A14

Andrea Mailman

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How many times a week do you hear, "Can you put on a new roll?" Ever calculate how much toilet paper costs in your household?

Toilet paper is not a big conversation item but it is something we all use without a second thought. How many squares do you use at one time?

Marketers have made the issue of buying toilet paper a complicated process.

How many plys of paper do you need? Does it need to be soft? Is it absorbent enough?

Are you brand loyal? Do you buy based on the cute kittens or the cuddly bears? Single or double roll? Do you buy in bulk?

The conversation of toilet paper can take many turns but let us look at the costs.

The Shopping Bags show, on the w network, reported North American consumers use 57 squares of toilet paper a day. Single rolls of paper consist of 200 squares.

All that being said, one person will use over 20,000 squares of toilet paper a year. This equates to over 100 rolls.

An average cost per roll is $0.70 and therefore the annual cost of one person's toilet paper equals $72.80. Therefore a household of 4 people spend almost $300 a year on toilet paper.

How many people are in your household? How many trips to the "loo" are taken at home each day? Remember on weekends and holidays more trips will be done.

How many squares are used per trip? Therefore how many rolls do you go through a month? What are your annual costs?

If you are trying to get the smaller bums in your household to cut back on the amount of toilet paper they waste, do the above exercise with them and then offer them this idea.

Next year do you want to go to camp or have a pass to Magic Mountain?

Did you know if you were less wasteful with the toilet paper, then we might have the money to go to camp or have a family trip?

Little things can make a big difference.

If you are having a hard time making ends meet and paying your bills, please take the time to look at all your expenses.

Take a few minutes to see what type of expenses you are incurring and see if there are ways to cut back.

Should you still find yourself overwhelmed with bills, please contact a financial advisor for help.

* Andrea Mailman is a financial advisor specializing in debt restructuring with the Moncton office of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Utilizing her experience in banking and working with debtors, she assists people to address and deal with their financial challenges. Andrea can be reached at 859-8822 or by e-mail at andrea.j.mailman@ca.pwc.com.