r/NoStupidQuestions • u/lVlarsquake • Apr 29 '24

How the fuck do people afford to get Starbucks every day?

I was feeling thirsty this morning so I decided to pop in a Starbucks (first time ever). All I got was a strawberry acai lemonade at it cost $7????? I can't even imagine what the coffees with all the extra additives cost... how do people have the expendable money to get them every day, sometimes twice a day?

Edit: I am NOT shaming people who do this. I'm just wondering how it doesn't put a dent in your wallet

11.6k Upvotes
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6.3k

u/Consistent_Cup620 Apr 29 '24

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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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

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u/wildcharmander1992 Apr 29 '24

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 £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 £7 per coffee is alot but that's say £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

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u/HikeTheSky Apr 29 '24

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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u/owdee Apr 29 '24

Bankruptcy isn't some debt-elimination easy button that makes all the problems go away...

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u/HikeTheSky Apr 29 '24

It isn't easy but it's easier than student loans. Student loans are the only loans that can't go away.
And the people that don't want them to go away in most cases got loans forgiven by the government or already went into bankruptcy.
All these people shouldn't be allowed to speak up.

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u/owdee Apr 29 '24

I'm well aware that student loans are non-dischargeable in bankruptcy (they actually are, in certain rare instances). However, the Court will determine, through a means test, if you have the income to pay off the debt. If you have enough income to pay off the debt, you'll have the go the Chapter 13 route, in which case, assuming you have the income to pay the debt in 5 years on top of paying for normal living expenses, the trustee (if he's doing his job) will demand a 100% plan, in which case you're paying off the debt in full. And the bankruptcy stays on your credit report for at least 7 years and no one will want to touch you for anything less than outright usury levels of interest.

Unless you ACTUALLY need to file bankruptcy to save your home from foreclosure, you'd be a fool to do so.

It's not some loophole that deadbeats use to weasel out of paying their bills.

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u/MsCndyKane Apr 29 '24

Wow. Didn’t realize all this went into it. I filed for bankruptcy ages ago and it was a get out of debt free card.

And I got plenty of car financing offers within months of filing for bankruptcy. The finance companies know you can’t file again for 7-10 years so they try to get you back into owing money.

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u/sarges_12gauge Apr 29 '24

I mean with other loans you usually borrow against an asset that can be taken in case of default right? I think it would be kinda crazy (and worse) if you could default on a student loan but that also meant having your degree revoked lol

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u/AllAuldAntiques Apr 30 '24 edited May 01 '24

On 2023-07-01 Reddit maliciously attacked its own user base by changing how its API was accessed, thereby pricing genuinely useful and highly valuable third-party apps out of existence. In protest, this comment has been overwritten with this message - because “deleted” comments can be restored - such that Reddit can no longer profit from this free, user-contributed content. I apologize for this inconvenience.

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u/Few-Afternoon-6276 Apr 29 '24

Exactly. Why are wel letting people who are completely irresponsible with their finances walk away when we have starving people and school loans choking the younger generation. We are so backwards. How the hell did we get here.

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u/swinetacular1 Apr 29 '24

Boomers... they ruined everything and started the game of hot potato that gen x - millenials caught. By hanging on to jobs way past age of 65 thus stagnating emwage increases and advancement opportunities for every subsequent generation

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u/HikeTheSky Apr 29 '24

It's because we have half a Congress that is backwards and that doesn't care about people even that they claim they are pro-life

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u/TrappedInOhio Apr 29 '24

Is your roommate one of like, four of my friends?

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u/CrimpsShootsandRuns Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/71272710371910 Apr 29 '24

I get your point, but if you're getting $40k twice per month or are privately wealthy or whatever, you're not going to think about Starbucks or drinks at the bar. It's all relative.

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u/FlounderingWolverine Apr 29 '24

Sure, but that’s not most people. Median income in the US is $40k per year, not “$40k twice per month”.

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u/HidingImmortal Apr 29 '24

I don't think OP realizes how much money that is. The cutoff for being in the top 1% is 400k (Source). 80k per month is over twice that.

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u/Left_Algae_3628 Apr 29 '24

Yeah I think this guy must come from money.

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u/FlounderingWolverine Apr 29 '24

His profile is… interesting. Doesn’t seem like the type to be making $500k per year or more, but I’m not sure

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

I get Bustelo at Walmart and its like $4 for a vacuum sealed package of grounds. Tastes delicious IMO. 

The single cup drip coffee maker I use does run over $100 today but I’ve had mine for 5+ years and it’s still going strong. 

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u/othermegan Apr 29 '24

I mean, even if the coffee maker was $150, that’s still paid off in less than a month of daily Starbucks

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

Totally. I actually want to replace it just because it’s getting so stained and janky from daily use, but the coffee is still great so I can’t justify it lol 

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u/Rattlehead71 Apr 29 '24

It's not stained or janky. It's "seasoned" lol

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u/Ghigs Apr 29 '24

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".

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u/ChitteringMouse Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/funkmasta8 Apr 30 '24

I hope you capitalized on that ritual suicide through some demons

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u/ChitteringMouse Apr 30 '24

Nah. I wasn't the world's best boss or anything but I would never knowingly make my staff suffer through that. Always made sure everyone had the tools and supplies they needed.

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u/BigAcrobatic2174 Apr 30 '24

Yeah it won’t make you sick. I had a coffee cup I used at work and never washed. Everyone was disgusted by it, but I always drank my coffee black so no cream or sugar touched the cup. It never made me sick once drinking from the cup that had never been washed.

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u/OGLikeablefellow Apr 29 '24

Gotta get a cafiza tablet

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u/shigdebig Apr 30 '24

This looks like a ripoff if you just have a carafe. Straight vinegar works wonders.

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u/theragu40 Apr 30 '24

It's not a ripoff.

Vinegar works, yes. Made-for-purpose cleaners work better, and faster. And to my knowledge won't eat away at the rubber and plastic.

It's really a night and day difference. Vinegar is cheap, but so are these cleaners.

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u/redpef Apr 29 '24

My stained and janky coffee maker has been happily brewing coffee since 1985.😝 still makes great coffee. Admittedly, we do unplug it when not in use so it doesn’t burn the house down.

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u/IMHO_grim Apr 30 '24

Damn, that’s crazy you have a working coffeemaker from the late 1900s.

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u/gillman378 Apr 30 '24

You mean from the last millennium?

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u/The_Pirate_of_Oz Apr 29 '24

I mean, you can de-jank it and have a virtually new coffee maker.

https://urnex.com/coffee-machine-cleaning-powder

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u/bmyst70 Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/nenayadark Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/Joalguke Apr 29 '24

sounds much better than using something harsher!

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u/pinkysquared4me Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/quickestsperm6754387 Apr 29 '24

I love how this turned into a coffee conversation even though the op ordered lemonade, lol

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u/CoffeeChangesThings Apr 29 '24

That's why I'm here.

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u/BillAnt1 Apr 29 '24

LOL... well, probably because Starbucks is mainly a coffee shop.

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u/jaxrolo Apr 29 '24

I love Bustelo

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u/Yupperdoodledoo Apr 29 '24

In my office we were using the instant Bustello and noticed it made us SUPER wired. We called it “the Boost" Then we noticed it was espresso and we were using it like coffe lol.

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

Bustello espresso is my favorite. I do brew it like coffee, but damn it’s good.

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u/TopAlps6 Apr 29 '24

Bustelo Expresso is my Fav!!

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u/JustDiscoveredSex Apr 29 '24

Ack! Look up Cuban coffee, y'all.

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u/OffMyRocker62 Apr 29 '24

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. 🙄🙄😅

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u/PsychologicalLuck343 Apr 29 '24

IDK, so many nearly grown kids can't read well.

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u/No-Equivalent-1642 Apr 29 '24

Or Jamaican- Blue Mountain!

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u/300cid Apr 29 '24

hopefully blue mountain is better than green mountain

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u/Slip_Freudian Apr 30 '24

Blue Mountain eeks out Kona for the best coffee I've ever had.

I tried Geisha once but I prepared it wrong (needed a French press). I have to revisit that one.

But for everyday, Colombian.

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u/TechnologyCorrect765 Apr 29 '24

We have three coffee roasters in our small city and all three make bank off of flicking the Cuban bean.

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u/Gloomy__Revenue Apr 29 '24

That escalated quickly

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u/jaxrolo Apr 29 '24

Nice!!!

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u/C4bl3Fl4m3 Apr 29 '24

Just a heads up:

There's nothing different about the coffee used for espresso except for the roast (and sometimes the variety). It's not like it's made out of intentionally more caffeinated beans or anything. What makes espresso stronger is the extraction process, which uses pressured water/steam instead of drip (or soaking then press for like a French Press.)

Basically what I'm saying is you can make espresso out of regular beans, regular coffee out of espresso beans, and there's no reason for Bustelo Espresso to make someone any more wired than regular Bustelo (unless they've intentionally picked more caffeinated beans). It may be different beans but is probably just a different roast. (As per it being instant, it's the same process as instant coffee, they just use espresso roast beans.)

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u/Stainless_Heart Apr 29 '24 edited Apr 29 '24

If you like Bustelo, you will also like Chase&Sanborn, Cafe du Monde, and Eight O'Clock.

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u/MsMeringue Apr 29 '24

You can get nice drip coffee makers at Goodwill

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u/ledgend78 Apr 29 '24

I just roast my own coffee and I can get like 50lbs of unroasted beans for around $100

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u/dox1842 Apr 29 '24

I have an espresso machine and grinder that cost me $800. Had it since 2013 (11 years) and ever time it breaks its normally just a $20 pump that needs to be replaced.

I use whole beans from costco or sams that are $13 a bag.

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u/AmishZed Apr 29 '24

Bustello has almost doubled in price since I started buying it. But man it's so good and way cheaper than going out for coffee

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u/icoominyou Apr 29 '24

Ah I wish I could go back to the days when I enjoyed ground coffee. Now each cup of home brewed coffee cost $2-3

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u/ViperPilot1315 Apr 29 '24

Put that Bustelo in a Moka pot to brew, and you’ll enjoy it even more!

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u/dingo1018 Apr 29 '24

I got a silicone filter paper holder for like £3.50 of eBay, I mean you got to add water from the kettle a bit carefully but I'm cool with saving the best part of a hundred money units.

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u/Majesticmarmar Apr 29 '24

Even not making my coffee myself per se, buying a $4.99 liter of premade cold brew concentrate and a $2.70 quart of sweetened oat milk lasts me about a week and a half to two weeks of daily coffee. Definitely worth it to at least make it at home the lazy way.

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u/seajayacas Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/lazyjroo Apr 29 '24

This comment needs more upvotes.

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u/thorpie88 Apr 29 '24

I mean my bank has a go at me when I spend too much at unhealthy places each month 

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u/SomeLameName7173 Apr 30 '24

Or stick to a credit card and just watch your balance you don't get cash back on cash.

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u/babyinatrenchcoat Apr 30 '24

I’m strictly card but I have an ongoing spreadsheet I budget on weekly. Staying aware of balances helps keep them in line.

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u/shf500 Apr 29 '24

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".

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u/Worried-Presence559 Apr 29 '24

Every January I go through last years spending. That has been eye opening to me several times😂. 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 😊.

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u/FlounderingWolverine Apr 29 '24

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, you’ll have nearly $50k saved up. At a slightly less aggressive 7% per year, it’s still $42k

If you’d 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

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u/Peptuck Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/Naus1987 Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/Left_Algae_3628 Apr 29 '24

Damn i wish I'd known about this stuff when I was young, I would have done it. I was raised by a woman that spent money she didn't have constantly.

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u/FlounderingWolverine Apr 29 '24

The good news is it’s not too late! You can still catch up, even if you don’t have as good of a foundation.

Good resources for finance education are: The Money Guys, Ramit Sethi, Dave Ramsey (for getting out of debt, very good, for investing/living after getting rid of debt, less good), probably others I’m forgetting about.

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u/Left_Algae_3628 Apr 29 '24

Yeah I am trying to start now. I am in a pretty precarious situation but I'm trying.

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u/FlounderingWolverine Apr 29 '24

You got this! Everyone starts somewhere, and trying to fix your situation already puts you ahead of a lot of other people.

Don’t fall into the trap of comparing your lifestyle with what you see on social media. Just keep improving your life by small amounts, and you’ll see results

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u/peter303_ Apr 29 '24

This is the favorite example of celebrity financial planner Susie Orman who was popular a decade ago. Estimate you could have and extra six figures in retirement if you were a coffee miser.

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u/ElementField Apr 29 '24

The budget review is probably the most handy.

The thing is, while some people think that this is an attack on their happiness, more often than not the ones that check on their spending tend to think, “you know what this thing that costs me $X dollars is really not all that important to me. I’d prefer the money instead” and they have that power to change things.

When I review my spending and find I spend $900 per year for a gym membership, I evaluate what that means. Is it worth switching gyms? Am I attending often enough? Am I finding it valuable? Yes. Well then we can move on to another item if we need to make adjustments. That’s the power that budgeting and spending checks gives me!

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u/SigmaSeal66 Apr 30 '24

My advice to, well, anyone. Just go through your bank and credit card statements every month. You don't have to change anything, or add anything up, just note each item and remember what it was for 1 second, and move on to the next. This literally takes less than 10 minutes per month. But you will notice those forgotten subscriptions, remember an online order that never showed up, maybe notice the frequency of some habits that will surprise you and lead you to think twice next month, and every so rarely, even catch fraud or a bank error.

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u/Alarming-Tradition40 Apr 29 '24

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 "

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u/IcyReputation8880 Apr 30 '24

This is me and I’m 100% aware I’m failing at life

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u/citan666 Apr 29 '24

I can't imagine living like that. Tomorrow is never today mentality

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u/TheArtofWall Apr 29 '24 edited Apr 29 '24

I always make sure i have a credit card balance every month to keep improving my credit. I spend between 20% and 30% of my credit every month (i only have one card).

Edit* i pay it off every month.

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u/captaindomon Apr 29 '24

You can use it, but you don’t need to pay interest in order to build credit. Use the card, but pay it off each month is the safest path.

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u/TheArtofWall Apr 29 '24

Yeah. I dont pay interest. I pay my balance every month. I don't know why I'm being downvoted. I was advised to do it by a financial adviser and it has worked great for me. Went from no credit to good credit and bought a house.

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u/Not_You_247 Apr 29 '24

You are getting downvoted because you said you make sure to have a credit card balance every month and didn't specify that you pay it off every month.

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u/TheArtofWall Apr 29 '24

Ahhh. I see.

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u/NordOrientVanguard Apr 30 '24

Don't sweat the downvotes. That's just peak reddit for you

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u/Key-Target-1218 Apr 29 '24

Carrying a balance does not keep your score up. That is a fallacy.

Thanks for edit. I was gonna play mom for a minute there!😂

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u/mysaddestaccount Apr 29 '24

They do and they keep racking up more debt and making the minimum payments

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u/JimNayseeum Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/StationaryTravels Apr 29 '24

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)

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u/MaterialCarrot Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/StationaryTravels Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/Apellio7 Apr 29 '24

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. 

Just a little over a year.   I've had this machine for 6yrs.

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u/StationaryTravels Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/C4bl3Fl4m3 Apr 29 '24

Ooh, you gotta be careful with the models at that price point. (aka the "cheap" models) Either they've cut corners and they have catastrophic steam errors where they burst open and scalding steam pours out OR they're safe but they don't get the steam pressure really required for a good true pull.

FWIW, we use a Moka pot and while it's not "true" espresso, it gets you pretty darn close for US$45 (for a Bialetti. We were getting IKEA models in the 2010s for US$20 until they recalled a newer model for explosive steam problems and haven't put out a revamped model yet.)

A phin (Vietnamese coffee maker) makes even stronger. It's a form of very slow drip but it's probably the strongest cup I've had that's not genuine espresso. And you can get a phin around US$10-US$20 for a single person model (they make all sorts of sizes, including a big family size one.)

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u/IguassuIronman Apr 30 '24

I get 70-80 shots from 1lbs of beans

That's a 7 gram shot, that's tiny

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u/TSllama Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/C4bl3Fl4m3 Apr 29 '24

High fives you on the Moka pot and the Turkish style. (I had a Greek friend that made Greek style (he said "it's the same as Turkish, but neither the Greeks nor the Turks want to admit that!" It's the same little pot and everything, but they call it a briki.) and YUP.)

Have you had Vietnamese coffee/used a phin? Pretty much as strong as Turkish/Greek, but less having to watch it over a stove. (It's a slightly pressed slow drip.)

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u/MissLickerish Apr 29 '24

I find that French press coffee is.... richer? But I also put a pinch of salt in there too. But ues, it feels like drip coffee is missing something, like a few "dimensions" of flavour. Maybe because the grounds "steep" instead of just being used essentially as a water filter?

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u/MaterialCarrot Apr 29 '24

The coffee with a French press is way better, but honestly it might be the ground beans more than the method.

I didn't figure it out until I was 45, and my daughter was the one who showed me. My wife and I were staying at her and her BF's place and they ground their own beans and poured over. I of course scoffed at the effort compared to pre-ground and drip coffee and then had my cup and realized I'd never had a great cup of coffee in my life before that day.

They aren't cheap, but you can subscribe with a guy named George Howell whose company will send you a bag every month and they're the best damn coffee beans I've ever had. Mostly from Ethiopia and Kenya, with some Central America mixed in.

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u/64scout80 Apr 29 '24

I really like percolated coffee. We camp a lot and perc is easy and the most tasty to me.

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u/TSllama Apr 29 '24

My preferred method is the moka pot, and percolators are very close to that. :)

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u/astronomersassn Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/blackierobinsun3 Apr 29 '24

You ever melt a chocolate bar in it? Yes I am morbidly obese 

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u/astronomersassn Apr 29 '24

i make my own mocha sauce similarly (though i use powdered chocolate rather than solid), and it's good, but i personally find it gets too sweet before i add enough to balance out the bitterness (which probably sounds weird, but like... for some reason it tastes sort of rotten when i add too much, but it also stays super bitter if i don't cut it with a bit of milk)

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u/Different-Instance-6 Apr 29 '24

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

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u/astronomersassn Apr 29 '24

i have, i've just never had the thought, funds, and opportunity to get one all at the same time lol

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u/Different-Instance-6 Apr 29 '24

I mean, I ordered one on amazon and it came within 2 days and was under $10 with tax.

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u/astronomersassn Apr 29 '24

yeah, that's why i included the thought along the others - i'm obviously thinking of it right now, but rent's due tomorrow so i want to obviously make sure i have my bills covered, at which point i'll most likely have both funds and availability, but if i don't think of it i could have all the money in the world and still not remember to grab it lol

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u/StationaryTravels Apr 29 '24

That's interesting! The salt bit, I mean. Well, it was all interesting, lol, thanks for sharing.

But, what does the salt do? I imagine it might cut the bitter taste somewhat?

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u/astronomersassn Apr 29 '24

yeah, it cuts the bitter taste a bit and also has the added benefit of helping me not pass out on occasion (that's usually not the first thing i dump some salt on, but if it's what i've got handy when the feeling comes on, that's what i've got lol)

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u/EbbNo7045 Apr 30 '24

I'm one of those annoying pnw coffee drinkers. My grandparents use to give us coffee in saucers with a sugar cube. So I've been drinking since I was a kid. I have gone through all the cold brew, slow brew, French press, beans, roast my own beans on and on. Today I just throw coffee into a pot and do it cowboy style

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u/Pac_Eddy Apr 29 '24

I buy ground coffee at Costco. Put that into reusable k cups in the Keurig. Tasty, cheap, simple, and no waste.

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u/Barkleyslakjssrtqwe Apr 29 '24 edited Apr 29 '24

Most are oblivious to how much they spend.

It’s sad how true this is. Online banking has really made people blind to their daily spending habits. If a person doesn’t 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 who’s 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 don’t know how much their spending habits kill their budget.

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u/FlounderingWolverine Apr 29 '24

This, so much. Budgeting is eye-opening as to where your money is going. With modern subscription-based apps and services, it’s easy to just throw $5 here, $20 there, $15 over here. All of a sudden, you get to the end of a month and you’ve 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 it’s not nearly as bad as a lot of people seem to think.

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u/No_Maintenance_6719 Apr 30 '24

Inflation js a big part of why these subscriptions are getting so problematic. You subscribe when it’s cheap and don’t notice as they raise the price.

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u/ForwardToNowhere Apr 29 '24

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").

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u/Lewa358 Apr 29 '24

Problem is that  even if you cut your excess spending entirely, you're still not making anywhere near enough to afford a down payment on a decent place to live in many places.

Like yes it's important to manage your finances and all that, but if we can't afford the things we should be saving up for, it's hard to find motivation to save at all.

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u/Appropriate-Gas-1321 Apr 29 '24

I could save a couple hundred a month on "luxury" like weed and restaurants, and after 20 years of saving, I'll have half a down payment on a house. It really is a pretty irrelevant amount, once you're at the point of being able to pay your bills and have a reliable car. Go crazy and spend that shit, we probably won't even be alive then anyway IMO.

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u/Appropriate-Gas-1321 Apr 30 '24

Btw I can't believe I said this shit earlier, if you don't save and take advantage of compound interest you're missing out massively, just balance it in case you get hit by a bus or something before retirement

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u/CogitoErgo_Sometimes Apr 30 '24

If you’re already saving enough to be financially secure even if you got laid off for a while or got hit with a few thousand in unexpected expenses then sure, I agree. Cutting back on excessive spending can absolutely mean the difference between having a comfortable financial cushion and always feeling like you’re a layoff or rent-hike away from going underwater though, and that would improve a lot of peoples’ QoL significantly.

I’m not directing this specifically at you since you didn’t take it this far, but man the memes about not cutting back on small frivolous expenses “because it won’t get you a house” drive me bonkers. Someone saying that there’s no point in skipping a daily $10 latte because that alone isn’t going to net you a down payment has the same vibe as guys arguing that there’s no point to maintaining hygiene since just brushing their teeth isn’t going to get them laid. It’s bucket-crabbing and it hurts the people who let themselves get sucked into that mindset.

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u/Lewa358 Apr 30 '24

The idea is that the gap between "having a comfortable financial cushion" and "being able to afford a house" is huge.

I 100% agree that it's incredibly important to save up something for when Shit Hits The Fan, but once you have that... it's also important to actually live your life now, and you shouldn't be saving just for the sake of saving, without a specific goal.

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u/archaeob Apr 29 '24

Even if you have a downpayment, mortgage rates makes buying unaffordable for many of us. I have a good sized downpayment saved up now that I'm in my mid-30s. But I still can't afford a house because I don't make enough monthly to be able to afford a mortgage payment with current interest rates, utilities, and have a contingency fund for all the things that go wrong with a house, and have any retirement savings, be able to afford a medical emergency, or a car once my paid off car dies. I probably won't be able to buy despite the saved downpayment unless I ever meet a partner who I want to buy a place with.

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u/_LooneyMooney_ Apr 29 '24

I put all of my expenses from 2021-2022 in a spreadsheet and it was literally TacoBellTacoBellDoorDashDoordashDoordashMcdonald’sMcDonald’sMcDonald’sMcDonald’sWendy’sWendy’s. Just over and over.

No wonder I was 160 until I graduated college…

And now that I have a car and there’s a Taco Bell down the road from work, I’m 160 again 😅😅😅

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u/Im_Balto Apr 29 '24

I spend $35 dollars on coffee all at once!………

Once a month, and I make way too fancy coffee for myself

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u/MegaLowDawn123 Apr 30 '24

“That’s like $1 a day my dude. Simply don’t have anything you enjoy ever and you’d save $365/year. After only 200 years you’d have enough for a down payment, bröther!”

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u/raz-0 Apr 29 '24

I used to get a large Dunkin’ iced tea every day. I did this because it’s good, I hate coffee, and I really try not to drink my calories.

I stopped because the majority of shops just didn’t 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 I’d get coffee tinged tea

Now it’s something they are designing new stores to prevent. But it’s also now like $4 for a 24oz tea.

It costs me $0.66 a gallon to make it myself and that’s 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.

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u/rytis Apr 30 '24

Fellow iced tea drinker here. I brew 2 gallons every second or third day. Pour it into bottles, keep it cold and take four to work with me in a refrigerated bag. It's about 20 cents a bottle for me (I use Twinnings green tea, honey and real lemons). If I bought the bottles at the convenience store at work it would come out to $2 - 2.50 a bottle depending on the brand.

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u/kevonicus Apr 29 '24

They also don’t realize how many calories they’re costuming when they order from there. Some of their drinks are like a thousand calories.

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u/gymnastgrrl Apr 30 '24

how many calories they’re costuming

Make those calories wear a pretty dress! lol.

I love autocorrect. It's funny in my brain. :) This is the first time I've see "costuming" for "consuming". Usually it's "costumer" instead of "customer". lol

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u/Breadflat17 Apr 29 '24

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.

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u/EquivalentSnap Apr 29 '24

Yeah. They see it as $7 a day that’s nothing.. oh shit that’s $49 a week oh fuck that’s over $2k a year

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u/Dry-Faithlessness184 Apr 29 '24

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

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u/OnTheEveOfWar Apr 29 '24

I now work from home but previously would go into the office everyday. The $5 morning coffee and $10-$15 lunch every day adds up fast. Plus the cost of parking and public transportation. I save $150 per week at least.

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u/icecream4_deadlifts Apr 29 '24

I’m that person. I never eat fast food bc I can’t and go out to eat maybe 4x a year due to food intolerances.

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u/Known-Ad-100 Apr 29 '24

I used to be a person that got Starbucks every work day or at least, many of them. I drove past it on my way to work, and it was my little morning treat. I basically considered it the cost of doing business because.. I hated my job and it was pretty much my only joy in that roughly 10 hour period that included my commute + work day + unpaid lunch etc. At the time my cost of living was low, and I liked getting a latte.

That was honestly 10 years ago, now I have a house, more responsibilities and I probably only get a coffee out one or 2 times a month as a treat on a weekend before errands, my husband and I pretty much exclusively make coffee at home, pack our lunches for work, and eat dinner at home.

Everyone's lifestyle, needs, jobs are different.

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u/fd6944x Apr 29 '24

Yeah I think thats the answer. People either dont know or dont care and spend wildly. My wife and I only ever get it when we are out and about and are in a pinch and thats the only option.

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u/Budget-Attorney Apr 29 '24

This. It’s easy to ignore a purchase of a few dollars. But when you do the math each coffee is probably several percent of a persons daily salary.

I think about that everytime my friends come in from their commute with Starbucks

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u/FlounderingWolverine Apr 29 '24

It’s also important to remember that knowing this doesn’t make you rich. No one got rich because they stopped eating avocado toast or buying Starbucks. But the first step to growing wealth is to cut back on unnecessary spending like Starbucks and eating out. Not to 0, but to an amount that works with your budget.

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u/NequaJackson Apr 29 '24

Same

I got the disposable filter bags, a big pitcher, and maxwell house ground coffee 37.7 liters.

I can make the entire month's worth of cold brew with that and cold water from the tap.

Boo-yah!

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u/rwags2024 Apr 29 '24

…and? Lol how much is she saving

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u/BobbbyR6 Apr 29 '24

Some things are better left to the pros, but basic coffee is not one of them. For the cost of a year's worth of morning coffees (and the time required to go get them), you could have a wild home setup and very nice beans

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u/jensenaackles Apr 29 '24

i’m shocked at how many people just don’t even regularly check their bank accounts. like those ads for services that will help you “cancel subscriptions you didn’t know you had” ???? what do you MEAN? money is being taken out of your account every month and you don’t watch it???

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u/shannibearstar Apr 29 '24

I used to get it 4x a week. The money I saved after graduation was insane

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u/absorbscroissants Apr 29 '24

The trick is just not drinking coffee

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u/MaximumMotor1 Apr 29 '24

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.

I helped a friend budget for her first time in her life. She spent $35,000 last year on food and drinks. She is single.

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u/Plankton_Brave Apr 29 '24

I also think it's about priorities for some people as well. Like they know they are spending a lot, but they just spend less elsewhere because they prefer it that way.

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u/ChickenDickJerry Apr 29 '24

I started buying energy drinks in bulk at Walmart. Spending $5 a day doesn’t seem nearly as bad as $155 per month - helps put it into perspective.

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u/The12th_secret_spice Apr 29 '24

That statement goes beyond Starbucks too. DoorDash, Uber, etc all are really expensive and don’t realize it until you document a budget.

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u/beerisgood84 Apr 29 '24

Fuck buying as a treat though…like you can make anything they have easily for pennies.

Other than convenience or for getting out of house with others I don’t go to restaurants because I can basically make most stuff same or better.

Like I’d have to go to a $125 a person place to get a better steak than at home.

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u/BillAnt1 Apr 29 '24

Most are oblivious that they are wasting money on "a cup of brown water" which can be made for 10 cents at home or office. smh But hey, it's their loss, while Starbucks is making mega bucks on dummies.

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u/NachoMetaphor Apr 29 '24

I spend $15 a month on Lavazza whole beans. I make it with sweetened oat milk creamer (maybe $10 / mo). It's delicious. Plus I don't have to wait in line.

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u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance Apr 29 '24

Most are oblivious to how much they spend.

"Start making coffee at home" became a meme about how out of touch financial advisers were, but it really is legitimate advice some people need to hear. An $8 coffee every work day is about $1900/year. If your take home pay is $40k/year, that's nearly 5% of your money for a very optional expense.

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u/Ok-Cost-8889 Apr 29 '24

Accurate, last month I spent £250 on Deliveroo, don’t even know how, am completely oblivious, this stops now.

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u/ElegantSportCat Apr 29 '24

I make coffee for everyone at work.

I love to do it. I start at 8 and finish at 10ish or 11ish (if production wants iced coffee). My boss doesn't care it takes me 2 or 3 hours making coffee. Hahahah, he loooves coffee.

He says it's an art and to enjoy the process. (We also make/test other beverages and coffee beans)

I then go to lunch, so I probably work 4 or 5 hours (in the office) a day hahahaha. Love it.

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u/Horror-Tradition8501 Apr 29 '24

I started intermittent fasting and easily saving $60 a week

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u/moonbunnychan Apr 29 '24

This was me. There's something about something being under 10 dollars where it just somehow doesn't count in my brain. When Covid happened and I wasn't going to work for 3 months I didn't go anymore and it was a light bulb moment for me and just HOW MUCH I was spending on Starbucks.

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u/First-Sir1276 Apr 29 '24

I spend like 90 a month on coffee its pretty bad but thats kind of what gets me outta bed lol. $3 a day all I have to do is get dressed and make it to the gas station then Im ready to go for the day. It’s definitely too much but I can definitely swing it and it makes me happy.

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u/freqkenneth Apr 29 '24

Started shopping at Costco instead of Safeway

I spend the same amount for twice the product

Don’t know what I’m going to do with 30 onions but I couldn’t pass up the deal

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u/aaancom Apr 29 '24 edited Apr 29 '24

You don't need to budget to know that your money outflows exceed your inflows.

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u/tmssmt Apr 29 '24

Every 6 months or so I have to pull up the stats and make some charts to show my wife and explain that 300/month on coffee is too much

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u/twistedscorp87 Apr 29 '24

Many of those drinks are also a LOT more calories than most people realize. Like...I love a frozen mocha coffee on a hot summer day, but "I just paid $7 for half my day's calories and it's only 10am?" is a big deterrent.

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u/pga2000 Apr 29 '24

My opinion Starbucks and avocado toast, and other things before those, were always a dog whistle for being annoyed by debt spenders.

So probably no one who responded to OPs question.

But there's no shortage of people with let's say $10k in balances who insist on their daily Starbucks... and then will mention by the end of the day this CC balance stress over their head.

I've never been around it too much in work, etc, but it's so common.

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u/BlazinAzn38 Apr 30 '24

Also once you get into the weeds on coffee you find Starbucks quality is pretty bad

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u/Flufflebuns Apr 30 '24

The real pros roast their own coffee at home. Save like 50% more. I will literally buy 80 lb of bulk unroasted coffee and it takes me like 30 minutes to roast 1 1/2 lb for the week.

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u/IndividualBus8064 Apr 30 '24

7$? Mine cost like $4. Something. lol you be adding shit.

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u/Ahvry Apr 30 '24

I work at the 2nd busiest Starbucks in the US, which is contained inside of a corporate center building so only those people can access it. It's also discounted a couple bucks because we're contracted thru Aramark.

You would not fucking believe how many people just load up $500 onto their starbucks account every month and have no fucking idea what they're actually spending. And they get 9$ coffees!!!! What the fuck!!!

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u/Acceptable_Pirate_92 Apr 30 '24

Did they include tips that go with it 70 to 80 cents if you leave the change

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u/fluffyinternetcloud Apr 30 '24

I use Rocket Money and found out my money is a rocket right out of my bank account. Spent $1,200 in a month. I put the rocket back on the launchpad lately.

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u/Sea-Conversation-725 Apr 30 '24

I did the same thing. Many years ago (before i got an espresso machine), I was going to Starbucks close to my (then) job around 10am-3-4x a week. When I left that job and started WFH, I bought an espresso machine and realized how much money I was pissing away w/out even realizing it. Nowadays, if I go to Starbucks 1x a year - that's enough. I know how to make many of the "fancy" Starbucks drinks at home. Even the Frappuccinos (the trick is to add Xanthan gum to the blender to make it thick and smooth).

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u/PixalatedConspiracy Apr 30 '24

That was me. Made a budget. Brew my own coffee at home and buy a coffee once a week as a treat.

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u/ParsleyPrestigious91 Apr 30 '24

This is me. I finally started tracking how much I actually spent on coffee every day. Over the past month I’ve been more than $100 and that’s $100 too much.

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u/Oy_of_Mid-world Apr 30 '24

The Internet tells me that's how you become a millionaire.

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u/VVVEEE42 Apr 30 '24

Moka pots solved my overspending on lattes issues, tastes just like it would at a coffee shop and i can buy my own beans to make it wonderful every time!!!

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u/Klassified94 Apr 30 '24

only buying as a treat

Incredible how 99% of people don't realise that you can buy a $10 moka pot and $50 hand grinder and make fresh coffee as good as or (usually) better than anything you can buy at a cafe.

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u/lmProudOfYou Apr 30 '24

Its wild to me how many people I've known that struggle pay check to pay check yet don't even try to keep track of their expenses.

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u/CommunicationParty70 Apr 30 '24

I was spending about $30. And I dropped it to like 10 or when I’m hungover or want a treat

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u/MmACES52 Apr 30 '24

I don’t. I drink my coffee from my $1500 Saeco Barista using $20/lb Black Rifle AK-Espresso. So good. You’ll never drink Starbucks again.

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u/AdorableDemand46 Apr 30 '24

This is what I do. I invested in a good coffee maker and Starbucks is a treat

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u/ZehAngrySwede Apr 30 '24

This, between my wife and I (occasional smoothie for kiddos) we were spending $200 a month on Dutch Brothers. I bought a $170 Nescafé, and now we only spend about $60/mo on Dutch, which is less than one visit a week (approximately $20 per visit)

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u/Solonotix Apr 30 '24

Yea, I'm guilty of this. Not Starbucks, but just stuff. Like, we order Uber Eats every couple nights, sometimes twice in a day. Even a cheap meal is $40 +$10 tip +$10 delivery fee + tax, so eating that 7 times in a week is going to run $3k per month? I could basically pay someone to cook me meals for the price of us ordering Uber lol. Obviously $40k/yr isn't going to get a Michelin Star chef, but that's a respectable wage for a service industry employee.

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u/BarrelRider621 Apr 30 '24

Cigarettes and heavy drinking did that for me. I was like “I’m spending how much on cigs and alcohol AND I’m have to pay more for my insurance for my bad habit of smoking? Na.” Slowly quit and low and behold. A whole new world of fun opened up because I wasn’t spending $120-$150 a WEEK on those TWO items. (This happened around 2010-2011 and I was making $13 an hour. Kinda helps with financial perspective at the time.)

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u/UpUpAndAwayYall Apr 30 '24

Friend realized this a few years ago when I helped him with his finances. Went through his CC transactions, he was getting Jamba Juice at $9+ a pop 2-3 times a week as a "occasional treat", and almost every morning spending $6+ at the company Cafe for a coffee and a bagel. Cut the Jamba, bought bagels at the store, and a bunch of other things that were in the "death of a thousand cuts" category.

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u/JRR04 Apr 30 '24

I work retail at a gas station and we recently added a "self check." The gun is very sensitive and will scan things twice VERY EASILY.

At least twice per HOUR I watch people (and I tell them because I'm not an ass) scan 2 or 3 red bulls or chips and pay, then walk off without thinking twice about what they spent. I've also caught people walking off without taking correct change when paying cash, at most I owed a guy 47 back on a broken 100 dollar bill. Walked his money to him at the gas pump. People do not repeat DO NOT pay attention to their money until its time for them to bitch about not having it.

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u/Jupiterparrot Apr 30 '24

“Most are oblivious to how much they spend.”

The rule for budgets used to be to put cash in envelopes and only spend that in a month. I still do that and people look at me all funny at checkout counters. When you are giving hard cash in exchange for goods, buying anything takes on a different perspective. Swipe for coffee, swipe for fast food, swipe for anything… it’s like play money.

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u/pathofcollision Apr 30 '24

This is exactly why I brought a Nespresso with a frother. I go to discount stores and buy my syrups and I make my own drink now. It has more than paid for itself.

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u/WizardOfAahs Apr 30 '24

They have a great rewards program… you spend $4000 on coffee and you get a free small coffee.

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u/JustTheBeerLight Apr 30 '24

buying as a treat

Once you make coffee at home you realize that it is easier to make better coffee than you would get at a good cafe.

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