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Nickels and Dimes After considering the idea of a health and fitness club in Sheridan County, I wondered if this is something that the county could afford. Such an endeavor can be a costly undertaking. In exploring the ability of the county residents to afford such a facility, I asked myself: how much do we now spend on various discretionary activities? I chose a total of six activities that most people would agree are voluntary and done for pleasure rather than need. The following is my reasoning and results. GAMBLING: the Montana Department of Justice has reported that the government income from video gambling machines operated in Sheridan County for the year 2006 was $204,949. The state gets 15% of the money played in the machines. Therefore, there was $1,366,000 spent on video gaming machines in the county in 2006. SMOKING: 20% of Montana adults smoke and Sheridan County has about 3,000 adults; therefore, there are roughly 600 smokers in the county. With an average of $4.00 for each pack of cigarettes and 1 pack smoked per day, it costs $120 a month for one smoker and $1,440 yearly. This means that $900,000 is spent annually in Sheridan County for cigarettes. ALCOHOL: I assumed that 500 people would average 4 drinks a week at a local club at $2.50 a drink. This is $10.00 a week or $40.00 per month or $480.00 a year. This comes to $240,000 annually. SODA and COFFEE: I assumed that one-half the population (2000 people) would average one soda or one cup of coffee a day and that each would cost $1.00 apiece. At $30.00 a month for 1 year that is $360 per person or $720,000 yearly. CANDY: I assumed that 500 people would eat one candy bar a day at $0.80 a bar. That is $24.00 a month or $288.00 a year or $144,000 a year. TRAVEL: I assumed that 100 residents would travel 90 miles one way once a month to purchase goods or seek entertainment. At a cost of $0.50 a mile to operate a motor vehicle (Hertz’s cost in the late 80’s was $0.56/mile) these trips would cost $90 a month or $1080.00 a year for a total annual cost of $108,000.
Annual cost Gambling 1,366,000 Smoking 900,000 Soda and coffee 720,000 Alcohol 240,000 Travel 108,000 Candy 144,000 Total $3,478,000 Based on these numbers I concluded that the county could afford to build a fitness center.
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