We started this one yesterday and now it’s time to wrap it up.  If you’re a smoker and you’re not willing to put nearly two grand per year back in your pocket, the least you can do for yourself is to start saving some money on your smokes.

Last time, we discussed Indian reservations, cheaper brands, coupons and special deals you can find to take a little bit of the sting out of cigarette prices.  If those don’t do the trick for you, maybe these will.

Rolling your own.  You can buy a tin of good cigarette tobacco and plenty of rolling papers for a fraction of what regular premium cigarettes will cost you.  There is a downside.  It can take awhile to get good at rolling cigarettes.  Until you do, you can expect a little waste and some ugly smokes.  Additionally, you’re going to need to learn how to smoke a little differently if you’re used to filtered, packaged cigarettes.  You won’t have a filter and wet lips can ruin a self-rolled smoke.  That absence of a filter can also lead to a slightly harsher tobacco experience.  Still, the savings are amazing.  Plus, you get to look like an old-time cowboy when you roll your own.  That’s worth something, right?

Packing your own.  You buy a tin of tobacco, but instead of making the guy at the convenience store think that you’re Tommy Chong’s buddy every time you buy papers, you invest in a box of paper tubes into which you’ll pack that tobacco.  You use  a special tool to pack those babies, but it’s a cheap handheld device that won’t break the bank.  You’re still money ahead.  Plus, you get the filter back in your smoking life.  And the cigarettes come out better looking and more consistent.  It can take a while to get used to the packer and you’ll probably waste a few tubes until you get the hang of it, but this can be a good way to cut down on your cigarette bills.

Smoke shops.  That little smoke shop nestled between the pawn shop and the “how does that place stay open in this day and age” fabric store in that crummy strip mall might be able to save you some money.  These places can’t meet or beat the Indian reservation prices, but they often have specials that beat the local Quickie Mart.  They’re also frequently purveyors of cheap generics and off brands, which is another way of saving some money.

So, there you have it.  Three additional ways to cut your smoking costs if you’re not willing to do the smart thing.  After all, you really should be quitting and reducing your expenses to zero.

You’ll note that we didn’t mention a few of the ways some people try to get cigarettes on the cheap.  We intentionally left out the online purchase of tobacco and securing foreign-made cigarettes.  That was intentional.

I’m not an attorney or an expert in tax stamps.  However, I know that the feds and individual states are pretty strict about interstate tobacco sales and how the taxes, etc. need to work.  Many of these online dealers probably aren’t as careful as we’d like them to be.  There are also plenty of regs in place about tobacco importation and I’m not willing to trust some random Russian website to supply me with legal products at a wildly reduced rate.  In fact, I’m not really willing to trust that they’ll supply me with anything more than a big credit card bill.

Have you ever seen those heavily armed Bureau of Alchol, Tobacco and Firearms agents on TV?  These are not the guys I want on my front porch on a Sunday morning because I decided to score some cheap Bulgarian smokes via the Internet.  It’s just not worth the risk.

I’ll say it again, because it’s the right thing to do.  You can save more money and you can potentially save your life by quitting.  But if you’re not willing to do the right thing, do the second best thing and find a good way to keep your tobacco expenditures to a minimum.