Fiji Water - is it Worth the Cost? (best, national, price)
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I'm not a big water drinker, but I must drink more of it for my health. My tap water is awful so I must buy bottled water. I'm recovering from a critical medical issue, and my doctor says drinking more water will help with my physical recovery. I've tried several brands and I really like Fiji water, and the Smart water is a close second.
At my local market, Fiji water cost twice as much. I'm willing to drink a less expensive brand, but if the Fiji water is more benefitial and worth the additional cost I am willing to pay for it.
Are there any frugal Fiji and/or Smart Water drinkers out there? Is bottled water equal, and it's just a matter of personal taste?
What is it that makes your local tap water "awful"?
If it's not unhealthy to drink it, the cheapest way is just to get used to it.
Otherwise, buy the VERY CHEAPEST bottled water. Usually these will say something like "from [XYZ city] municipal water supply". The city municipal water supply will be fine.
The best waters are Smart, and Essentia. Also, Whole Foods' brand of water is the exact same as Essentia, bottled at the same plant, same water, but at a lower price. Why are these brands better (there may be other minor brands I've overlooked, here, that are equivalent)? Aside from the way they're filtered, they have electrolytes added, and a good Ph balance. They're more easily absorbed by the body. There's a science to this, it's not meaningless hype.
You can get Essentia at a considerable discount--currently going for $1.00 off, at Sprouts market, if you have one in your city, from time to time. When they have a big discount offer like that, you can by a couple of cases of it, or more, to stock up.
What is it that makes your local tap water "awful"?
If it's not unhealthy to drink it, the cheapest way is just to get used to it.
Otherwise, buy the VERY CHEAPEST bottled water. Usually these will say something like "from [XYZ city] municipal water supply". The city municipal water supply will be fine.
I grew up drinking very nasty tap water - you can't always get used to it.
One thing to try though is a filtration pitcher - they can help a lot and are much cheaper than bottled water.
Otherwise, try cheaper waters or look at Sam's Club/Costco if you have a membership - that can cut the cost down to maybe less than 10 cents a bottle rather than $1-2 each.
I think there have been some studies comparing bottled water and finding very few "real" differences so if you prefer a cheaper one it's likely just as "good" as the more expensive.
We've also got the safe but bad-tasting tap water and for home use have an under counter filter that feeds to a drinking water tap at the kitchen sink.
When we do buy bottled water, we go for the cheapest 'spring water', which is going to be labeled for the spring the water came from and isn't just some city's municipal water system water. Most grocery store chains these days have perfectly nice house brand spring waters that taste better than a lot of the national name brand waters.
What's "smart" in a Smart Water? SmartWater contains calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and potassium bicarbonate. Nestle Pure Life's list includes calcium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and magnesium sulfate. And these are just a few brands. Bottled water companies are purifying water, but then they're adding extra ingredients back.
So, that's actually just a mineral water...
And there might be this (I don't have time right now to check the validity of those statements) Bottled water warnings
What exactly is "awful" about your tap water? Stagnant? Too much chlorine? High iron content? Depending on the issue, it's likely that a simple, inexpensive (relative to the price of buying bottled water 100% of the time) under-sink filtration system could solve the problem.
If bottled water really is the only option, go for the gallon jugs for less than a buck each rather than some name-brand stuff for close to $2 for a 20-ounce bottle. Some grocery stores have bottle filling stations that are even more cost effective.
There was a report in Consumer Reports on water and they rated Nestle Pure Life well - that's the brand I buy (my tap water is terrible as well - it gets "good quality" water reports but it has an odor, leaves a pinkish residue in my shower, etc.
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