If you purchase soda for a holiday weekend, picnic, party, road trip, or just for drinking at home, you know how quickly it adds up. It’s often cheaper to purchase two- liter bottles than it is to purchase smaller bottles or cans. If you plan to use the soda at home or at a picnic or party location, two liters may be the most economical option.
These days, a 20-ounce bottle of pop often goes for more than a two-liter bottle, especially if you purchase it cold at a gas station or a convenience store. If you’re heading out for a road trip, buy sodas and drinks ahead of time instead of grabbing something each time you stop for gas. Individual cans of pop cost slightly under a dollar each and single bottles are usually a little over a dollar each. You can buy a twelve pack of cans for about $3-4 dollars, and bottles can be purchased in six packs for about the same price, saving you several dollars.
If you are out of pre-purchased drinks and stop at a truck stop, gas station, or convenience store for a drink, check the price of one-liters. They are often the same price as 20-ounce bottles, if not cheaper! You might as well get more soda for your money.
You can obviously watch for your favorite brand of soda pop to go on sale and then stock up, but it’s a good idea to try store brands as well. Some are not even close to the quality of the name brand drinks, and other vary by flavor. Ginger Ale and some flavors such as orange and grape are usually comparable in flavor and therefore acceptable. Root beer may also be okay, but cola, Dr. Pepper, and perhaps lemon-lime are flavors where people generally prefer a specific brand.
One brand that offers a good knock off version of popular sodas is Wal-Mart’s Great Value brand. The cola is quite good, as is the Mountain Lightning (knock-off of Mountain Dew) and Doctor Thunder (knock-off of Dr. Pepper). These sodas are only 50-59 cents per two-liter and about $2-2.50 a twelve pack.
If you drink diet soda, try Diet Dr. Thunder. I actually prefer the taste to Diet Dr. Pepper, and you can’t beat the price!