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True Cost of Drinking Calculator

Beyond the bar tab. See what alcohol really costs you in money, time, sleep, health, and years of your life.

1 70
0% (all at bars) 100% (all at home)
1 40
0 7
1 16

Alcohol disrupts REM sleep, the phase critical for memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and cognitive recovery. Even moderate drinking before bed significantly reduces REM time.

1 12
1 7

REM Sleep Loss Reference

1 drink-24 min
2 drinks-38 min
3 drinks-52 min
4 drinks-66 min
5+ drinks-80 min

Your weekly drinks

14

Based on your weekly intake of 14 drinks, research estimates the following impact on your life expectancy.

Estimated impact

-1 to -2 years

Reference levels (drinks/week):

  • 0 – 14: Within safe guidelines
  • 15 – 21: -1 to -2 years
  • 22 – 35: -2 to -5 years
  • 36+: -5 to -10+ years

Source: The Lancet, 2018 — “Risk thresholds for alcohol consumption”

Money

$0

/year

Time

0

hrs/year

Sleep

0

hrs REM lost/yr

Calories

0

kcal/year

Life

0

years lost

Total Annual Cost

$0

Per month

$0

Per week

$0

Per day

$0

10-Year Projection

Spent on Drinking

$0

vs

Invested Instead (7% APR)

$0

What You Could Buy Instead (10 Years)

Share Your Results

Most people underestimate what drinking actually costs them. Beyond the price of drinks, there's the lost time, the degraded sleep, the empty calories, and the measurable impact on life expectancy.

This calculator adds it all up across five dimensions so you can see the full picture — not to shame you, but to inform your choices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this calculator include the cost of alcohol-related health problems?
We only calculate direct costs you can control: purchase price, rideshares, and lost time. Health costs (medical bills, lost productivity, insurance premiums) can add another $5,000–$15,000 per year for heavy drinkers — our calculator is the conservative estimate.
What counts as one drink?
One standard drink = 12oz regular beer (5% ABV), 5oz wine (12% ABV), or 1.5oz spirits (40% ABV). All contain approximately 14 grams of pure alcohol.
Is the compound interest calculation realistic?
It assumes 7% average annual market return, which is roughly the inflation-adjusted historical average of the S&P 500. It's a reasonable illustration, not a financial guarantee.
Why is the sleep cost measured in hours?
We translate REM sleep loss into hours because it makes the scale visceral. If alcohol is stealing 52–80 minutes of REM sleep per drinking night, that adds up to hundreds of hours of lost restorative sleep annually.
How was the calorie-to-fat calculation derived?
One pound of body fat contains approximately 3,500 calories. We divide your annual drinking calories by 3,500 to show the fat-equivalent. This is a simplified model — actual weight impact depends on metabolism and total diet.

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