Well, I'm going to say that quitting smoking could really help you to save your money
You know, I dont think that quitting smoking is going to change former smoker financial condition dramatically. People focus only on the total amount saved during a long period, while pay little attention on expenses. For example OP said that he spends $90 monthly, which is $1080 per year. I am 1000% sure, that if he quit, he wont find extra $1000 in his pocket by the end of the year. He wont put those $90 by the end of the month in a piggy bank. That $2/pack he has mentioned, he would spend on something else. Cut of coffee daily. Buy more gas at gas station. Extra bottle of beer next time he does shopping. Anything. Easy to say that if he quit he would be $1k richer by the end of the year. Hard to resist spending money and saving them purposely during that year.
I have done something of such savings. I have switched my TV/Internet subscription monthly from super fast to fast. That would save me around 15 EUR per month. And guess what, after I year of such savings, I did not feel any major difference. Like I spent money and run out of them by the end of the month, and it continued to be like this.
First off, you're right, not every quitter magically finds a grand in their pocket at year's end. But, it's not just about the cash saved from not buying packs. It's about the cumulative effect on one's financial health. Think about it – health costs down the line, increased insurance premiums, even the cost of extra cleaning to rid clothes and homes of the smell. The real savings? They're in the avoided costs, the unseen expenses that don't hit you all at once but bleed you dry over time
And about your TV/Internet switch sure, 15 EUR a month sounds like chump change. But imagine, just imagine, if instead of letting it evaporate, you had directed it into an interest-bearing account or a low-cost index fund. Small streams make big rivers. It's not about feeling richer; it's about being smarter with the resources you have
My comment was addressed into a bit different direction. Think about this. People write here that after he quits, he will save money, but like we figured out, he wont find that thousand in his pocket by the end of the year. Those $2 a day will slid away like nothing. If smoking isnt killing you for 100%, and OP did not complain about health, then for obtaining those $2 a day, he has lost a few minutes of joy or happiness. It is wrong to make such comparison, but still. Those few minute with yourself and your thoughts, that little pause from other activity, that little moment of happiness (if he wasnt happy, he would not have even started smoking, right?) cost only $2 a day.