Christy

By Christy Smith

The High Price of ... Diet Coke

Posted June 10, 2008

Dog food and Diet Coke are consumed in mass quantities in my household. My three dogs are the ones eating the dog food, mind you. My husband and I are the Diet Coke junkies. Really, I don't think the security guy in the lobby here would recognize me if I walked in one day without my first Diet Coke of the morning. Yes, I said "first." That's because I typically drink three of the aspartame-laced beverages a day. My husband is no better. So we consume at least a six-pack of Diet Coke a day. And I try to keep the pantry stocked in an effort to avert any caffeine withdrawal crises. That's becoming harder nowadays.

I know that most people are concerned about the rising price of gasoline. I've complained about it, too. But the rising price of Diet Coke (I know it's partially the result of higher gas prices and, thus, the cost of transporting those Diet Cokes to the store) has me really worried. I recently visited one pharmacy that shall remain nameless, and they wanted $5.49 for a 12-pack. Do the math, and that's 46-cents per can --- which is much cheaper than buying a can of Diet Coke out of the vending machine at work. But still...

That $5.49 got stuck in my head over the weekend. I am just not going to pay that much for a 12-pack, especially when I buy eight or 10 12-packs of Diet Coke at a time. The nearby grocery store that also shall remain nameless wanted $4.19 for a 12-pack. It's a little better, I'll admit. But it's still too high a price to pay for a caffeine fix. So I'm on a mission to find Diet Coke at the cheapest price possible. I struck gold at a certain red big-box store that shall remain nameless. Four 12-packs for $11. Glory be! That's $2.75 a 12-pack. And you better believe that I stocked up. I could hardly push my Diet Coke laden shopping cart out to the car.

So ask me how high do gas prices have to get before I decide to start riding a bicycle to work, and I can't really answer that question. I live pretty dang far from work, after all. But price my Diet Coke at $3 or higher, and I'll burn up my gas driving all over town to find the best deal. That may seem shallow to some, but you really don't want to see me after a day of no Diet Coke.