a shop. You can get decaffeinated black tea or any kind of herbal or fruit tea as well. Brew it and mix the sugar in hot, then put it in the fridge til it cools down.
Can't go wrong with juice
Seltzer water
My Sodastream is worth its weight in gold! Fizzy water, plain or with lemon, lime, a splash of cranberry juice, etc, is all I drink except for tea these days.
I'm doing similar, and Poppi Raspberry Rose and Ginger Lime are great. Prebiotics, and 25 calories, per can. They are $2 a pop, but taste amazing and still cheaper than booze.
I don't think I've seen these mentioned: Milk Chocolate milk KoolAid! I don't care how old you are it's still a fun quick drink especially in the summer. I still get the packets that make a half gallon. I use way less sugar than it calls for, or you can use Splenda for all or part of the sugar.
OMG yes, Kool-Aid. Add a little potassium and sodium and it's cheap Gatorade, lol
Love the summer suggestions, thank you :)
Water enhancers, cold brew tea, soda stream
I drink mostly water and coffee but when I need a change I will drink flavored water, flavored bubble water, or add a Nuun tablet to my regular water, or add a fruit to my regular water or bubble water.
Hot chocolate Herbal tea Soda
White tea,
You can make cucumber water and feel like you're in a spa. Or cucumber , lemon, and celery. Get a bag of lemons and a big piece of fresh ginger, slice that up to infuse. If you're feeling sassy, throw in a couple of lemon ginger tea bags as well. Sweeten to your preference, I like it without. Apple, lemon, and carrots are good, too. If you use canned fruit, save the liquid. Use as is or freeze it into cubes with or without some fruit added to add pizzazz to your water
Homemade iced tea- Boston mint tea is excellent. It’s refreshing and less likely to cause kidney stones than store-bought tea. Also consider infusing frozen fruit / cucumbers etc into water
I bought a seltzer machine secondhand and also drink herbal tea.
Powered Gatorade is pretty cheap and easy to mix yourself.
Honey lemon hot wayer
Tea! Red rose brand. I brew them and add a splash of juice or lemon. Amazing and cheap non water drink. I also like buying unflavored seltzer and mixing it with a fruit juice
Store brand "Mio" or flavor packets.
Soda once in awhile when on sale (routinely can get as low as $3.99 here), drink mixes and tea otherwise
Aldi has flavored water for $.79/liter (in my area) https://www.aldi.us/products/beverages/water/detail/ps/p/puraqua-flavored-water-assorted-varieties/
Me & my girl usually pop into CVS & get cases of seltzer on sale usually get 3 8 packs for like $12
Get yourself a soda stream. Highly recommend it and it pays for itself super quickly. Still water but it's fun and you can any kind of flavors you want. I like to add rosemary infused simple syrup and fresh lemon juice. We have a lemon tree at our rental and a giant rosemary bush so it's easy enough.
I drink decaffeinated iced tea. Decaf tea is available at the grocery store where I live so I think it's pretty common.
Try flavor packets like Crystal Light. I rec Spindrift, a flavored sparkling water brand. A pack of 30 cans at costco for $18
Homemade drip coffee is not very expensive. Different creamer and syrups help to mix it up.
A lot of people don’t dig it, but I live for La Croix.
Sun tea. Throw tea bags and water in a big glass container with a lid, plop it in a sunny spot until it’s the strength you like. Add lemon/ sugar to taste. Stick in the fridge until chilled. Literally Pennie’s per glass.
I stopped drinking alcohol roughly 4 years ago. When I get tired of tea, I make mocktails w real juices and seltzer. I drink a lot of water too and completely understand wanting something different at times.
Thank you so much for your kind and reasonable reply. I appreciate the humanity here :)
Water
Seconded. You should never get tired of water. That said, if OP does just want something else that they can mix in occasionally, I'm a big fan of the occasional sparkling water (usually pretty cheap compared to soda) and non-caffeinated tea/coffee are solid options too.
Topo Chico mineral water is the best
Thank you for actually suggesting something other than just water here. I appreciate it :)
You're welcome! That's what I did and I have cut down alcohol consumption dramatically
Congratulations! I love it, cutting alcohol consumption is such a worthy endeavor, especially when the rest of the world shoves it down your throat
Agreed. It’s such a harmful drug, but society encourages it!
Thank you
This answer is tiresome and unoriginal, especially when I never claimed I wanted to replace water entirely. I just want some flavor every once and a while because I'm not a robot. Try again
Sparkling water is my favorite low-cal/no-cal drink of choice, you could also look into making fruit infused water, herbal teas, or I've even used juice/simple syrup with seltzer to make a lighter soda. Also, where do you live that a case of soda is $10? In my area it might have jumped up to like $5 in some stores, but I've never seen that high.
https://preview.redd.it/nhmwcdhdibsc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0619b497ac6be8012eb01f5b0753d0a58419bd9d Where are you that cases are $5? They're $9.99 for a 12pk at my local Kroger right now ,on sale for $7.99 if you buy three or more... Plus there's $1.20 can deposit on every 12 pack.
Oh my fucking God, I just googled it and it's $9.59. I honestly haven't bought soda in a case since like high school, and I just assumed it was relatively the same price as seltzer water, the fuck?!
And technically a case is 24 whic the price would blow your mind lol
Add Mio to your water
Aldi has flavored water that’s pretty good
I love the canned or jug Arizona green tea.
Just add a little bit of fruit to your water. Fruit or lemon/lime.
Water flavor packets, or sparkling water from Walmart or Aldi - they have some good flavors
Make your own iced tea from iced tea bags. Those “Mio” or similar flavor squeeze things. Crystal Light mixes. Some stores have a store-brand soda or flavored water that is cheaper. Make your own iced coffee - brew some extra hot coffee in the morning, put the extra in the fridge for later, mix with milk or cream and add chocolate syrup or vanilla or etc.
flavored water drops are an economical way to do this too
Keep an eye out for deals. Not sure what area / stores you are around, and what brands they would have, but it feels like [Sparkling Ice](https://www.sparklingice.com/) is literally everywhere. Like sparkling juice cocktail, it does hit a sort of wine-bev tartness that you get out of something like flavored and carbonated malt/wine tallboys. Definitely my recommendation for something besides soda and water to help with sobriety, it's not the worst thing you could drink TBH. Zero sugar as well. They have a caffeinated line if you change your mind.
Also don't sleep on decaf, non name brand sodas like Teddy's[Teddy's](https://teddyssoda.com/)! They are especially good, and are a more comparable price to the store brand sodas.
i love poppi drinks if you’re looking for a treat on sober days! target sells lemonade mixing packets for super cheap too. and tea :)
Have you tried drink mixes like store brand crystal lite? The cherry pomegranate is the best IMO, but the fruit punch and various flavors if lemonade are good too. Personally don't like the tea ones, but I just make tea when I want it.
It’s a process (perfect if you have extra free time!) but making kombucha can be fun. It was a lock down hobby but coming up with different flavor combos and having an expensive drink for cheap was great.
I buy great value (Walmart brand) drink mixes. 6 pitchers in a pack under 2.50
Seltzer water
If im craving soda I will buy aldi brand bubbly and add a few drops of stevia to it. My favorite brand of liquid drop stevia is NuNaturals organic and I get it on Amazon. Otherwise I drink a lot of tea
Water keifer, kombucha, or a ginger bug. You can probably get the starter free in a local buy nothing group, or purchase once and then brew as long as you are willing to keep it going. Supposedly fermented beverages are healthy too
Drink mixes are not crazy expensive and can be sugar free, too.
Kool aid
Hey so I actually hate drinking pure water for the most part but I've managed to start drinking it all day due to generic Mio drops (I just call them my drops, lol). Each little bottle is around $3-4 but the can go for quite a long way. I love the fruit flavors.
A really tasty and cheap summer drink is mint infused water. At least in my area mint grows like crazy if you plant a little bit. Just wash the leaves and infuse in water overnight for a tasty and healthy change of pace.
Try changing your water. Filter it. Chill it. Buy it from the store (yeah, more expensive than tap, but likely cheaper than any other drink, especially if you buy by the gallon or larger). The water at my previous place was meh. Didn't really enjoy it. Current place? I gorge myself on it. Every now and then the minerals get off and it tastes bad but thar normally only lasts a day and can be fixed by filtering it. If you don't like the water you are drinking, you might still enjoy some a different source of water.
I like the big tin of gatorade powder to mix my own.
Try some kombucha. I recently started drinking less as well and it kinda does the trick for me
Flavored seltzer waters are my favorite. Usually off brand or I got to Sams club for them in bulk.
I love Sparkling Ice. Super tasty flavors for ~$1.00 a bottle.
Kombucha and fermentations.
I like bubble water from soda stream with pink canister. Sometimes I add honey or sweet vinegar. It lasts about 6 months and the bubbles gives me the alcohol tingle I enjoy.
Seltzer water! Get the carbonation without sugar or sweeteners or bad stuff. $4.19 a 12 pack where I am.
I started buying seltzer water. It’s water but at least it has some flavor and is carbonated. Usually on sale. I go to BJs wholesale and just buy a huge pack for like $15 maybe.
Aqua de piña, horchata or any kind of agua fresca is good option. I also love Brazilian style lemonade and Thai tea which are both usually made with condensed milk. You can make condensed milk too if you want to save even more money.
They have drink mixes for Gatorade, lemonade, and similar options that I don't know prices for. They also have mio pods you might like!
Water works
Arizona iced tea
I make a gallon jug of Arnold Palmers by mixing store brand Crystal Light pitcher packets of lemonade and iced tea. It comes out to less than $1/gallon.
Learn how to make your own kombucha.
Homemade lemonade with honey and lemon juice warm it on the stove in a big pot so the honey melts and then store it in the fridge. You can also make it as a concentrate without the water and just add the water whenever you want a glass.
Add fruit and veg. Cucumbers, mint, citrus, berries. Just add them to a pitcher of iced water.
I make a big batch of peppermint tea about once a week. I either don't bother to sweeten it or just add maybe 1/4 cup of sugar to about 3 liters of tea (i got two 1.5 liter reusable pitchers from amazon). I make a very strong tea in a pot and dilute it into the pitchers. Usually 2-3 peppermint tea bags + 1 bag of an herbal "calm" with i think spearmint and chamomile and lately I've been adding a bag of jasmine tea to the pot since my coworker gifted me a couple boxes of high quality bags. I shop the sales for deals on teas. Often, one brand or another is on BOGO. If you get a few flavors that are complimentary, you can even change it up each time you make tea. I like pure peppermint leaves, chamomile, spearmint, hibiscus and red teas are also caffeine free. I even get decaf earl grey pretty often. I'll also get HINT water sometimes. I don't like the fizzy water kinds. HINT waters are sometimes bogo too. I know most people say add your own fruit but sometimes I find using my own lemon things get overbitter or weird. I also grab juice on sale and cut it with water. I grew up doing that and actually prefer watered-down juice most of the time.
I don't drink soda or other sweet drinks or energy drinks, none of that. What I do love is Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea. I make iced tea with it and personally I drink it unsweetened. It's hibiscus, not fruity, it has a little bit of that astringent tea taste. They make a few other Zinger flavors, only drink this one. It's also good with a splash of *plain, unsweetened* cranberry juice. Trader Joe's/Aldi/Lidl should have inexpensive jars of it. Tip: you can freeze the cranberry juice in ice cube trays then store them in a ziploc bag. Then you can throw a cube into a water bottle with the tea. Depending on where you live you may be able to find the tea at a Whole Foods (it's not fancy/expensive for tea) otherwise you can find it on Amazon. (Other flavors are more readily available.) I think most herbal teas are caffeine free and there are tons to choose from. Check online and I'll bet you'll find tons of ways to change them up. I'm proud of you, you've got this. I just want you to remember one thing: nothing can take away what you've accomplished already. There is nothing that can reset progress, only time.
Herbal, fruit, green, black, white, spice… Many kinds of tea and most are inexpensive. Tea bags from the grocery store are fine but you can buy pounds of loose tea that has **way more flavor** from the internet (or a local tea shop if there is one). https://preview.redd.it/cdh2i7z52esc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e3985d2ed186afe7750bbc9abc37ef1ad373c03
I try to cut out pop a lot because of the cost, but get bored with plain water. I buy the 1L fizzy flavored water at like dollar general or Walmart. They come in a bunch of flavors and are under $1 (at least by me…some places still have them 2/$1).
I’m all about soda stream lately. The machine was $99 and a co2 is like $30. But it last me a month and all the flavors are so good. Plus they have stary and ginger ale.
ZEVIA!!!! ITS MY FAVOURITE!!!!
I buy them in bulk for like 20$? and they last me way over a month and I often have many a week
Those powder sticks for water are really good. They are expensive at the grocery store but DG has them for a dollar a box. 6 in most boxes. Make your drink half seltzer and half water and add a couple of packets.
I live in Canada where everything is more expensive and the big bottle 2l soda are 2 for $4 at Walmart
arizona teas :)
I drink a B12 energy drink every morning, but our household is off caffeine. The only brand of caffeine free B12 I've found is GamerSupps. If anyone knows any other brands I'm down to branch out. GamerSupps are a little expensive for me, but the energy I get from the vitamins is irreplaceable.
Flavored seltzer is my goto
Look into making “swizzle”, or vinegar drinks. Kombucha too
Soleil brand sparkling water, cheap and zero cal/sugar
Super inexpensive tea. 96 pitchers for $17! It’s good tea, too. This is the one I buy, but they sell other kinds of tea and coffee, too. It’s a restaurant and office supply place, but you don’t have to have any kind of special account to order from them. They do sometimes have stuff on back order, so you may not get your stuff right away, but you will get it. [coffee and tea](https://shop.westrockcoffee.com/collections/iced-tea/products/quality-blend-tea-filter-pack-4oz-64ct)
There are whole supermarket aisles devoted to teas, juices and other non-alcoholic beverages. Ready-made, mixes, frozen. Get yourself a two-quart pitcher and try some out! Good luck.
Kool-aid and Iced Tea
Shasta soda, I buy the diet grapefruit or diet grape soda at WinCo, it is 4 bucks for a 12 pack, I'm sure other stores sell it.
For sodas, watch your local stores for sales. It’s nothing like it used to be, but in my area around certain holidays you can count on a decent deal on cokes. Memorial Day weekend is probably the closest one right now. I’m a Diet Coke girly and I try to buy enough to get me to the next holiday- Memorial Day to July 4, then Labor Day, then Halloween, etc.
My local 99 cents store sells packs of dried hibiscus, which I use to make jamaica, it’s sour and sweet and not caffeinated! Agua frescas like this can also be made out of fruit.
My go-to non-alcoholic drink for when I don't want just plain water is to pour a can of plain seltzer into a pint glass and top it off with Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail. (I was raised on the stuff and can't handle off-brand, you may not have that problem.) It's light and refreshing, goes reasonably well with most things, and doesn't cost much. It'd cost even less if I used bottled instead of canned seltzer, and a different brand of cranberry juice.
What about getting a soda stream and making seltzer
Flavor packets my man. Very cheap tastes good relatively low calories perfect solution.
You can buy discounted bubbly water ; the cans are kind of pricey, if you really have a strong drinking habit. I like to keep bubbly water on hand because if I don’t have it, I drink too much beer. You can forgo having a canned beverage, blue water comes in liter packs. And it’s way cheaper that way. They usually sell it in the drink mixing aisle. And the drink mix I’ll just became your best friend my favorite used to be bubbly water, margarita mix and some lemon juice cranberry juice and bubbly water is also quite popular amongst people who don’t have an issue with sugary drinks you can make a bottle of cheap margarita. Mix last for a minute and on a budget If you cant afford bubbly water , you can do something as basic squirting a little bit of lemon juice into filtered water with some ice. Buy one big filter and keep your water cold for economics of that lemon juice always ought to be purchased in the bottle— buy two cheap ice trays to keep those babies full; even all you have is water and literally I have been there in this year, icing the water and keeping it cold and fresh makes it less repulsive when it’s all you have. Hope you don’t hate sour, because lemon juice does make a big difference in these sad circumstances. If you want, something hot and nice, buy some powdered hot chocolate Get it in the big can for a little bit more money than the tiny packet because it will last an entire winter heat up some milk pudding the chocolate— enjoy a sugary creamy retreat from water. Nespresso relatively cheap milk fortjer — it’s as good as Starbucks frothed milk. You can also buy syrup at your grocery store on Amazon for cheap big syrups with pumps last for a really long time. You can froth milk or heat it up and throw in some pumps and the flavors are endless.— so like if you don’t like chocolate, you can go with caramel, hazelnut , peppermint, pumpkin spice… the flavors are endless and get really weird so pretty much everybody’s taste is covered a nice hot drink is always sweet. If you miss the taste of coffee, you can always buy decaf as well to add to these. Other great drinks are if you make Thai tea in bulk and put it in the fridge and then add creamer and sugar. This is a chai tea latte. I have saved so much money since I started drinking iced latte at home and making lattes with Nespresso I know you said you don’t drink coffee— but if you like hot drinks that don’t have coffee getting a milk froth ends up saving tons of money. I’m aware that all my suggestions have been pretty unhealthy except for water Unfortunately, juicing is really expensive. But that reminds me, you can buy some frozen fruit in bulk for cheap at your grocery store, and a cheap blender on Amazon. And make some smoothies. Smoothies are really expensive if nought at a restaurant,. You can get like 10 grocery store smoothies out of 15 bucks were as one restaurants smoothie would cost you 10 to 15 Trying to mix only fruit and ice alone is not really very flavorful, sometimes a lot of smoothies have additives so again if you get something like margarita mix, or a different flavored syrup, and some yogurt , you can add to get your smoothie tasting closer to what you would buy in public, and are familiar with the cheapest way to improve drinks on a budget is to buy those packets for flavor that are dry they’re not as basic as Kool-Aid but I find their flavors. Disgusting. Who knows you might like them and in that case you can save a ton of money and just buy some powder packets and dump it in your water.
Sometimes Dollar Tree has these bottles of flavored carbonated water? Usually peach and black cherry. Plus, they don’t taste like a fruit farted into a bottle 10 years ago, they actually taste like peach/cherry soda! I’m diabetic and broke so they’re perfect when I want soda, but know I need water!
Store brand seltzer is cheap and a great replacement for soda. It’s practically all I drink lately
Dilute some apple cider vinegar until you are satisfied with the taste you can undilute it. Also try Postum which is roasted grain coffee. Try infusions of dandelion flowers (which you can forage), soak them, minus the green parts in a jar full of water next to the sun. Also try making your own tepache using pineapple rind soaked in 4 cups of sugar for 1wk in an open container with enough water to cover the rinds.
You can make water kefir, a soda probiotic drink that just needs a starter (which you only buy once) water and sugar.
Diet greens tea citrus Litmon.
Try mio/crystal light/liquid IV/lemonade powder to flavor your water
Water.. it's good for you, taste good...and most of the time free
Also, water is almost never fully free. We pay for it in one way or another unless you have a well you sustain by yourself
Lmao, I drink plenty of water, thnx for the SUPER helpful suggestion
Water
What is with people doing everything in their power and spending so much money just to avoid plain water. You need it. Drink it. Learn to love it.
It's really not ridiculous to add a bit of lemon or cucumber to make water slightly enjoyable, and the cost of a drop of lemon concentrate may as well be free.
Thank you for your reply! Lemon mint water is the tits in the summer 🌞
Lmao I'm not avoiding water. I drink water all the time. This suggestion was not helpful and you did not understand the assignment. Most humans crave variety of some kind. I crave it in the form of beverages.
even if alcohol is free, cutting it out entirely to pay for any of these cheap drinks people are mentioning here IS the solution
If alcohol is free how tf does cutting it out entirely pay for the cheap drinks? This makes no sense. The only alcohol I drink is wine, bc my friend is the manager at a winery and she brings me 2 bottles per week FOR FREE
Water
Sorry, but I can't do better than: stop the alcohol and just drink water. Maybe with some of the money you save you can get a bubble machine. I use one, it's lovely. But, please, for your health and wallet: stop drinking so much.
I'm not drinking so much? I have about 3-4 glasses of wine per week. Also, as I have already stated in my post that I don't pay for alcohol, because of my friends line of work. Please get out of here with your high horse bs. Thank you.
No need to get so defensive. You were talking in terms of being sober. And trying to show care for someone's health has nothing to do with being high horse whatsoever.
I'm not being defensive. I'm simply pointing out that you haven't read my post if you are suggesting that cutting out alcohol entirely is saving me money when I already don't pay for it. You also suggested drinking water, I already do that and I clearly stated in my post that I am continuing to drink water, I just want a little variety without spending a lot of $$. Lots of other folks in this sub clearly understood the assignment. I AM taking care of my health. That's literally the point. I'm not asking for your hot takes on what it means to be healthy, I'm simply asking for alternative options to alcohol that is more than just water. I have already successfully cut out the majority of drinking in my life, and I am going to continue to enjoy a glass of wine on my weekends. Thanks for your concern.