Personal-finance expert Tiffany Aliche, author of "The One Week Budget," suggests forcing yourself to do the math––just as Hollenstein did––before tossing back yet another nightcap.
"Let's say you drink three nights a week and spend $30 each time," she says. "That's over $4,000 a year, or as much as a trip to Paris or Rome."
It is not an all-or-nothing proposition, notes Aliche, who is not a drinker herself. You don't have to become a teetotaler in order to realize massive savings. "Instead of drinking three times a week, just drink twice, and then go on your vacation, too," she advises.
As for Hollenstein, who had a long and complex relationship with alcohol, she thought it was best to give up drinking altogether. She did not necessarily do it for the money, but when she did, she noticed that her finances changed overnight.
"As soon as I gave it up, the money thing became so clear," she says. "Drinking was just a mindless, habitual thing I did on a daily basis. And I didn't really notice it until I got my credit card bill or looked at my bank account."