Ok, I'm light on work today, so I just did some math.
I drink about 2 bottles of beer every day. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but 24 oz/day is a good, realistic average.
Let's be slightly OPTIMISTIC about the price of my favorite store bought beers and say that my beer cost $1 for 12 oz (this is the price of my cheapest commercial beers.)
So... in two years, I will drink; 365 days/year * 2 bottles/day * 2 years * $1/bottle = $1460 every two years if I buy it all.
Remember that; $1460 to buy beer for two years.
Now.. back to homebrewing.....
I have between $150 and $200 in equipment. Let's be pessimistic and say that I have $200 worth of gear.
Let's be UBER pessimistic and say that I am going to replace ALL of that gear every 2 years. This is ludicrous, though, because my carboys (the most expensive things I own) are going to last a very VERY long time, but just for the sake of argument... let's say I break them every two years and they need replaced.
I need to homebrew enough to feed my 24 oz/day habbit for two years. That's 17,520 oz of beer over two years... OR.... about 28 batches of beer.
At an average of $30 for a batch worth of ingredients, I can make this beer at home for; 28 batches * $30/batch = $840. Add in the equipment costs, and it comes to $1040 for two years.
So.. I can buy it for $1460 or make it for $1040. That's a savings of just over $400. Hell.. I can replace my equipment every 8 months instead of every 24 months and still break even.
Are you still telling me that I am going to spend MORE money home-brewing?
-walker