Resolution
Did you know that a Starbucks Grande Latte costs $3.58 ?
I've developed the unfortunate habit of buying one of these every single morning on my way to work.
As I was checking my budget against reality this weekend, I realized that this little "necessity" is costing me $17.90 a week. This adds up to $71.60 a month. That's an awful lot of money! And guess where I was sitting when I was doing this little budget exercise. That's right. I was in Starbucks, drinking $3.58 worth of milk and coffee. I don't usually go to Starbucks on the weekend, but I didn't feel like sitting around in the condo.
Maybe I have a crutch, or maybe I'm just lazy. But at the end of this year, I will have spent at least $900 at the Big Coffee Corporation, and that just doesn't sit well with me.
So I made a resolution: I am going to start making coffee at home. I have my French press and I have a big bag of beans in the freezer. I also have a small collection of commuter mugs. It is only Tuesday, but it is already tough going.
After all, I pass by 4 Starbuckses on the way to work. The temptation is difficult. Very Difficult.
To combat any temptation I might have in the middle of the day (sometimes I need coffee after lunch,) I bought a small bottle of milk to keep in the fridge at work. We get free "pod" coffee you see, but I just can't drink that powdered creamer crap they give us to put in it.
I'm not saying that I'll never have another Starbucks Latte again, because that would be a fat lie. I also don't think that's necessary. As a treat, the occasional latte is ok. But my daily brew is going to have to be at home.
posted by Michelle @ 9:18 PM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
I dunno, frothing milk every morning at home sounds a little daunting to me. It's always been easier for me to bring coffee from home since I drink it black. Good luck chica!
I am proud of your resolution. I too love a frothy hot latte, but I am not particular to the brand. Sometimes, I go to Starbucks, sometimes our in-building coffee shop, or wherever I happen to be. But I do limit myself to one a day, usually in the afternoon. Morning coffee is always at home, unless it's been a really bad night.
However, now that it is summer, I am all about iced coffee, which is half the price of a latte. What with my new found biking habit? I am just saving money hand over fist. What does this mean for RubyCat? Shoes, baby, shoes.
Cheapskate trick for me at Starbucks -- order an Americano and ask them to put some milk in it. I think lattes are too milky anyway.
I do have the milk frother and french press, but I'm not messing about with that in the morning. I'll do it on the weekends -- make a pot of my favorite coffee and whip out the frother.
I also always look for the independent shop, too. Starbucks' coffee is rarely as good, and they chase away the individual guys. But during the week I buy the plain generic coffee at work, and it's fine by me and a lot cheaper.
On the other hand -- how much going out do you do? I go through phases where I get myself one or two coffees a day, which adds up to 20 bucks a week, which comes out of my entertainment budget. Not like I do too much else. Also, when I gave up flour and sugar I started to drink coffee -- I wanted some vice I could point to and say "so I drink coffee -- so what? I gave up everything else"
It's a funny thing with me, coffee addict.
I think I make the best coffee in the world (I'm alone in that thought), and make mine to tote to work or down the road every morning.
However, when I'm in B'burg for band, or coming home from Mr M's, I MUST - MUST! - stop at Starbucks for a large special coffee of the day. Not nearly as good as my own brewing, but I HAVE to have it.
And when I'm too late to get one (the B'burg Starbucks' hours dwindle with the student population at any given time), I'm always downhearted and mopey when I go by 7-11 to get a cup of theirs for the drive home. At a fraction of the cost. And it's always better.
Starbucks puts some kind of microchip in their coffee to keep you coming back.
Your coffee habit is as expensive as my cigarette habit. We should both take up crack cocaine, it would be way cheaper.
It's like the Mike Myers quip in "So I married an Axe Murderer" (one of the best movies ever), when his Scottish father is talking about his addiction to KFC, "Oh, Colonel, with his wee beady eyes, he puts an addictive chemical in the chicken that makes you crave it fortnightly!" (imagine this with a surly, loud Scottish accent).
I so need my morning Java that the mere act of brewing the coffee begins to wake me up. But I'll live with a coffee addiction it's way easier on my figure than say an addiction to ice cream. Not that I don't love ice cream...
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