Humorous budget buster. Coffee!!

eliza61

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 2, 2003
I heard this on the news today and could totally relate. I will give up my first born child some mornings before I give up my cup of Joe!! :surfweb:

I'm such a wuss....

American Workers Spend $1000 A Year On Coffee, $2000 A Year On Lunch

You know that, for the sake of your budget, you should kick the ever-more-expensive coffee habit. And, for that matter, that you should make yourself a brown-bagged BLT to bring to work rather than getting Chipotle for the third time this week. But mornings are tough! And how much harm could a few cups of coffee, and a few burritos, do?

According to a recent survey of 1000 American workers by Accounting Principals, quite a bit. The firm's data show that half of American workers regularly buy coffee during the week. This half spent an average of $1092 a year; that's over $5 a day. An even larger proportion of workers -- a full two-thirds -- buy lunch at work. These folks spend even more than the coffee drinkers. On average, the midday meal costs lunchers $1924 a year. That's even more than commuting, which accounts for about $1500 a year.

The workers who spent the most on both coffee and lunch were those aged 18-24. Their low income, it seems, is more than offset by their lack of real-life expenditures and their hunger for fancy foods to get them through the workday.

The men in the survey also said they spent far more on both food and coffee than the women did.

One small flaw with the survey is that it didn't ask those who don't regularly buy coffee and lunch how much they spend on those items at the grocery store. It's not like the one third who don't normally eat out is going without lunch -- and it seems safe to say that many of the non-coffee-buyers are brewing their own at home.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/american-workers-coffee-spending_n_1219579.html
 
I drink ALOT of coffee, probably too much.:rolleyes: I rarely buy coffee out. I do spend a good amount on coffee each year though since DH and I buy whole beans and grind them. DH has expensive taste in coffee and this is 1 area in which there is no compromise, so we spend about $500- $600 a year on beans but we have a cup in the morning and fill our travel mugs and bring them to work :thumbsup2

DH is now hooked on making espresso in the morning :sad2:

All that said... don't think I even want to consider giving it up
 
I found an easy way to cure my latte addiction. Lactose intolerance. Happened over the summer. My starbucks store was worried about me because I had stopped coming in. :lmao:
 
I'm curious how much mroe that $1000 is for some of my cowrkers. SOme go on starbuck's runs 2 or 3 times a day!

DH and I don't drink coffee and only buy lunch out once or twice every 3 weeks but thanks so much for sharing this. i always wondered how much we were saving. Mkes me not even want to eat out that 1 or 2 times!

Lara
 
One solution: work at a company that has free Starbucks in the break room! (i.e., my company)
 
Well this is not me......I don't drink coffee. :) And I do get lunch out but only a couple times a week max, usually it's less than that. I almost always bring either leftovers or I have cans of soup in my desk drawer that I can eat as well. :) That's interesting tho, I certainly do have friends that fall into this category.
 
I'm not even a coffee drinker but that doesn't stop me from spending $6-10 at Starbucks about 5-6 days a week on breakfast. I see the same people at the same time each day getting their fix of coffee and pastry goods. We are all so predictable.
 
I found an easy way to cure my latte addiction. Lactose intolerance. Happened over the summer. My starbucks store was worried about me because I had stopped coming in. :lmao:

I'm lactose intolerant too. Did you know Starbucks can make that latte with soy milk?

I'm part of the club that can't wrap my head around paying big bucks for coffee, no matter how good it tastes. :laughing: Coffee is 25 cents a cup at work, so my daily coffee expenditure is one single quarter. I've tried to get out of the habit of ordering lunch, mostly because it's so unhealthy. Once every 2 weeks, I treat myself to a takeout lunch and spend $7 to $9.

On the flip side, I have a co-worker who is always complaining about being broke (and we make a nice salary). Of course, she walks in with a grande sized Starbucks coffee every single day. I'm thinking that's at least $100 a month that she's spending on coffee. :confused3
 
When we started saving up for Disney, the first thing I cut out were afternoon Starbucks runs and lunches out. We have all the coffee we can drink at work (and it's good stuff, my boss insists on it) and I can bring a lunch from home for way less than anything out.

I added it up for a month once, and was disgusted at how much I'd spent on lunches out and coffee. Then I quit doing it.
 
I get a 40 minute break between classes at the elementary school where I work. If I don't bring my own lunch, the only option is school cafeteria food! :scared1: I also bring my own coffee every morning.

My DH works at a company that provides free breakfast and lunch. He doesn't normally drink coffee, but he occasionally makes a mocha in the fancy Tassimo coffee maker they have.

Between taking my lunch, DH's free food, and the fact that my boys don't like cafeteria food, we save tons of money!
 
I have a Keurig and someone recently told me they figured out a pound of coffee for the keurig costs $60!!!! I didn't double check his figure but that sounds right.

I'm not at all surprised by this news. But I still won't give up my coffee or my Keurig.
 
I don't doubt the figure but I won't stress out over it either. Recently we purchased a keurig and I don't go to starbucks anymore. Actually I buy my coffee on sale 18pk for 7.99 I stocked up and if I work it out I'm paying less then .50 cents a cup so compared to my daily starbucks fix at 3.40 per grande americano I'm doing well its a little over $15 I'm saving a week.
 
I found an easy way to cure my latte addiction. Lactose intolerance. Happened over the summer. My starbucks store was worried about me because I had stopped coming in. :lmao:

Starbucks does soy lattes... I make them at home too with almond or coconut milk and home-pulled espresso. Yum!
 
This thread is making me want coffee!!! :lmao: I am really not surprised. When I was working and a college student I was always at Starbucks or getting lunch out. Now I have a cute travel mug that LOOKS like a Starbucks cup. For some reason it keeps me from going out.
 
I don't doubt it! Thats why I say my best purchase ever was my Keurig. Yes, the coffee is more expensive, but it is so easy, I'm not tempted to get coffee out.

I'm sure I could save even more if I went back to a traditional coffee maker, but one step at a time, right? :laughing:
 
We don't go to Starbucks or other espresso stands much, but we do pay around $10+/pound for good coffee. It is one area that we won't compromise on.

Right now we are drinking Starbucks Breakfast Blend coffee - it was on sale for $6/12oz pkg. We always pre-ground our coffee before bringing it home, or buy the pre-packed packages pre-ground because I refuse to buy a coffee grinder. The grinding sound drives me crazy! I would much rather grind at the grocery store and only hear the noise one time.
 
About six years ago I bought a Starbucks espresso maker for around $350. Even though I consider that expensive it has been money well spent ( and they sell on Ebay for about $60 now if anyone is interested ). I use that machine everyday. I buy this amazing Ghiradelli's White Mocha and add it to the espresso and milk. It's amazing! I no longer go to Starbucks unless I want to purchase syrup from them.

Coffee is the best and I think I'm just one of those people who could eat a sack lunch but not give up a good cup of joe!
 
I make my coffee at home for .32 cents a cup (good coffee too, free trade organic from Trader Joes). I usually drink 2 cups a day, so that's $234 a year. I do go to Starbucks now and then as a treat, usually once every 2 months or so, but that goes in my "eating out" budget not "grocery" budget like my at-home coffee does.
 
This post makes me happy that my DH (who is a coffee-aholic) is a complete coffee snob!! He buys his beans green and roasts them on his own. He spends between $250 and $300 a year on green coffee beans. Of course, his roaster was about $200, but that was a Christmas gift a few years ago. Then there's the hand crank grinder, the electric grinder, the espresso machine, the french press, the regular coffee maker, and a couple of crazy weird coffee making things that I don't even know what' they're called $$$$$. . . most were gifts, though! He can't stomach Starbucks-- says they burn their beans. I'm good with that :thumbsup2!! --Katie
 

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