Belle went to a wedding in June, and when she came back, she was all about the money people were waving by rolling their own cigarettes. Locally, a carton of smokes is over $50.00 thank to our Democratic governor. We have culled that expense and spend about a half-hour a day rolling our won. Normally, we'll sit for about a half-hour, roll 40 to 50 smokes, and talk while we enjoy an after-work cocktail.
We use pipe tobacco, sold in bulk at the local smoke shop for our pleasure. We haven't yet firmly decided on a brand, but the one we like best right now is Ohm Blue, and a one-pound bag costs about $14.00 locally. For cigarette tubes, we use Zenn Blue filter tubes, which Belle buys from Amazon.
The injector machine is a Laramie, also found on Amazon. Here is a look at our set-up, and some lessons learned.
First of all, put the machine in some sort of tray with a shallow lip. A cookie sheet works good, although any tray that will catch the overflow works fine. Belle and I use a small metal tray she found a t the Dollar Store. It is what it is.
Second, there is a shallow learning curve with this thing. But, after a few minutes it is entirely possible to produce cigarettes that look just like the factory-rolled alternative.Third, the cost is much less than buying factory smokes. Belle estimates that we're spending just a bit more than a dollar a pack. Pipe tobacco isn't taxed as heavily as cigarette tobacco. After amortizing the machine, I estimate that we're spending about $2.50 a pack for cigarettes, which is a hell of a lot less than the over $5.00 per pack that we were spending before.
We're smoking better tobacco. Really, we are. As long as we intend to smoke anyway, it makes a lot of sense to save a penny here and a penny there.
If you smoke cigarettes, I recommend that you look into rolling yer own. It saves you money in your pocketbook immediately, and it sticks it to the sin-taxing Democrats, which is just an added bonue.
4 comments:
Yeah, but can you roll one with Bull Durham riding horseback at a lope in west Kansas in a 30mph wind? Gotta light it, too. GW
I know several people who do this. Some claim it is healthier too; I don't know enough to comment on that.
Where I live, 3 states come together, so many people buy things in a cheaper state when passing through or working there - primarily gasoline and cigarettes.
My Mom and Dad rolled their own when I was real little, so must've been about 50 years ago. Dad had this machine with a cloth apron, place the tobacco (Bugler IIRC) in it, place a pre-moistened rolling paper in in, push the lever and out would pop a rolled smoke.
This is the type of thing he used:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Brown-Williamson-Bugler-1960s-Cigarette-Rolling-Machine-/182687836162
Filters? What are those? Even after they started buying them they smoked Pall Mall red or Chesterfields.
Hell, I think I've gotten a deal when I can pick up a carton for less than $70.
*sob*
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