Man, Reba Ray hit that drinkin’ thang hard, didn’t she? But it’s not so easy to keep up with 8 to 10 cups of liquid a day. After all, we have enough to keep track of without measuring water – which is just one good reason why just what you need is a stainless steel water bottle. They come in sizes ranging from 12 to 40 ounces, so you can just do the math and figure, “I need to drink 3 of these to get enough water each day.”

Simplicity is one, but by no means the only, nor the most important reason to invest in stainless steel. Probably most importantly, reusing a stainless steel container cuts down on the plastic water bottle waste which is now at epic proportions! Save the planet – use stainless steel. Of next greatest importance is our health. Plastic emits a harmful chemical, BPA, the impact of which we’re still trying to get a handle on. Even if we purchase our water and take it right home and stick it in the fridge, chances are that somewhere along the supply chain that plastic heated enough to give off some BPA. So the very essence that’s supposed to be nourishing our bodies is poisoning us!

Another great advantage to stainless steel is that we can fill it up from our tap and drink water at a fraction of the cost we would pay for plastic bottled water. A review of four popular brands of water bottle is at GoGreenTravelGreen.com. It also helps that stainless steel bottles are trendy now (you won’t look like a geek carrying it) and they don’t change the flavor of water.

But what about that? Maybe you’ve been driven to the (disposable) bottle by bad tap water. Ugh! First, check to see if your city’s drinking water just tastes bad or really is bad. If you pay your own water bill, the water company will mail you a Consumer Confidence Report annually by July 1. Public health and safety company, NSF, offers a guide to interpreting water quality reports. Or, get a quick online report from the Environmental Working Group’s drinking water database – the largest in the world! Enter your zip code, then select your water company, read the report and weep!

If your water actually has a good quality rating and just tastes funny, I highly recommend immersing yourself in it, that is, drink it anyway, all the time, for about two weeks and soon you won’t notice how nasty it truly is. Your taste and smell receptors will become satiated for those particular nasty particles and soon you’ll be able to actually enjoy your water. But be warned that after a vacation of a week or more, you might have to desensitize yourself again.

If your water is actually bad, invest in a good, but low-cost water filtration system, like a Brita pitcher. No installation, initial investment is reasonable and you can take it with you when you move. Purchase filters in multipacks to make them more affordable. PUR, another filtration system you pour tap water into and then store in the fridge, offers a 2-pack of flavored filters for cheaper than their 2-pack of regular filters. If your water needs a lot of help, try one of their five flavors. For a full and cost-conscious analysis of water filtration, with links to purchase the different systems, visit Cheapism.com’s cheap water filter page.

What ever happened to drinking from the hose? Days gone by. Water is serious business now, and that means that we, the consumers, need to get smart about water. As carelessly as we brush our teeth with the tap running and take long showers, it would seem we think water is free. Consider, however, if we pay $.99 for a 12-ounce bottle, that we’re actually paying more for a gallon of water than for a gallon of milk. Would you pay $10.56 for a gallon of milk? Do the math, baby, that’s what you’re paying for water at $.99 for 12 ounces. Don’t drink your paycheck away! Invest in good, cheap water today.