Stopping Smoking

I remember hearing something in the news a while ago that if you quit smoking by the time you are 30 then your risk profile almost matches that of non-smokers after x years. Can't remember the details, and I seem to think that it was discredited by some. But I kinda made a resolution then that this is what I would do. Stop smoking by the age of 30.

It's easy to do that when your birthday isn't imminent.

But now it is, and I've just been IM'ing with my stocks and shares guru Gregor - we worked out that if I'd saved the money I've spent on cigarettes over the years (and compounding the interest) I'd have a cash pot now of £31383. And if I did this for a further 12 years then my cash pot would be £126367. Wow.

But it gets worse.

Had I instead invested in shares of Phillip Morris (MO), taking into account dividends and splits my investment would now be worth £44826.55. And, if I continued for another 12 years then my investment would be worth £678615.78 assuming MO returns 24% a year which is what it has done on average since 1994.

Aside from this though, I'm going snowboarding in 6 weeks or so and prime mountain biking season is upcoming. It'll be interesting to be able to breathe.

Posted by Paul in Habit Entertainment at February 9, 2006 12:55 AM | 4 Comments