Coffee Talk

Coffee Talk – Starbucks

I love coffee. That morning cup is a must-have for me. The only time I stopped drinking coffee was when I was pregnant with my son. You guessed I stopped for 9 months and went right back on to it after my son was born. I love Starbucks until today. I loved going to the corner Starbucks to buy a cup of Venti Latte or Cappuccino. It was almost intoxicating with the coffee aroma and luscious warm foamy milk on the top.  This was my daily routine for many years.

Until one day I learned about how to budget yourself… I stopped cold turkey.

Don’t get me wrong as I am still drinking my favorite morning coffee and never missed it. I make my own coffee at home. I microwave my milk of choice for 45 seconds and use a battery powered milk frothier to froth the warm milk for a 30 to 45 seconds. Adding it to the just brewed fresh coffee, and it tastes as satisfying as Starbucks.

After doing this for the 15 years I made a calculation. The result surprised me. I feel that I need to share.

Let’s use today’s value of money and price to make math simple.

This is how it goes:

3-pounds of Kirkland band Columbian Expresso Dark Roast at Costco which is one of my favorites costs around $ 15.00 and it lasts me for 45 days. That is about $0.40 including milk per day.  

1 cup of Venti Starbucks Latte or Cappuccino which is my favorite as well cost $5.

I keep $4.60 per day.

One year I saved $1,679.00. Five years I saved $8,395. After 15 years I triple that amount. It’s a whooping $25,000!! I have kept $25,000 for myself!

The point is I continuedly enjoying my wonderful morning coffee.  At the same time, I kept my money. I didn’t even sacrifices anything.

Don’t get me wrong I am still an infrequent patron of Starbucks. I go there to buy something to treat myself.