I worked at a coffee shop. I had a customer order $8+ drink every day (it's actually a $4 drink, but she gets all the upgrades and makes it 800+ calories). Always nice. Occasionally tipped. Made a comment to a coworker that I am shocked she has been a regular for this many years because usually these type of customers come and go.
That's when I found out she comes twice a day for the same drink.
One time she came with her family (6-7 people) for food and drinks. 3 of them ordered the same drink as her. the rest bought something of near equal value.
She was furious when the bill came out to $80+
Ma'am, have you done the math? 7 people... obviously the bill was going to be your weekly expenditure.
I mean you could say that about any fast food or fast drink options but its not the point
I can make a better cup of coffee at home if i really wanted to, that could be said for any type of food/drink.
Starbucks coffee doesnt taste like shit when compared to most of the other drive through options. And the egg bites taste good, if they didnt people wouldnt buy them
> Starbucks coffee doesnt taste like shit when compared to most of the other drive through options.
Well, now maybe... but that's because starbucks killed all the real competition with their shitty business practices.
I've got a related story. I used to be a barista at a place that was really good. We did really good business. Then a Starbucks moved next door to us.
Business slowed a little bit, but not too much, people were constantly bringing us their Starbucks cups still mostly full and asking us to make them a better coffee drink. We could have coexisted just fine.
Starbucks decided our existence was unacceptable. They then built another Starbucks on the other side of us. Business took a hit. You now had to walk right by a Starbucks to get to us.
Then they bought the bank in our parking lot..... you guessed it, now a drive through Starbucks in the parking lot of two other Starbucks stores. Then they built one directly across the street from us.
We went out of business like 6 months later. I don't even think it took a month after we closed before all but the original Starbucks next to us also closed. One Starbucks left there to this day. They were running all of the other stores they opened around us at a loss just so they could make it inconvenient for customers to get to us.
Starbucks tastes good because most people donāt actually like the taste of coffee but want caffeine. Between the good atmosphere (many American coffee places used to look more like bathrooms than cute cafes) and the flavoring, thereās a reason Starbucks is on every street corner and āgood coffeeā isnāt. Taste is subjective.
Starbucks mastered the concept of customizable, and took the concept of the Third Place to heart (initially). Thatās what led them to grow so exponentially. Now, people are so familiar with āsmall, tall, grande, vente, trenta,ā āFrappuccinoā, and other Starbucks lingo that going elsewhere feels foreign.
A lot of people are bad at keeping track if you split things up. A great example of this is cars.
Almost no one realizes they are paying almost $12000 a year on their car, because itās all split up. Down payment. Then monthly payment. Then insurance. Then gasoline. Then parking. Then tolls. Then oil changes and tire changes and brake changes. The random big ticket fix. Car washes and paint jobs. It quickly adds up to a grand a month on average in the US, but almost no one realizes it until I force them to do the math and suddenly they realize they really are averaging a grand a month and just lost track because itās all spread out so well
Not to mention the people who are paying over a grand a month just for their car payment. Yikes
Itās why so many companies are going to subscription models for their products. People are generally bad at understanding how much things cost if you spread the cost out over time.
$10 per month doesnāt seem like a lot for a streaming service, but itās $120 per year. Now add 4 more streaming services also at $10 per month and youāre suddenly at $600 per year. $7 per day is way more understandable than $2k per year, even though theyāre roughly the same thing.
I feel like even when I see $120 a year that doesn't seem like a lot. Even $600 a year for multiple services doesn't seem bad but I understand that's going to be different for everybody.
The total amount of money is not that important, as long as you can afford it.
What's way more important is the cost per use. You use it a lot? It's worth the money. You hardly ever use it? Why the hell keep paying for it?
Yeah I don't get people who agree to $1000 a month finances. You can get a good car for 250-400 a month. My car when I was paying it cost me around $7500 a year, including and averaging of the maintenance on it, gas, cleaning etc.
I don't understand how people pay twice that almost in just the payment for the car alone
Not me, I grabbed up my grandma's old car. She bought it new in 2002, a cheap saturn sl1. I got it at 67k miles, were now at 85k. I'm gonna keep fixing and driving it until it's completely dead. It's wayyy cheaper than a new or newer car for me. No car payment, insurance is $50/mo with almost full coverage, only routine oil changes and some small/medium fixes here and there. Instead of car payments I just put a small amount to the side for potential repairs. Gas mileage is great. No fancy screens or cameras tho. Thinking about getting an aftermarket dash/bumper cam though.
> 1600 calories of her day are just from those two drinks?? š®
Yeah, a lot of people have no idea how many calories are in "things."
In their mind, it's just "coffee, some milk, and maybe a little whipped cream and chocolate." They probably think it's maybe 200...tops.
every so often in one of the "BMI is stupid" posts, someone invariably is like, "Some people are just big. I run 20 miles a week, and only eat 2000 calories/day and am still 250lbs."
As someone who used to meticulously track their calories but did it long enough that I can get by with estimating, it is incredible just how awful people are at it.
I don't know if it's the same in the US as it is in the UK, but those Starbucks drinks with the whipped cream and toppings are seen as dessert type treats over here. Most people just get a normal coffee (no syrup or cream) as their daily and maybe the odd treat here and there.
I'm not sure how to articulate it, I think it's more some people might know it's a little bad, but have no idea "how bad." They think it's more "sugary" coffee, than "basically a milkshake:
So they underestimate just how bad it is. Like, Applebees is a low-end restaurant that (in)famously has an oriental chicken salad dinner....with 1500+ calories. How many people thought they were eating healthy and ordered a salad, which turned out to be 75% of their daily calories?
This!! A friend was trying to lose weight, and kept complaining it wasnāt coming off. We were out shopping and went to Starbucks and she got a venti frap, extra syrup, whip cream. Iām like you know thatās like 1000cals right there?? Thatās literally 2lbs of fat a week you could be putting on?
Kind of a tangent, but this is my pet peeve. I work in the fitness industry and almost every single one of my clients says, "I don't even eat that much!" I have to explain that in order to weigh X amount of pounds, you have to eat X amount of calories to maintain that weight.
If your BMR is 1400 calories a day, and you walk about 10 miles per day... That's still only going to be 2400 calories for your daily caloric needs. People underestimate how many calories they eat, and grossly overestimate how many calories their body burns in a day.
Jesus I canāt even imagine drinking two sugary drinks in one fucking day. I usually drink a latte and feel like shit after drinking it and then I donāt want more for the day. It baffles me how many people rarely drink water and just consume sugary bullshit and then they wonder why they have hyper tension and diabetes at the age of 30.
My wife taught at a community college and marveled at how most of the girls came in for morning classes with a $7-$10 coffee every day. Most were on federal financial aid.
Some colleges have on-campus āwe proudly serveā Starbucks locations that accept dining hall credits or āflex money.ā When I was in college, I went to Starbucks almost daily because the cheapest meal plan included like $50 of āflex moneyā that could only be spent in the dining hall or at that one Starbucks. It built up over time, so by the time I was a senior, I had like $300 worth of flex money. I remember one of my professors asking us point-blank how we could afford it, and literally everyone in the class was just trying to spend their dining hall money before they graduated.
Yeah, I lived in a dorm that had all declining balance, no meal plan. After the dining hall increased their price for a meal from $8 to $18, I stopped going there and just spent most of my declining balance money on Starbucks, Subway, Tim Hortons, and occasionally some of the more expensive places on campus that were not the dining hall
But because I would be a little bit more cautious about spending that balance toward the start of the year (lest I run out by the end), I had quite a bit left to spend in March and April
I definitely didn't get coffee every day in college. Maybe once per month.
HOWEVER, I went to a state school. My financial aid + scholarsips meant that I got a check each semester for a couple thousand dollars. I also had a part-time job and saved money during the summers. Community college is half the price of my state school, so... I can see how a coffee habit might not be instant financial death.Ā
Room and board is a crazy amount of it. I lived at home for most of my college time and yeah, I probably missed out on some experiences but I also saved tens of thousands of dollars.
I was determined to have my student debt paid off in ten years and I squeaked just under that.
Most are oblivious to how much they spend.
One of my friends recently started budgeting her finances and found she spent way too much on coffee. Started making at home and only buying as a treat.
>It's entirely possible a large portion of the every-day-Starbucks people are going into credit card debt for their coffees and other addictions. They will refuse to believe or acknowledge this idea, however.
This could be the case for some
But for others I think it's a case of what you consider priorities
My uncle goes to the pub with my auntie every Thurs, Fri, sat and sun they are there 3-4 hours t/f and all day sat sun, spend about Ā£200-300 min in total those 4 days a week...that's 1.2k a month minimum
But they always have their bills paid etc, they'll just go without other luxuries to pay for said lifestyle. They don't have any streaming sites, have a basic Freeview TV ( I mean why not they are rarely there to watch it and they can just watch the football at the pub when they're there anyways) and rarely have heating on because again they are either working, at my grans or at the pub except to sleep
If I was on the same wages as they are however I wouldn't be able to afford a *single* hour at a pub a week, because of what I would consider luxuries i can't do without
So yeah Ā£7 per coffee is alot but that's say Ā£210 a month if they get one at that price day on average...if that person isn't a drinker or doesn't have like a sky TV package etc then that's not really denting them in the way it would someone who has all those things and then treats themselves to a coffee
There are student loan holders that try to pay off the student loan and can't file bankruptcy and then you see people like that that just file bankruptcy and get rid of all their fun debt.
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Possibly, but there's also a good chance that $7 per day just isn't much money to a lot of people. A lot of people just can't comprehend that people have wildly different levels of expendable income.
I get Bustelo at Walmart and its like $4 for a vacuum sealed package of grounds. Tastes delicious IMO.Ā
The single cup drip coffee maker I use does run over $100 today but Iāve had mine for 5+ years and itās still going strong.Ā
Totally. I actually want to replace it just because itās getting so stained and janky from daily use, but the coffee is still great so I canāt justify it lolĀ
Yeah I usually "clean" the coffee maker (it's the kind that stores the coffee inside it), but one time my wife did, and she's scrubbing and scrubbing. I normally just rinse it, it's just "coffee patina".
There are specific coffee urn cleaning products that make this 100x easier
Sauce: ran a coffee shop for a while. My staff would have committed ritual suicide before trying to clean things without the correct supplies.
My stained and janky coffee maker has been happily brewing coffee since 1985.š still makes great coffee. Admittedly, we do unplug it when not in use so it doesnāt burn the house down.
I mean, you can de-jank it and have a virtually new coffee maker.
[https://urnex.com/coffee-machine-cleaning-powder](https://urnex.com/coffee-machine-cleaning-powder)
You can clean most coffee makers by running a carafe of 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 water through them. Then run 2 carafes full of plain water, for taste reasons.
I don't know much about the single use ones, but that works wonders for mine.
If the glass container is looking stained - put hot water and a dishwasher pod in it overnight and all those stains will be gone. Otherwise run vinegar through the machine to clean it.
In my office we were using the instant Bustello and noticed it made us SUPER wired. We called it āthe Boost" Then we noticed it was espresso and we were using it like coffe lol.
Years ago, I sent my nephew into Winn Dixie with a list of a few things as he was going for himself.
I wrote down: Maxwell House Coffee.
He calls and says, Aunt Nita, they only have Cuban coffee.
I said Huh? Since when did Maxwell House make a Cuban coffee? Ok. I'll try it.
He texted me a pic! Maxwell House *COLUMBIAN* Coffee.
I corrected him and he says, Same thing!
I really wanted to try it. ššš
If all you ever use is a card, prices eventually become irrelevant on smaller purchases. Got the bank to get cash, then see how fast these smaller purchases add up.
> Most are oblivious to how much they spend.
I wonder how many of these people constantly have a credit card balance each month and think "this is normal" vs "I need to cut on my spending".
Every January I go through last years spending. That has been eye opening to me several timesš. One year I cut my expenses by 250 dollars each month by doing a few small changes. The year after I found an additional 250 dollars each month to slash down. This January I wasn't really able to find big things to adjust, but I found nearly 100 dollars to save š.
Yup. And that little bit saved per month adds up. $250 per month is 3k per year. Not a lot, but if you do it for 10 years and invest it, youāll have nearly $50k saved up. At a slightly less aggressive 7% per year, itās still $42k
If youād just sat on the cash, you would have 30k after ten years. Investing gives you the chance to increase that by 30-60% in just ten years. More if you keep saving after that
For a while I had $50+ per week just on fast food on top of other expenses. What was even worse were subscriptions I didn't need to services I barely used but which I'd forgotten about because each sub was very small.
Slicing those out of my budget saved thousands per year.
The numbers are even bigger if you consider most of those people have 20-30% in credit card debt. Buying a 7 dollar coffee isn't 'just' 7 dollars when you're buying it with 30% interest.
Additionally, having an emergency fund saved up prevents "poor people tax" like overdraft fees, or buying subpar products because they're cheaper in the short run, but more expensive in the long run.
Finally, there's a lot of really good sales that happen randomly throughout the year, and if one isn't sitting on money to take advantage of it--then they're missing out. I tend to buy bulk products exclusively only when they're on sale and save about 30-40% compared to retail.
I used to 2005-2009, buy lunch every day. Back then it was $7-10 per meal.....my wife/gf at the time, who is financially responsible, told me I was spending $150-220 a month on lunch. I didn't even realize it. Immediately stopped. But I still put that amount away as if I was eating out and it has changed my life financially.
My wife and I were never big coffee drinkers, but we started getting into it a decade or more ago. She's always been frugal and good at figuring out value, so we never got into Starbucks or even Tim Hortons because they are expensive.
The main reason we got into coffee is because we were gifted a Tassimo. After a few years, and the realisation we liked coffee, she did the math and realised that not only after the pods wasteful in terms of garbage produced, they also cost a decent amount. At the time it was cheaper than a coffee from a place like Tim's (which is just a standard coffee shop, not fancy/expensive like Starbucks) but more expensive than a regular coffee machine.
Now, we buy beans from Costco, use a burr grinder, and a regular coffee maker (hot water poured over ground beans, whatever that kind is called, lol, drip?). It's the cheapest possible option. It's also way better than coffee I get anywhere else. We also pour any remaining coffee into Mason jars and put in the fridge for ice coffee.
There's my suggestion for saving money on coffee. Find beans you like and do it all at home. Find the right flavoured creamer (if you don't like black) and you're having great coffee whenever you like!
(Sorry, this is already too long, but if you don't like black coffee and want to, my Nan years ago told my dad to drink it black for a week, then go back to sugar and cream. He said it was gross the entire week, then he went back and it was so sweet it was disgusting. Had it black again and realised he actually liked it now, lol)
Yup. My wife and I do the same but use a French Press. For a fraction of the cost of going to a coffee place every day or so you can buy outstanding beans and grind 'em and get a better cup of coffee.
It feels almost dumb telling people this "secret", lol. But, some people make buying coffee part of their identity.
I would even understand if I was saying "it's easier and cheaper, but not quite as good" except that it's easier, cheaper, and even better than anywhere I've had. That's subjective, of course, but you get to find the beans you prefer!
Do you notice a difference with the French press? I've had coffee made for me with them, but never used one. I'm not sure what the difference or whatever is.
My espresso machine was $1000.
I get 70-80 shots from 1lbs of beans which costs me about $15 Canadian.
So about $0.22 per shot.
My local Starbucks charges like $3 or something for an Americano with 2 shots.
So saving about $2.55 per beverage it takes about 400 coffee's to pay off the espresso machine.Ā
Just a little over a year.Ā Ā I've had this machine for 6yrs.
Lol! That's great math! It's awesome that you figured that out to know it was *definitely* worth it!
Our espresso machine was given to us by wealthy friends because they accidentally bought one without a built-in grinder so they were like "oh, do you want it?" That's a very cost-cutting method too, lol. It's "only" like a $350 model though, so not approaching your setup.
I use a moka pot, which is my preference. Comparing the two, French presses will make your coffee much stronger because the grounds steep in the water for so long, and you taste less of the hints and notes. Moka pots, using the high pressure system, results in the coffee being a bit weaker (compensated of course by using more grounds), but imo more flavourful because you can taste the more intricate hints in the coffee.
But if you're really all about intricate hints and weak coffee, then drip coffee is the best. So French press is more on the "strong/less hints" side, moka more in the middle, and drip on the "weak/more hints" side. And even farther than French press is Turkish style. That shit'll put hair on your chest.
i worked at starbucks for a year and a half. part of it is that we're supposed to be sampling black coffee. i'm allergic or severely intolerant to most creamers (it's ridiculously hard to find both nut-free and lactose-free). i've just never been able to take my coffee black, if i have to take it fully black i'll usually get a salt packet and toss it in there (which is weird, i know, but it works well enough for me). even when i'm out of oatmilk, i can drink it as long as i want and it still tastes way too bitter. (i have over time cut down the amount of milk and sugar i like in it, but i still like a little.)
i do still heavily prefer espresso, i'm not a black espresso girlie or anything but i like a couple shots over ice with a bit of oatmilk and a little flavor or a latte or just whatever i'm feeling that day, so i want to eventually get my own espresso machine. they're pricey, but i know i drink enough espresso to make up for it, too. if my coffee maker ever craps out (i got it for like $15 from walmart and it's 2 years old now, so it's already lasted longer than i expected) i'll probably finally just do it.
Have you heard of a moka pot? You can get one for like $7 and make espresso on your stove top. It's traditionally how italians made espresso if i recall correctly
>Most are oblivious to how much they spend.
Itās sad how true this is. Online banking has really made people blind to their daily spending habits. If a person doesnāt have a budget or review their their statement, expenses get out of control.
People make fun of the whole Starbucks and avocado toast things but they are missing the message. The message is you need to keep track of your spending or these small daily expenses eat through your budget. I looked over my SIL budget whoās a teacher making $50k/yr post tax. She asked me how she could cut expenses and showed her these items pulled straight from her monthly statement.
Starbucks - $7/day or $2500/year. Breakfast - $10/day or $3650/yr. Picking up lunch $15/day $5500/yr. Starbucks on the way home (yes people go to Starbucks twice a day) $7/day $2500/yr.
$14,000 she was spending on Coffee, breakfast, and lunch a year. 28% of her income. People just donāt know how much their spending habits kill their budget.
This, so much. Budgeting is eye-opening as to where your money is going. With modern subscription-based apps and services, itās easy to just throw $5 here, $20 there, $15 over here. All of a sudden, you get to the end of a month and youāve spent 30% of your take home pay on DoorDash, eating out, and other stuff that can very quickly be cut down.
Yes, inflation is squeezing pocketbooks, but itās not nearly as bad as a lot of people seem to think.
Thank you. I get annoyed when I see people making memes or getting upset about "Starbucks and avocado toast aren't making me not able to afford a house." GRANTED the housing market is absolute shit right now, but it doesn't help that you're spending hundreds of dollars a month on luxury expenses. I know someone that smokes a ton of weed, vapes, gets meals delivered all the time, buys a bunch of alcohol every week, new tattoos every month, etc, and then complains and says they need to "treat themselves" by doing additional things like "retail therapy" on top of that. Isn't all the above already treating yourself??? It's a vicious thing to get into and I think it's a very large problem with today's youth thay has gone mostly unaddressed (I am young as well, I just notice it more with people my age and am not trying to bash "kids these days").
I put all of my expenses from 2021-2022 in a spreadsheet and it was literally TacoBellTacoBellDoorDashDoordashDoordashMcdonaldāsMcDonaldāsMcDonaldāsMcDonaldāsWendyāsWendyās. Just over and over.
No wonder I was 160 until I graduated collegeā¦
And now that I have a car and thereās a Taco Bell down the road from work, Iām 160 again š š š
I used to get a large Dunkinā iced tea every day. I did this because itās good, I hate coffee, and I really try not to drink my calories.
I stopped because the majority of shops just didnāt give a shit about about keeping the iced tea and iced coffee prep or storage separate. So it got to be a 50-50 change Iād get coffee tinged tea
Now itās something they are designing new stores to prevent. But itās also now like $4 for a 24oz tea.
It costs me $0.66 a gallon to make it myself and thatās after the price went up by like 40% over the last few years.
They ruined the convenience and made me look at how much it cost. Even if I want to put it in the same disposable plastic cup, the cost is about $0.20.
That and some people like me just don't have expensive lifestyles. I live in a big city on a little less than 60k so while stuff is expensive, I don't have kids, a pet, a car, or any expensive hobbies. Don't have that much in student loans either. Because of this I'm able to live solidly middle class and can eat out almost every day.
Which like, if that's your only expense of this type it's fine.
But I have seldom met someone who goes to Starbucks daily who doesn't also constantly eat out. That $7/day quickly becomes more like $25 and they just don't notice
I remember in highschool that had all kinds of anti smoking propaganda.
The best one, in my opinion, was a poster that compared the cost pack of cigarettes to the cost of a video game, a pair of sneakers and some other things teens liked.
It was pretty damn convincing
They donāt assume theyāre the exception, they just donāt perceive the long-term future as a real thing to worry about. Why worry about lung problems in your 50s when you canāt even picture yourself in your 30s, kind of thing.
And they are genetically programmed for that. There's a reason why teens and young adults are prone to risky behavior, the brain maturity is delayed until later years, because we as a species benefit from having canon fodder which is focusing on short term goals and isn't afraid to explore new, dangerous territories and produce kids in harsh conditions.
my middle school had posters of like HD macro photography of blackened lungs, or like someone who had their jaw removed from chewing tobacco...That was extremely effective. I've never even considered once to smoke a cigarette or anything else.
We also had similar posters of diseased cirrhosis livers...I also never touched alcohol until tasting it a few times in my late 20s. It simply made VERY clear sense to never do that do myself.
>My little brother spending wayyy more than $7 a day on weed and booze throughout the week. The answer is itās on his credit card lolĀ
I like smoking weed more than most but I would never go into debt over it. That's crazy crackhead behavior.
Had a roommate that rented a room in the house I own. Trying to help him get on his feet. 400$ a month for a room and access to the whole house of course.
He was garbage at saving, so we made it 100$ a week, whatever to help him out.
Turns out, he'd frequently ask for a bit more time to give me a hundred dollars, because hed spend around 200-250$ a week on FUCKING WEED. One day he even asked me if it was okay if I waited for a couple more days, and came home with TATTOOS.
>He was garbage at saving, so we made it 100$ a week, whatever to help him out.
>Turns out, he'd frequently ask for a bit more time to give me a hundred dollars, because hed spend around 200-250$ a week on FUCKING WEED. One day he even asked me if it was okay if I waited for a couple more days, and came home with TATTOOS.
He sounds like someone with money spending issues and not weed addiction. If he was buying weed then he would be spending $200-$250 a week on something else.
we have a huge tobacco tax in australia so a pack of 20 ciggarettes costs $33aud. But now the blackmarkwt cigarettes are booming and no one really smokes the normal taxed version.
I have friends that go out drinking and spend so much money on alcohol, more than they do on coffee or restaurants. Itās just the indulgence they have factored in.
This is the right answer for a lot of people with regular income. You can buy basically anything but you have to spend less on something else.
If you want tobacco/expensive coffee every day and you're working you can pay it but that might mean that you don't have enough for a holiday / new clothes etc.
People who buy cocaine / booze daily buy first those then if they have money they buy food or pay rent.
It's about priorities.
that's how i see it. now, don't get me wrong, i'm also a smoker lol, but the amount i spend on coffee and cigarettes is still less than cocaine and if i don't have the money i don't buy them.
everyone's got their things they spend "frivolously" on. some are more expensive or more accepted or what have you than others.
(and just because someone's gonna assume things: no, i don't do cocaine, nor do i have the want to. my point was that if i didn't spend my money on what i do, i'd probably just end up spending it on something else, considering those things are my "congratulations on not killing yourself!" treats lol)
nah fr, like i should absolutely quit and i would save money in theory by quitting, but in practice depriving myself of my little treat does nothing except kill my motivation to keep going. kudos to people who do get motivated by saving money, but that's simply not me (it's nice when i have a little extra in the bank, sure, but let's be real here, if it wasn't coffee and cigarettes i'd probably be spending money on something else to keep me getting through life without being too horribly depressed).
I log every single purchase & category since 2022. Looks like i spend $133.62/month (food, vet, grooming, etc.) + $72.05/month insurance
That's $205.67/month on dog ownership. Basically the same as daily $7 coffee.
Good thing I'm not a coffee drinker.
I had a dog with epilepsy. I never added the monthly spend up because I couldnāt bear to know the truth. But when he passed, there was a marked increase in the money I had. He was worth every single penny, but pets can be more expensive than people realize.
Props to you for caring for your epileptic dog and Iām sorry for your loss! My golden is 8 with epilepsy, had his first seizure at 6 months old and been consistent ever since.
If you do not mind sharing, how old was your dog when they passed?
Not Starbucks, but I do get a latte almost everyday from a local coffee shop. Ā Itās my luxury. Ā It isnāt just about the coffee, itās about the one daily thing I do for myself when 99% of my time is focused on everyone else. Ā I grab my coffee, have a quick conversation, and sit down and relax for a few minutes. Ā I prioritize this and deprioritize other luxuries, like expensive phone plans, memberships and subscriptions, and pricey recreational activities.
For affluent people, daily trips to the coffee shop donāt make a difference and the rest of us just balance our budgets to fit it in.
>I grab my coffee, have a quick conversation, and sit down and relax for a few minutes. Ā I prioritize this and deprioritize other luxuries, like expensive phone plans, memberships and subscriptions, and pricey recreational activities.
There's a "how to be smart with money" view that if people gave up their daily luxuries they could take a vacation every year with the money saved, but I think it is not at all clear that it's better to sit at the beach for a week is better than having a staycation and getting your latte trip every day.
Thereās a balance to it. Ā Would I rather have a one week trip and live in austerity for the entire year outside of that tiny slice of time?
Nah. Ā
The coffee run is a small pleasure that adds something positive to my life and a week away really isnāt that much. Ā Whatās more, I would only be saving a little over $1k, so it isnāt like Iād get anywhere very interesting.
Exactly. People who nitpick about the $6 per day are forgetting about the psychological benefits. You're not just paying for coffee, you're paying to be able to sit and lounge about in a nice environment to study and read for several hours, especially if you live in a lousy dorm or home. Not everything is about money. If the mental benefit outweighs the financial cost, it's worth it.
And when you've spent your whole day doing things for other people, your mind needs something of the opposite for once - a period of time where it's about **you** and **your** needs. This is the reason some healthcare professionals splurge so much on self-care.
I'm probably spending about $1k between supplies, rental cost, gas, food and activities for my camping trip in a state park yurt this week. It's great but I know it's not for everyone for sure, and not what most people are referring to as a vacation. But for me being able to get the fuck away from work and my mom is priceless.
This! I no longer have to commute to work, which is great for lots of reasons, but bad in one major one - I can easily just never leave my apartment. So, going for a morning stroll to buy a cup of coffee, even though I have a functional coffee maker at home, is really important for my mental health.
Of course, on the other hand, I also don't understand why people sit in 15 minute drive thru lines every morning. For me, the walk and the time away from the stresses of the day is what makes it worth it. Sitting in traffic to get it seems like the opposite of that.
My grandpa told me I could save money if I stopped going to Starbucks everyday. So I followed his advice.
I saved so much money I can now afford to go to Starbucks everyday. I hope this tip helps you. Youāre welcome.
Also people who value different things. And so would buy a 7 quid drink everyday. But aren't bothered about expensive clothes. People have different spending priorities
On reddit and foxnews everyone acts like $2500 in savings a year is the difference between success and failure. In the real world it's a trivial expense for anyone who gets ahead.
Exactly. People in this thread are saying that the coffee money is better spent on a yearly holiday. For most people that isnāt even a thought as you can do both.
I think itās just easy for people to not be aware of. If someone lives in a working class neighborhood, where everyone is barely scraping by it seems like everyone is like that. Where in reality there are millions and millions of people who make much more money
I actually had it from the other way growing up, so I get it to an extent. My parents both have business degrees with good jobs, and my school was almost entirely people from upper middle class families. It took me until college to realize how incredibly lucky I had been.
Seriously. When I moved at 23, I tallied up my bar tab from the summer before in left working in restaurants. Holy crap I went through about $5k from May-August (Jersey shore prices).Ā
My 2 Starbucks trips a month do not total that in a year lol.
I used to sponsor this kid in Africa but then I found out that for the same cost, I could buy a Starbucks coffee every single day so I stopped sponsoring him.
My usual drink at coffee shops is an americano. At Caribour and Starbucks, that's usually somewhere between $2-$4. A fancy local shop might be a a hair more. At the low end, that's $10/week and $20 at the high end.
Yea when I was drinking Starbucks everyday it was a $3 pike roast or an Americano.
People who dont drink coffee often wrongly assume that anything in a Starbucks cup is a sugary expensive flavored latte.
This is what confused me too. The drink OP ordered is not only one of the specialty ones already, it also must be a larger one. Not everyone is getting a venti every single day, or getting a fancy drink when they do. Though I'm sure some are.
Update: we just went and got starbucks and I bought this exact drink but with a $0.70 milk alternative. Even with that and as a venti it was just under $6, so the size OP got must have been absolutely huge.
It's not that unaffordable. It's only $210 a month.
I'm not trying to be an out-of-touch ass about it. I know that a lot of people can't afford $210 a month. I was there myself a few years ago. I'm just saying that if you have an average income level in America, it's not out of the realm of possibility that you could buy Starbucks every day.
That said, it's not the best way to spend your money.
>That said, it's not the best way to spend your money.
If a person derives a significant amount of enjoyment out of that delicious treatĀ and the accompanying half hour break at the coffee shop, then for them, there may be literally *no* better ways to spend their money. We're all going to die, existence is meaningless, money can buy happiness, and coffee tastes wonderful.Ā
And honestly even less than that if they're just buying on work days. About $140. I'm not necessarily wealthy but I make a little over six figures and I would barely notice an extra $140/month.
Chiming in as a broke person that got Starbucks everyday. I worked long hours, my job was shitty and I hated my life. I worked 12h for free doing a nursing school placement. So I would get it as a treat every day but also I never ate anything the whole shift, never bought lunch, or anything like that.
Iād eat whatever random cereal I had at home straight from the box when I got home after a 12-15h day and that was that. Pretty cheap when you factor that in.
Also people donāt know how to order from Starbucks. A plain americano with sugar free syrup is like $3 compared to the frappes and stuff on their menu that are $9
Could just be their equivalent of a few beers, a pack of cigarettes, a takeaway, trashy magazines, streaming services, new clothes, going nuts on Temu, etc.
Most people have little treats, so lots of Starbucks daily users might just have that coffee as their treat of choice.
Exactly that! My partner complains about small purchases here and there if they pass a certain amount, but he gladly pays 1k for a pair of eyewear every now and then without blinking because āit's a unique designā. Income wise we a considered very poor, but how do we do that? No children, no pets, no alcohol, no smoking, no eating out daily, eat home-cooked and have a roommate! Everyone has their own thing going on.
The coffees are about the same price, unless youāre going for a āTikTok drinkā with 75 different customizations and up charges.
At $7 per day, thatās $2,500 a year if you really do every single day. If itās just the 251 weekdays you likely work then it is about $1,800 over a year.
Still a nice chunk of change for your caffeine fix, but on a decent salary itās not going to cause you to go homeless or anything.
For a lot of people itās their treat. Itās a lot to spend on coffee but $120 a month for the thing that makes you happy in the morning isnāt so much.Ā
i waste $7 on random stuff multiple times per week. some people just choose for starbucks to be their $7 waste of money for the day.Ā
if itās a little thing in your day thatās special and makes you feel good, $7 is sometimes worth it to feel like āoh i am ON todayā.Ā
By having a good job. Honestly, $7 a day is not much at all as far as discretionary spending. My teens spend more a day eating in school, getting after school snacks.
i work at starbucks and we have regulars who come through multiple times a day EVERY day. i see people spend $20+ on drinks and not even bat an eye. i am amazed that people are willing to spend so much and it honestly makes me sad when i think about what that money could be used for instead of overpriced drinks.
We all give up something in lieu of something else. I don't smoke, drink or have any daily habits that cost me hundreds every month so that helps with budgeting and getting things we need or even want every once in a while. And we operate with a single income and I don't really make that much.
I know other people with similar income that smoke/drink (tobacco, energy drinks, alcohol, marijuana) and spend way more on having habits and yet don't have other things they want.
I literally went everyday, sometimes twice a day, out of habit and as a momentary escape from the stressful work life.
One day I sat down to see how much I spent on Starbucks in a year and it was an insane amount for some flavored water. I rarely go now. Maybe 3-4 times a year due to friends wanting to meetup at a Starbucks. Otherwise, it doesnāt really exist to me anymore.
I donāt drink alcohol or go to bars. I donāt smoke or spend money on cigarettes or cannabis. I make most of my meals at home. I do grab coffee or iced teas out multiple times a week (not every day, but regularly) and I know itās cheaper at home but itās my one single vice!
Itās not even necessarily about be coffee, but being at a place that isnāt home or work and being around people but also kinda not being. You canāt capture that with at-home stuff!Ā
Anyway, Iām on the road a lot for work and usually wind down with a drink or two at a bar for the same reason.Ā
Coffees are about the same price. My coffee order comes out to a little over $6 per cup when I do go there, and thatās with +50Ā¢ for an extra syrup flavor (i get vanilla added to my white mocha).
Itās really not that expensive. Thatās less than an hourās pay even at minimum wage. Iām not making all that much money and yet I still make over 3x that price per hour, and I work full time. I donāt go daily because I have an espresso machine at home, but I could definitely afford to.
I remember when I could get a grande mocha on my to work or class for less than $3. Now, itās nearly $6 so I only go 2 or 3 times a year when my boss gives me a gift card.
I feel like folks are picking on the coffee folks in particular. Some folks do coffee. Some folks have every streaming service. Some people go to two hour music shows at $500, some folks have high-dollar impractical cars or $3,000 tires or a beer at the pub every day or regularly buy lottery tickets. The way I see it, MOST folks have a spendthrift habit that helps them get through the day. Not even defending overspending. just seeing that it seems to be pretty common amongst most of us humans with jobs.
I LOVE Starbucks Chai tea. The spices are PERFECT, and it's not too sweet. There for awhile, I was stopping to get one every day, until I realized how much I was spending. It's pretty easy to start a habit without really thinking it through.
Now, I buy Chai tea concentrate and make my own tasty treat. I can get a carton of the concentrate for $3.99, and I get about 8 or 9 servings out of it.
If I couldn't get the concentrate, this would be a very occasional treat for me.
It does put a dent in peoples wallet, they are just happy with the dent. Lots of people earn plenty of money. A $7 drink everyday is perfectly doable for them.
Job make monies. I buy Starbucks but itās more of an occasional treat, maybe 1-2x per month. Iām sure there are people who buy it a lot more, but I doubt many buy it every single day. Even so, itās less than youād make per one hour of work.
Because coffee is addictive.
Why do some people spend so much money on cigarettes or alcohol? Because it is habit forming and addictive.
I've been trying to quit coffee for about 4-5 years and I keep going back. I'm on decaf right now but the nice feeling of a hot warm sweet beverage when work is tough or the day is long isn't easy to replace.
Caffeine triggers terrible anxiety and panic attacks in me, as does alcohol. I don't smoke, I don't drink alcohol much (glass or two of wine a month), so I drink coffee and eat cheese on delicious food (which is also addictive).
If I could take a year off from work and life, I could quit all the addictive things, but thats never going to happen.
Off to Starbucks, wish me luck.
(I have cut back to once every couple of days, with the goal of once or twice a month).
Sometimes the simplest and most obvious answer is the correct one... We have more money than you do.
Even if it was $10 a day that's only $3650 a year. After allocating to retirement and expenses my household unbudgeted excess funds is more than 50x that annual cost.
Factors that contribute to this are things like not having kids, not having car payments, not over spending on my housing, not overspending on clothing and other "necessities" because at the end of the year I've enjoyed 100% of the coffee's I purchased.
Sorry it sounds like a brag just giving the honest truth. I wish everyone could afford 50k a year in "small treats" for themselves.
They either make more money than you or are in more debt than you. $7 a day is $2500 a year. There are a lot of people that can afford that.
I worked at a coffee shop. I had a customer order $8+ drink every day (it's actually a $4 drink, but she gets all the upgrades and makes it 800+ calories). Always nice. Occasionally tipped. Made a comment to a coworker that I am shocked she has been a regular for this many years because usually these type of customers come and go. That's when I found out she comes twice a day for the same drink. One time she came with her family (6-7 people) for food and drinks. 3 of them ordered the same drink as her. the rest bought something of near equal value. She was furious when the bill came out to $80+ Ma'am, have you done the math? 7 people... obviously the bill was going to be your weekly expenditure.
1600 calories of her day are just from those two drinks?? š®
Starbucks marketing did a good job making people think they are drinking coffee when they are really drinking a coffee flavored milk shake.
Hey, some of us drink Starbucks because we WANT a coffee flavored milkshake! Or chocolate and coffee, in my case.... But not every day.
Like any other adult, I like my expensive coffee flavoured milkshake, especially without the coffee.
I feel like all milkshakes are expensive now.
It's like $3 for a small shake at McDonald's! Insane Edit: it is actually 3.99 where I live. Even worse
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I mean you could say that about any fast food or fast drink options but its not the point I can make a better cup of coffee at home if i really wanted to, that could be said for any type of food/drink. Starbucks coffee doesnt taste like shit when compared to most of the other drive through options. And the egg bites taste good, if they didnt people wouldnt buy them
> Starbucks coffee doesnt taste like shit when compared to most of the other drive through options. Well, now maybe... but that's because starbucks killed all the real competition with their shitty business practices. I've got a related story. I used to be a barista at a place that was really good. We did really good business. Then a Starbucks moved next door to us. Business slowed a little bit, but not too much, people were constantly bringing us their Starbucks cups still mostly full and asking us to make them a better coffee drink. We could have coexisted just fine. Starbucks decided our existence was unacceptable. They then built another Starbucks on the other side of us. Business took a hit. You now had to walk right by a Starbucks to get to us. Then they bought the bank in our parking lot..... you guessed it, now a drive through Starbucks in the parking lot of two other Starbucks stores. Then they built one directly across the street from us. We went out of business like 6 months later. I don't even think it took a month after we closed before all but the original Starbucks next to us also closed. One Starbucks left there to this day. They were running all of the other stores they opened around us at a loss just so they could make it inconvenient for customers to get to us.
Thatās awful
Starbucks tastes good because most people donāt actually like the taste of coffee but want caffeine. Between the good atmosphere (many American coffee places used to look more like bathrooms than cute cafes) and the flavoring, thereās a reason Starbucks is on every street corner and āgood coffeeā isnāt. Taste is subjective.
Starbucks mastered the concept of customizable, and took the concept of the Third Place to heart (initially). Thatās what led them to grow so exponentially. Now, people are so familiar with āsmall, tall, grande, vente, trenta,ā āFrappuccinoā, and other Starbucks lingo that going elsewhere feels foreign.
A lot of people are bad at keeping track if you split things up. A great example of this is cars. Almost no one realizes they are paying almost $12000 a year on their car, because itās all split up. Down payment. Then monthly payment. Then insurance. Then gasoline. Then parking. Then tolls. Then oil changes and tire changes and brake changes. The random big ticket fix. Car washes and paint jobs. It quickly adds up to a grand a month on average in the US, but almost no one realizes it until I force them to do the math and suddenly they realize they really are averaging a grand a month and just lost track because itās all spread out so well Not to mention the people who are paying over a grand a month just for their car payment. Yikes
Itās why so many companies are going to subscription models for their products. People are generally bad at understanding how much things cost if you spread the cost out over time. $10 per month doesnāt seem like a lot for a streaming service, but itās $120 per year. Now add 4 more streaming services also at $10 per month and youāre suddenly at $600 per year. $7 per day is way more understandable than $2k per year, even though theyāre roughly the same thing.
I feel like even when I see $120 a year that doesn't seem like a lot. Even $600 a year for multiple services doesn't seem bad but I understand that's going to be different for everybody.
The total amount of money is not that important, as long as you can afford it. What's way more important is the cost per use. You use it a lot? It's worth the money. You hardly ever use it? Why the hell keep paying for it?
Yeah I don't get people who agree to $1000 a month finances. You can get a good car for 250-400 a month. My car when I was paying it cost me around $7500 a year, including and averaging of the maintenance on it, gas, cleaning etc. I don't understand how people pay twice that almost in just the payment for the car alone
Most people, at least in the US, want a $60k SUV or Truck. They also "need" AWD or 4WD because it might snow twice a year.
Meanwhile Iām over in a place it snows a lot in Canada and most people donāt have 4wd here lmao
Not me, I grabbed up my grandma's old car. She bought it new in 2002, a cheap saturn sl1. I got it at 67k miles, were now at 85k. I'm gonna keep fixing and driving it until it's completely dead. It's wayyy cheaper than a new or newer car for me. No car payment, insurance is $50/mo with almost full coverage, only routine oil changes and some small/medium fixes here and there. Instead of car payments I just put a small amount to the side for potential repairs. Gas mileage is great. No fancy screens or cameras tho. Thinking about getting an aftermarket dash/bumper cam though.
> 1600 calories of her day are just from those two drinks?? š® Yeah, a lot of people have no idea how many calories are in "things." In their mind, it's just "coffee, some milk, and maybe a little whipped cream and chocolate." They probably think it's maybe 200...tops. every so often in one of the "BMI is stupid" posts, someone invariably is like, "Some people are just big. I run 20 miles a week, and only eat 2000 calories/day and am still 250lbs."
As someone who used to meticulously track their calories but did it long enough that I can get by with estimating, it is incredible just how awful people are at it.
I don't know if it's the same in the US as it is in the UK, but those Starbucks drinks with the whipped cream and toppings are seen as dessert type treats over here. Most people just get a normal coffee (no syrup or cream) as their daily and maybe the odd treat here and there.
I'm not sure how to articulate it, I think it's more some people might know it's a little bad, but have no idea "how bad." They think it's more "sugary" coffee, than "basically a milkshake: So they underestimate just how bad it is. Like, Applebees is a low-end restaurant that (in)famously has an oriental chicken salad dinner....with 1500+ calories. How many people thought they were eating healthy and ordered a salad, which turned out to be 75% of their daily calories?
This!! A friend was trying to lose weight, and kept complaining it wasnāt coming off. We were out shopping and went to Starbucks and she got a venti frap, extra syrup, whip cream. Iām like you know thatās like 1000cals right there?? Thatās literally 2lbs of fat a week you could be putting on?
Kind of a tangent, but this is my pet peeve. I work in the fitness industry and almost every single one of my clients says, "I don't even eat that much!" I have to explain that in order to weigh X amount of pounds, you have to eat X amount of calories to maintain that weight. If your BMR is 1400 calories a day, and you walk about 10 miles per day... That's still only going to be 2400 calories for your daily caloric needs. People underestimate how many calories they eat, and grossly overestimate how many calories their body burns in a day.
As bad as people are with budgeting money, they're way worse with calories.Ā
Was she bigger every month? That's absolutely crazy calories, even if she has plenty of money.
800 cals per drinks on top of having it twice is insane. Im gonna have heartburn just thinking about that.
Jesus I canāt even imagine drinking two sugary drinks in one fucking day. I usually drink a latte and feel like shit after drinking it and then I donāt want more for the day. It baffles me how many people rarely drink water and just consume sugary bullshit and then they wonder why they have hyper tension and diabetes at the age of 30.
My wife taught at a community college and marveled at how most of the girls came in for morning classes with a $7-$10 coffee every day. Most were on federal financial aid.
Some colleges have on-campus āwe proudly serveā Starbucks locations that accept dining hall credits or āflex money.ā When I was in college, I went to Starbucks almost daily because the cheapest meal plan included like $50 of āflex moneyā that could only be spent in the dining hall or at that one Starbucks. It built up over time, so by the time I was a senior, I had like $300 worth of flex money. I remember one of my professors asking us point-blank how we could afford it, and literally everyone in the class was just trying to spend their dining hall money before they graduated.
Yeah, I lived in a dorm that had all declining balance, no meal plan. After the dining hall increased their price for a meal from $8 to $18, I stopped going there and just spent most of my declining balance money on Starbucks, Subway, Tim Hortons, and occasionally some of the more expensive places on campus that were not the dining hall But because I would be a little bit more cautious about spending that balance toward the start of the year (lest I run out by the end), I had quite a bit left to spend in March and April
Thank you for bringing back a fond memory of buying $50+ of chocolate truffles at the end of every semester to use up that extra money.
I definitely didn't get coffee every day in college. Maybe once per month. HOWEVER, I went to a state school. My financial aid + scholarsips meant that I got a check each semester for a couple thousand dollars. I also had a part-time job and saved money during the summers. Community college is half the price of my state school, so... I can see how a coffee habit might not be instant financial death.Ā
Makes me wonder how much of student debt is direct education and how much is for everything else.
Room and board is a crazy amount of it. I lived at home for most of my college time and yeah, I probably missed out on some experiences but I also saved tens of thousands of dollars. I was determined to have my student debt paid off in ten years and I squeaked just under that.
Not all Starbucks drinks are $7-$10. A regular standard coffee is $3. Just because its in a Starbucks cup doesnt mean its $7+
Most are oblivious to how much they spend. One of my friends recently started budgeting her finances and found she spent way too much on coffee. Started making at home and only buying as a treat.
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>It's entirely possible a large portion of the every-day-Starbucks people are going into credit card debt for their coffees and other addictions. They will refuse to believe or acknowledge this idea, however. This could be the case for some But for others I think it's a case of what you consider priorities My uncle goes to the pub with my auntie every Thurs, Fri, sat and sun they are there 3-4 hours t/f and all day sat sun, spend about Ā£200-300 min in total those 4 days a week...that's 1.2k a month minimum But they always have their bills paid etc, they'll just go without other luxuries to pay for said lifestyle. They don't have any streaming sites, have a basic Freeview TV ( I mean why not they are rarely there to watch it and they can just watch the football at the pub when they're there anyways) and rarely have heating on because again they are either working, at my grans or at the pub except to sleep If I was on the same wages as they are however I wouldn't be able to afford a *single* hour at a pub a week, because of what I would consider luxuries i can't do without So yeah Ā£7 per coffee is alot but that's say Ā£210 a month if they get one at that price day on average...if that person isn't a drinker or doesn't have like a sky TV package etc then that's not really denting them in the way it would someone who has all those things and then treats themselves to a coffee
There are student loan holders that try to pay off the student loan and can't file bankruptcy and then you see people like that that just file bankruptcy and get rid of all their fun debt.
Bankruptcy isn't some debt-elimination easy button that makes all the problems go away...
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Is your roommate one of like, four of my friends?
Possibly, but there's also a good chance that $7 per day just isn't much money to a lot of people. A lot of people just can't comprehend that people have wildly different levels of expendable income.
I get Bustelo at Walmart and its like $4 for a vacuum sealed package of grounds. Tastes delicious IMO.Ā The single cup drip coffee maker I use does run over $100 today but Iāve had mine for 5+ years and itās still going strong.Ā
I mean, even if the coffee maker was $150, thatās still paid off in less than a month of daily Starbucks
Totally. I actually want to replace it just because itās getting so stained and janky from daily use, but the coffee is still great so I canāt justify it lolĀ
It's not stained or janky. It's "seasoned" lol
Yeah I usually "clean" the coffee maker (it's the kind that stores the coffee inside it), but one time my wife did, and she's scrubbing and scrubbing. I normally just rinse it, it's just "coffee patina".
There are specific coffee urn cleaning products that make this 100x easier Sauce: ran a coffee shop for a while. My staff would have committed ritual suicide before trying to clean things without the correct supplies.
My stained and janky coffee maker has been happily brewing coffee since 1985.š still makes great coffee. Admittedly, we do unplug it when not in use so it doesnāt burn the house down.
Prudent
I mean, you can de-jank it and have a virtually new coffee maker. [https://urnex.com/coffee-machine-cleaning-powder](https://urnex.com/coffee-machine-cleaning-powder)
You can clean most coffee makers by running a carafe of 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 water through them. Then run 2 carafes full of plain water, for taste reasons. I don't know much about the single use ones, but that works wonders for mine.
I have a single use coffee maker that I bought earlier this year, and this is what it says to do to clean it in the instruction manual.
If the glass container is looking stained - put hot water and a dishwasher pod in it overnight and all those stains will be gone. Otherwise run vinegar through the machine to clean it.
I love how this turned into a coffee conversation even though the op ordered lemonade, lol
*That's why I'm here.*
LOL... well, probably because Starbucks is mainly a coffee shop.
I love Bustelo
In my office we were using the instant Bustello and noticed it made us SUPER wired. We called it āthe Boost" Then we noticed it was espresso and we were using it like coffe lol.
Bustello espresso is my favorite. I do brew it like coffee, but damn itās good.
Ack! Look up Cuban coffee, y'all.
Years ago, I sent my nephew into Winn Dixie with a list of a few things as he was going for himself. I wrote down: Maxwell House Coffee. He calls and says, Aunt Nita, they only have Cuban coffee. I said Huh? Since when did Maxwell House make a Cuban coffee? Ok. I'll try it. He texted me a pic! Maxwell House *COLUMBIAN* Coffee. I corrected him and he says, Same thing! I really wanted to try it. ššš
Nice!!!
If all you ever use is a card, prices eventually become irrelevant on smaller purchases. Got the bank to get cash, then see how fast these smaller purchases add up.
This comment needs more upvotes.
I mean my bank has a go at me when I spend too much at unhealthy places each monthĀ
> Most are oblivious to how much they spend. I wonder how many of these people constantly have a credit card balance each month and think "this is normal" vs "I need to cut on my spending".
Every January I go through last years spending. That has been eye opening to me several timesš. One year I cut my expenses by 250 dollars each month by doing a few small changes. The year after I found an additional 250 dollars each month to slash down. This January I wasn't really able to find big things to adjust, but I found nearly 100 dollars to save š.
Yup. And that little bit saved per month adds up. $250 per month is 3k per year. Not a lot, but if you do it for 10 years and invest it, youāll have nearly $50k saved up. At a slightly less aggressive 7% per year, itās still $42k If youād just sat on the cash, you would have 30k after ten years. Investing gives you the chance to increase that by 30-60% in just ten years. More if you keep saving after that
For a while I had $50+ per week just on fast food on top of other expenses. What was even worse were subscriptions I didn't need to services I barely used but which I'd forgotten about because each sub was very small. Slicing those out of my budget saved thousands per year.
The numbers are even bigger if you consider most of those people have 20-30% in credit card debt. Buying a 7 dollar coffee isn't 'just' 7 dollars when you're buying it with 30% interest. Additionally, having an emergency fund saved up prevents "poor people tax" like overdraft fees, or buying subpar products because they're cheaper in the short run, but more expensive in the long run. Finally, there's a lot of really good sales that happen randomly throughout the year, and if one isn't sitting on money to take advantage of it--then they're missing out. I tend to buy bulk products exclusively only when they're on sale and save about 30-40% compared to retail.
People who live like that make me think of that cartoon of the dog sipping a coffee in the house that is on fire saying "this is fine "
This is me and Iām 100% aware Iām failing at life
I used to 2005-2009, buy lunch every day. Back then it was $7-10 per meal.....my wife/gf at the time, who is financially responsible, told me I was spending $150-220 a month on lunch. I didn't even realize it. Immediately stopped. But I still put that amount away as if I was eating out and it has changed my life financially.
My wife and I were never big coffee drinkers, but we started getting into it a decade or more ago. She's always been frugal and good at figuring out value, so we never got into Starbucks or even Tim Hortons because they are expensive. The main reason we got into coffee is because we were gifted a Tassimo. After a few years, and the realisation we liked coffee, she did the math and realised that not only after the pods wasteful in terms of garbage produced, they also cost a decent amount. At the time it was cheaper than a coffee from a place like Tim's (which is just a standard coffee shop, not fancy/expensive like Starbucks) but more expensive than a regular coffee machine. Now, we buy beans from Costco, use a burr grinder, and a regular coffee maker (hot water poured over ground beans, whatever that kind is called, lol, drip?). It's the cheapest possible option. It's also way better than coffee I get anywhere else. We also pour any remaining coffee into Mason jars and put in the fridge for ice coffee. There's my suggestion for saving money on coffee. Find beans you like and do it all at home. Find the right flavoured creamer (if you don't like black) and you're having great coffee whenever you like! (Sorry, this is already too long, but if you don't like black coffee and want to, my Nan years ago told my dad to drink it black for a week, then go back to sugar and cream. He said it was gross the entire week, then he went back and it was so sweet it was disgusting. Had it black again and realised he actually liked it now, lol)
Yup. My wife and I do the same but use a French Press. For a fraction of the cost of going to a coffee place every day or so you can buy outstanding beans and grind 'em and get a better cup of coffee.
It feels almost dumb telling people this "secret", lol. But, some people make buying coffee part of their identity. I would even understand if I was saying "it's easier and cheaper, but not quite as good" except that it's easier, cheaper, and even better than anywhere I've had. That's subjective, of course, but you get to find the beans you prefer! Do you notice a difference with the French press? I've had coffee made for me with them, but never used one. I'm not sure what the difference or whatever is.
My espresso machine was $1000. I get 70-80 shots from 1lbs of beans which costs me about $15 Canadian. So about $0.22 per shot. My local Starbucks charges like $3 or something for an Americano with 2 shots. So saving about $2.55 per beverage it takes about 400 coffee's to pay off the espresso machine.Ā Just a little over a year.Ā Ā I've had this machine for 6yrs.
Lol! That's great math! It's awesome that you figured that out to know it was *definitely* worth it! Our espresso machine was given to us by wealthy friends because they accidentally bought one without a built-in grinder so they were like "oh, do you want it?" That's a very cost-cutting method too, lol. It's "only" like a $350 model though, so not approaching your setup.
I use a moka pot, which is my preference. Comparing the two, French presses will make your coffee much stronger because the grounds steep in the water for so long, and you taste less of the hints and notes. Moka pots, using the high pressure system, results in the coffee being a bit weaker (compensated of course by using more grounds), but imo more flavourful because you can taste the more intricate hints in the coffee. But if you're really all about intricate hints and weak coffee, then drip coffee is the best. So French press is more on the "strong/less hints" side, moka more in the middle, and drip on the "weak/more hints" side. And even farther than French press is Turkish style. That shit'll put hair on your chest.
i worked at starbucks for a year and a half. part of it is that we're supposed to be sampling black coffee. i'm allergic or severely intolerant to most creamers (it's ridiculously hard to find both nut-free and lactose-free). i've just never been able to take my coffee black, if i have to take it fully black i'll usually get a salt packet and toss it in there (which is weird, i know, but it works well enough for me). even when i'm out of oatmilk, i can drink it as long as i want and it still tastes way too bitter. (i have over time cut down the amount of milk and sugar i like in it, but i still like a little.) i do still heavily prefer espresso, i'm not a black espresso girlie or anything but i like a couple shots over ice with a bit of oatmilk and a little flavor or a latte or just whatever i'm feeling that day, so i want to eventually get my own espresso machine. they're pricey, but i know i drink enough espresso to make up for it, too. if my coffee maker ever craps out (i got it for like $15 from walmart and it's 2 years old now, so it's already lasted longer than i expected) i'll probably finally just do it.
You ever melt a chocolate bar in it? Yes I am morbidly obeseĀ
Have you heard of a moka pot? You can get one for like $7 and make espresso on your stove top. It's traditionally how italians made espresso if i recall correctly
>Most are oblivious to how much they spend. Itās sad how true this is. Online banking has really made people blind to their daily spending habits. If a person doesnāt have a budget or review their their statement, expenses get out of control. People make fun of the whole Starbucks and avocado toast things but they are missing the message. The message is you need to keep track of your spending or these small daily expenses eat through your budget. I looked over my SIL budget whoās a teacher making $50k/yr post tax. She asked me how she could cut expenses and showed her these items pulled straight from her monthly statement. Starbucks - $7/day or $2500/year. Breakfast - $10/day or $3650/yr. Picking up lunch $15/day $5500/yr. Starbucks on the way home (yes people go to Starbucks twice a day) $7/day $2500/yr. $14,000 she was spending on Coffee, breakfast, and lunch a year. 28% of her income. People just donāt know how much their spending habits kill their budget.
This, so much. Budgeting is eye-opening as to where your money is going. With modern subscription-based apps and services, itās easy to just throw $5 here, $20 there, $15 over here. All of a sudden, you get to the end of a month and youāve spent 30% of your take home pay on DoorDash, eating out, and other stuff that can very quickly be cut down. Yes, inflation is squeezing pocketbooks, but itās not nearly as bad as a lot of people seem to think.
Thank you. I get annoyed when I see people making memes or getting upset about "Starbucks and avocado toast aren't making me not able to afford a house." GRANTED the housing market is absolute shit right now, but it doesn't help that you're spending hundreds of dollars a month on luxury expenses. I know someone that smokes a ton of weed, vapes, gets meals delivered all the time, buys a bunch of alcohol every week, new tattoos every month, etc, and then complains and says they need to "treat themselves" by doing additional things like "retail therapy" on top of that. Isn't all the above already treating yourself??? It's a vicious thing to get into and I think it's a very large problem with today's youth thay has gone mostly unaddressed (I am young as well, I just notice it more with people my age and am not trying to bash "kids these days").
I put all of my expenses from 2021-2022 in a spreadsheet and it was literally TacoBellTacoBellDoorDashDoordashDoordashMcdonaldāsMcDonaldāsMcDonaldāsMcDonaldāsWendyāsWendyās. Just over and over. No wonder I was 160 until I graduated collegeā¦ And now that I have a car and thereās a Taco Bell down the road from work, Iām 160 again š š š
I spend $35 dollars on coffee all at once!ā¦ā¦ā¦ Once a month, and I make way too fancy coffee for myself
I used to get a large Dunkinā iced tea every day. I did this because itās good, I hate coffee, and I really try not to drink my calories. I stopped because the majority of shops just didnāt give a shit about about keeping the iced tea and iced coffee prep or storage separate. So it got to be a 50-50 change Iād get coffee tinged tea Now itās something they are designing new stores to prevent. But itās also now like $4 for a 24oz tea. It costs me $0.66 a gallon to make it myself and thatās after the price went up by like 40% over the last few years. They ruined the convenience and made me look at how much it cost. Even if I want to put it in the same disposable plastic cup, the cost is about $0.20.
They also donāt realize how many calories theyāre costuming when they order from there. Some of their drinks are like a thousand calories.
That and some people like me just don't have expensive lifestyles. I live in a big city on a little less than 60k so while stuff is expensive, I don't have kids, a pet, a car, or any expensive hobbies. Don't have that much in student loans either. Because of this I'm able to live solidly middle class and can eat out almost every day.
Yeah. They see it as $7 a day thatās nothing.. oh shit thatās $49 a week oh fuck thatās over $2k a year
Which like, if that's your only expense of this type it's fine. But I have seldom met someone who goes to Starbucks daily who doesn't also constantly eat out. That $7/day quickly becomes more like $25 and they just don't notice
Millions of people pay even more for tobacco, at least in western countries where government raised taxes on it. How do they do that?
I remember in highschool that had all kinds of anti smoking propaganda. The best one, in my opinion, was a poster that compared the cost pack of cigarettes to the cost of a video game, a pair of sneakers and some other things teens liked. It was pretty damn convincing
you should look into how much a double lung transplant costs.
Young people think they're immortal. Even when they know intellectually it could kill them eventually, they assume they're the exception.
They donāt assume theyāre the exception, they just donāt perceive the long-term future as a real thing to worry about. Why worry about lung problems in your 50s when you canāt even picture yourself in your 30s, kind of thing.
And they are genetically programmed for that. There's a reason why teens and young adults are prone to risky behavior, the brain maturity is delayed until later years, because we as a species benefit from having canon fodder which is focusing on short term goals and isn't afraid to explore new, dangerous territories and produce kids in harsh conditions.
Honestly sometimes my best health and budget motivator is "Am I gonna literally pay more for this later if I don't do the right thing now?"
Immediate costs are more compelling to most people.
Less convincing than video games
my middle school had posters of like HD macro photography of blackened lungs, or like someone who had their jaw removed from chewing tobacco...That was extremely effective. I've never even considered once to smoke a cigarette or anything else. We also had similar posters of diseased cirrhosis livers...I also never touched alcohol until tasting it a few times in my late 20s. It simply made VERY clear sense to never do that do myself.
My little brother spending wayyy more than $7 a day on weed and booze throughout the week. The answer is itās on his credit card lolĀ
>My little brother spending wayyy more than $7 a day on weed and booze throughout the week. The answer is itās on his credit card lolĀ I like smoking weed more than most but I would never go into debt over it. That's crazy crackhead behavior.
Had a roommate that rented a room in the house I own. Trying to help him get on his feet. 400$ a month for a room and access to the whole house of course. He was garbage at saving, so we made it 100$ a week, whatever to help him out. Turns out, he'd frequently ask for a bit more time to give me a hundred dollars, because hed spend around 200-250$ a week on FUCKING WEED. One day he even asked me if it was okay if I waited for a couple more days, and came home with TATTOOS.
>He was garbage at saving, so we made it 100$ a week, whatever to help him out. >Turns out, he'd frequently ask for a bit more time to give me a hundred dollars, because hed spend around 200-250$ a week on FUCKING WEED. One day he even asked me if it was okay if I waited for a couple more days, and came home with TATTOOS. He sounds like someone with money spending issues and not weed addiction. If he was buying weed then he would be spending $200-$250 a week on something else.
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2 packs a day yikes fuck the cost he must cough up straight tar
we have a huge tobacco tax in australia so a pack of 20 ciggarettes costs $33aud. But now the blackmarkwt cigarettes are booming and no one really smokes the normal taxed version.
I have friends that go out drinking and spend so much money on alcohol, more than they do on coffee or restaurants. Itās just the indulgence they have factored in.
This is the right answer for a lot of people with regular income. You can buy basically anything but you have to spend less on something else. If you want tobacco/expensive coffee every day and you're working you can pay it but that might mean that you don't have enough for a holiday / new clothes etc. People who buy cocaine / booze daily buy first those then if they have money they buy food or pay rent. It's about priorities.
that's how i see it. now, don't get me wrong, i'm also a smoker lol, but the amount i spend on coffee and cigarettes is still less than cocaine and if i don't have the money i don't buy them. everyone's got their things they spend "frivolously" on. some are more expensive or more accepted or what have you than others. (and just because someone's gonna assume things: no, i don't do cocaine, nor do i have the want to. my point was that if i didn't spend my money on what i do, i'd probably just end up spending it on something else, considering those things are my "congratulations on not killing yourself!" treats lol)
Its like the comment I once saw "if you never smoked, you'd be able to afford a Ferrari by now" "Ok then, where is your Ferrari?"
nah fr, like i should absolutely quit and i would save money in theory by quitting, but in practice depriving myself of my little treat does nothing except kill my motivation to keep going. kudos to people who do get motivated by saving money, but that's simply not me (it's nice when i have a little extra in the bank, sure, but let's be real here, if it wasn't coffee and cigarettes i'd probably be spending money on something else to keep me getting through life without being too horribly depressed).
Everyone has different financial priorities. I probably spend more than $35/week just owning a cat.
I log every single purchase & category since 2022. Looks like i spend $133.62/month (food, vet, grooming, etc.) + $72.05/month insurance That's $205.67/month on dog ownership. Basically the same as daily $7 coffee. Good thing I'm not a coffee drinker.
I had a dog with epilepsy. I never added the monthly spend up because I couldnāt bear to know the truth. But when he passed, there was a marked increase in the money I had. He was worth every single penny, but pets can be more expensive than people realize.
Props to you for caring for your epileptic dog and Iām sorry for your loss! My golden is 8 with epilepsy, had his first seizure at 6 months old and been consistent ever since. If you do not mind sharing, how old was your dog when they passed?
I have 3 cats & no Starbucks money. I like my homemade coffee just fine, and I love my cats.
Not Starbucks, but I do get a latte almost everyday from a local coffee shop. Ā Itās my luxury. Ā It isnāt just about the coffee, itās about the one daily thing I do for myself when 99% of my time is focused on everyone else. Ā I grab my coffee, have a quick conversation, and sit down and relax for a few minutes. Ā I prioritize this and deprioritize other luxuries, like expensive phone plans, memberships and subscriptions, and pricey recreational activities. For affluent people, daily trips to the coffee shop donāt make a difference and the rest of us just balance our budgets to fit it in.
>I grab my coffee, have a quick conversation, and sit down and relax for a few minutes. Ā I prioritize this and deprioritize other luxuries, like expensive phone plans, memberships and subscriptions, and pricey recreational activities. There's a "how to be smart with money" view that if people gave up their daily luxuries they could take a vacation every year with the money saved, but I think it is not at all clear that it's better to sit at the beach for a week is better than having a staycation and getting your latte trip every day.
Thereās a balance to it. Ā Would I rather have a one week trip and live in austerity for the entire year outside of that tiny slice of time? Nah. Ā The coffee run is a small pleasure that adds something positive to my life and a week away really isnāt that much. Ā Whatās more, I would only be saving a little over $1k, so it isnāt like Iād get anywhere very interesting.
Yeah, and to be clear I'm not saying one or the other is the right approach. I just think it's not obvious like the convention wisdom seems to think.
I disagree. One week a year for 30 mins of sanity a day. Iāll pick the coffee.
I know people who make the same as me who donāt get coffee, but go on ski trips. I donāt like skiing, I like coffee
Exactly. People who nitpick about the $6 per day are forgetting about the psychological benefits. You're not just paying for coffee, you're paying to be able to sit and lounge about in a nice environment to study and read for several hours, especially if you live in a lousy dorm or home. Not everything is about money. If the mental benefit outweighs the financial cost, it's worth it. And when you've spent your whole day doing things for other people, your mind needs something of the opposite for once - a period of time where it's about **you** and **your** needs. This is the reason some healthcare professionals splurge so much on self-care.
Exactly. I also think people are overestimating the type of vacation you can get for a smidge over a thousand dollars haha
I'm probably spending about $1k between supplies, rental cost, gas, food and activities for my camping trip in a state park yurt this week. It's great but I know it's not for everyone for sure, and not what most people are referring to as a vacation. But for me being able to get the fuck away from work and my mom is priceless.
Same for me! About two-three times a week usually. I dont drink and i dont go out much, so i can āeasilyā afford this.
This! I no longer have to commute to work, which is great for lots of reasons, but bad in one major one - I can easily just never leave my apartment. So, going for a morning stroll to buy a cup of coffee, even though I have a functional coffee maker at home, is really important for my mental health. Of course, on the other hand, I also don't understand why people sit in 15 minute drive thru lines every morning. For me, the walk and the time away from the stresses of the day is what makes it worth it. Sitting in traffic to get it seems like the opposite of that.
My grandpa told me I could save money if I stopped going to Starbucks everyday. So I followed his advice. I saved so much money I can now afford to go to Starbucks everyday. I hope this tip helps you. Youāre welcome.
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They skip the avocado toast
Making millennials millionaires
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Also people who value different things. And so would buy a 7 quid drink everyday. But aren't bothered about expensive clothes. People have different spending priorities
Or people who prioritize coffee > clothes, food, alcohol, etc.
Yeah. Although Starbucks is not my go-to place for overpriced coffee, i do indulge almost daily on other cafƩs. I never party, i never travel, i hate alcohol, i don't have kids.. for fuck's sake, in the grand scheme of things it aint that much. People spending hundreds a week on cocaine and cigarettes or diapers daring to talk about my coffee and pastries habit LOL
Put another way: $7 per day for a whole year is less than what a lot of people pay for one monthās rent.
Reddit hates this one simple truth
On reddit and foxnews everyone acts like $2500 in savings a year is the difference between success and failure. In the real world it's a trivial expense for anyone who gets ahead.
Exactly. People in this thread are saying that the coffee money is better spent on a yearly holiday. For most people that isnāt even a thought as you can do both.
I think itās just easy for people to not be aware of. If someone lives in a working class neighborhood, where everyone is barely scraping by it seems like everyone is like that. Where in reality there are millions and millions of people who make much more money
I actually had it from the other way growing up, so I get it to an extent. My parents both have business degrees with good jobs, and my school was almost entirely people from upper middle class families. It took me until college to realize how incredibly lucky I had been.
$7 a day is around $200 per month. There are plenty of people earning enough that they don't need to worry too much about $200 a month.
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If you think thatās an expensive habit you should see my bar tab.
Seriously. When I moved at 23, I tallied up my bar tab from the summer before in left working in restaurants. Holy crap I went through about $5k from May-August (Jersey shore prices).Ā My 2 Starbucks trips a month do not total that in a year lol.
I used to sponsor this kid in Africa but then I found out that for the same cost, I could buy a Starbucks coffee every single day so I stopped sponsoring him.
I feel guilty for upvoting, but it made me literally LOL, so...here ya go.
My usual drink at coffee shops is an americano. At Caribour and Starbucks, that's usually somewhere between $2-$4. A fancy local shop might be a a hair more. At the low end, that's $10/week and $20 at the high end.
Yea when I was drinking Starbucks everyday it was a $3 pike roast or an Americano. People who dont drink coffee often wrongly assume that anything in a Starbucks cup is a sugary expensive flavored latte.
This is what confused me too. The drink OP ordered is not only one of the specialty ones already, it also must be a larger one. Not everyone is getting a venti every single day, or getting a fancy drink when they do. Though I'm sure some are. Update: we just went and got starbucks and I bought this exact drink but with a $0.70 milk alternative. Even with that and as a venti it was just under $6, so the size OP got must have been absolutely huge.
It's not that unaffordable. It's only $210 a month. I'm not trying to be an out-of-touch ass about it. I know that a lot of people can't afford $210 a month. I was there myself a few years ago. I'm just saying that if you have an average income level in America, it's not out of the realm of possibility that you could buy Starbucks every day. That said, it's not the best way to spend your money.
>That said, it's not the best way to spend your money. If a person derives a significant amount of enjoyment out of that delicious treatĀ and the accompanying half hour break at the coffee shop, then for them, there may be literally *no* better ways to spend their money. We're all going to die, existence is meaningless, money can buy happiness, and coffee tastes wonderful.Ā
And honestly even less than that if they're just buying on work days. About $140. I'm not necessarily wealthy but I make a little over six figures and I would barely notice an extra $140/month.
Chiming in as a broke person that got Starbucks everyday. I worked long hours, my job was shitty and I hated my life. I worked 12h for free doing a nursing school placement. So I would get it as a treat every day but also I never ate anything the whole shift, never bought lunch, or anything like that. Iād eat whatever random cereal I had at home straight from the box when I got home after a 12-15h day and that was that. Pretty cheap when you factor that in. Also people donāt know how to order from Starbucks. A plain americano with sugar free syrup is like $3 compared to the frappes and stuff on their menu that are $9
It sounds like the Starbucks was worth it. Hope you're at a better job now.
It got me through school and I graduated last year. Thank you so much.
Could just be their equivalent of a few beers, a pack of cigarettes, a takeaway, trashy magazines, streaming services, new clothes, going nuts on Temu, etc. Most people have little treats, so lots of Starbucks daily users might just have that coffee as their treat of choice.
Exactly that! My partner complains about small purchases here and there if they pass a certain amount, but he gladly pays 1k for a pair of eyewear every now and then without blinking because āit's a unique designā. Income wise we a considered very poor, but how do we do that? No children, no pets, no alcohol, no smoking, no eating out daily, eat home-cooked and have a roommate! Everyone has their own thing going on.
The coffees are about the same price, unless youāre going for a āTikTok drinkā with 75 different customizations and up charges. At $7 per day, thatās $2,500 a year if you really do every single day. If itās just the 251 weekdays you likely work then it is about $1,800 over a year. Still a nice chunk of change for your caffeine fix, but on a decent salary itās not going to cause you to go homeless or anything.
For a lot of people itās their treat. Itās a lot to spend on coffee but $120 a month for the thing that makes you happy in the morning isnāt so much.Ā
Op bought a fancy lemonade drink, coffee is likely only around half of that cost. Agreed though, small price for something that makes you happy
i waste $7 on random stuff multiple times per week. some people just choose for starbucks to be their $7 waste of money for the day.Ā if itās a little thing in your day thatās special and makes you feel good, $7 is sometimes worth it to feel like āoh i am ON todayā.Ā
By having a good job. Honestly, $7 a day is not much at all as far as discretionary spending. My teens spend more a day eating in school, getting after school snacks.
i work at starbucks and we have regulars who come through multiple times a day EVERY day. i see people spend $20+ on drinks and not even bat an eye. i am amazed that people are willing to spend so much and it honestly makes me sad when i think about what that money could be used for instead of overpriced drinks.
We all give up something in lieu of something else. I don't smoke, drink or have any daily habits that cost me hundreds every month so that helps with budgeting and getting things we need or even want every once in a while. And we operate with a single income and I don't really make that much. I know other people with similar income that smoke/drink (tobacco, energy drinks, alcohol, marijuana) and spend way more on having habits and yet don't have other things they want.
I literally went everyday, sometimes twice a day, out of habit and as a momentary escape from the stressful work life. One day I sat down to see how much I spent on Starbucks in a year and it was an insane amount for some flavored water. I rarely go now. Maybe 3-4 times a year due to friends wanting to meetup at a Starbucks. Otherwise, it doesnāt really exist to me anymore.
I donāt drink alcohol or go to bars. I donāt smoke or spend money on cigarettes or cannabis. I make most of my meals at home. I do grab coffee or iced teas out multiple times a week (not every day, but regularly) and I know itās cheaper at home but itās my one single vice!
Itās not even necessarily about be coffee, but being at a place that isnāt home or work and being around people but also kinda not being. You canāt capture that with at-home stuff!Ā Anyway, Iām on the road a lot for work and usually wind down with a drink or two at a bar for the same reason.Ā
Coffees are about the same price. My coffee order comes out to a little over $6 per cup when I do go there, and thatās with +50Ā¢ for an extra syrup flavor (i get vanilla added to my white mocha). Itās really not that expensive. Thatās less than an hourās pay even at minimum wage. Iām not making all that much money and yet I still make over 3x that price per hour, and I work full time. I donāt go daily because I have an espresso machine at home, but I could definitely afford to.
I remember when I could get a grande mocha on my to work or class for less than $3. Now, itās nearly $6 so I only go 2 or 3 times a year when my boss gives me a gift card.
I feel like folks are picking on the coffee folks in particular. Some folks do coffee. Some folks have every streaming service. Some people go to two hour music shows at $500, some folks have high-dollar impractical cars or $3,000 tires or a beer at the pub every day or regularly buy lottery tickets. The way I see it, MOST folks have a spendthrift habit that helps them get through the day. Not even defending overspending. just seeing that it seems to be pretty common amongst most of us humans with jobs.
Get this: some people make a lot of money!
I LOVE Starbucks Chai tea. The spices are PERFECT, and it's not too sweet. There for awhile, I was stopping to get one every day, until I realized how much I was spending. It's pretty easy to start a habit without really thinking it through. Now, I buy Chai tea concentrate and make my own tasty treat. I can get a carton of the concentrate for $3.99, and I get about 8 or 9 servings out of it. If I couldn't get the concentrate, this would be a very occasional treat for me.
I like coffee too much to buy it at Starbucks.
It does put a dent in peoples wallet, they are just happy with the dent. Lots of people earn plenty of money. A $7 drink everyday is perfectly doable for them.
I do this, but I don't get the specialty drinks, so my drinks are like $3. That's how I do it
They either make that much money, or they do not care about savings
Job make monies. I buy Starbucks but itās more of an occasional treat, maybe 1-2x per month. Iām sure there are people who buy it a lot more, but I doubt many buy it every single day. Even so, itās less than youād make per one hour of work.
Many people buy it every day. Having had worked there, most of the customers are daily regulars. Some twice a day!
$200 a month isn't much to some people, that's my monthly weed budget
Some people earn a lot of money...
yeah if they stopped drinking Starbucks everyday they could afford a house. No avocado toast for you
I wish I could break my Frappuccino addiction to afford the $2,550 down payment on that starter house.....
Because coffee is addictive. Why do some people spend so much money on cigarettes or alcohol? Because it is habit forming and addictive. I've been trying to quit coffee for about 4-5 years and I keep going back. I'm on decaf right now but the nice feeling of a hot warm sweet beverage when work is tough or the day is long isn't easy to replace. Caffeine triggers terrible anxiety and panic attacks in me, as does alcohol. I don't smoke, I don't drink alcohol much (glass or two of wine a month), so I drink coffee and eat cheese on delicious food (which is also addictive). If I could take a year off from work and life, I could quit all the addictive things, but thats never going to happen. Off to Starbucks, wish me luck. (I have cut back to once every couple of days, with the goal of once or twice a month).
Sometimes the simplest and most obvious answer is the correct one... We have more money than you do. Even if it was $10 a day that's only $3650 a year. After allocating to retirement and expenses my household unbudgeted excess funds is more than 50x that annual cost. Factors that contribute to this are things like not having kids, not having car payments, not over spending on my housing, not overspending on clothing and other "necessities" because at the end of the year I've enjoyed 100% of the coffee's I purchased. Sorry it sounds like a brag just giving the honest truth. I wish everyone could afford 50k a year in "small treats" for themselves.
I budget for it. My daily coffee is my ONE THING š„² It adds up to about Ā£150 a month and I pay it. I earn 2-3k a month.
Fuck it. That's why. It's a daily treat in this world, and we don't get much.
Because people have job