IF YOU ARE considering radically changing your lifestyle but need a smidgen more motivation to do so, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has helpfully calculated how much one could save this year by cutting back on smoking, drinking, eating out and having takeaway coffees.

(But obviously do cultivate and maintain other sources of joy in life).

So, if you are smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, giving them up for just the month of January would save you €575.36, and for the year it would save you €6,700.

In terms of drinking, taking a break for the month of January could save you €95 if you drink an average of four pints a week.

Dialling back on restaurant visits could save you a pretty penny, as the price of a meal has gone up almost 25% in the years between November 2020 and November 2025.

It’s a similar story with takeaways, which have seen prices surge by 30%, meaning that a takeaway that cost €25 five years ago would now cost you more that €32.

There is also bad news for coffee lovers, as the price of a daily takeaway coffee has risen by more than 7% in the last 12 months.

The CSO has also noted that the price of package holidays increased by 1.5% in 2025, so it might be worth increasing your savings for that summer getaway in the first few months of 2026.

The good news is there is also good news from the CSO. If you want to make some additional savings in the next year, taking eco-friendly measures can help you along the way.

Reducing your energy consumption and increasing your use of public transport is one way to go about it.

Another is changing your car type; stats show that the number of new electric cars licensed in the 11 months to November of this year rose by 38% compared to the same period in 2024.

Another option is changing to renewable energy sources for your home, which more people are doing than ever before. 

As of September 2025, 25% of the homes across the countries with BER ratings had at least one renewable energy source such as heat pumps, solar thermal systems, or solar panels. 

There’s lots to mull over there whether you want to take a small step like cutting down on coffees, or do something major like trading in your wheels in 2026.