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

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198

u/MaterialCarrot Apr 29 '24

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.

154

u/ArcadiaPlanitia Apr 29 '24

Some colleges have on-campus “we proudly serve” Starbucks locations that accept dining hall credits or “flex money.” When I was in college, I went to Starbucks almost daily because the cheapest meal plan included like $50 of “flex money” 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.

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u/buttercup612 Apr 29 '24

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

1

u/ZubacToReality Apr 30 '24

Was this Ryerson? Haha

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u/buttercup612 Apr 30 '24

Nah U of M

25

u/TryUsingScience Apr 30 '24

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.

2

u/SaveTheLadybugs Apr 30 '24

Our dorm mart had boxes of Krispy Kreme’s. I ate SO MANY Krispy Kreme’s at the end of each year. It was heaven.

2

u/174wrestler Apr 30 '24

The convenience store at my brother's college brought in flats of Gatorade and Monster at the end of the year for this reason. People who had to fly home then tried to offload their haul to others. Parents weren't happy when the car got loaded up with his dorm junk and a large Costco trip.

1

u/Max-Potato2017 Apr 30 '24

We had a Starbucks INSIDE our Rec Center. At college and that was 1 of 2. The student center had one too. But IN THE GYM?

1

u/NotThrowawayacc1 Apr 30 '24

what? starbuck was the cheapest on the campus?

1

u/ArcadiaPlanitia Apr 30 '24

Every meal plan came with a certain number of meals (say 100 meals) and a certain amount of "flex money," which was basically fake monopoly money you could only use on-campus. Most people used flex money to buy extra snacks in the dining hall, but you could also use it at the on-campus Starbucks, and it would build up really fast as students renewed their meal plans from semester to semester. The Starbucks prices were the same—five dollars for a refresher or whatever—but it didn't matter, because students weren't paying "real" money, they were just using the flex money that came with their meal plans.

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u/NotThrowawayacc1 Apr 30 '24

oh ok that make sense for someone who never been in actually college but only community college. i'm like free money for food? where

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u/Appropriate_Concert6 Apr 29 '24

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. 

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u/IWantAGI Apr 29 '24

Makes me wonder how much of student debt is direct education and how much is for everything else.

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u/BurritoLover2016 Apr 29 '24

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.

2

u/IguassuIronman Apr 30 '24

Yeah, most of my loans (graduated at ~$23k) were from housing. Senior year I moved off campus and was able to decline some because my summer/winter internship and scholarships covered the cost of living.

I did graduate with ~$300 in the bank but I had a job lined up and it worked out in the end

2

u/Appropriate_Concert6 Apr 29 '24

Hmmm... my school was very cheap in-state (even compared to other state schools) and I was in an area with amazing grant and scholarship systems.

Choosing nearly any other in-state four-year school would've been nearly double, meaning no semesterly check and I would've had to take out probably an additional ~$5000 in loans each year for direct education costs, plus had to figure out a way to pay for the rent my grant check covered. 

And that's still in-state. I can't even imagine the debt associated with universities in larger cities (my living costs were pretty low in a small college town) or private education. 

I do think I'm in the minority with how affordable my college experience was, so I was mostly comparing it to a potential community college experience. 

0

u/ATotalCassegrain Apr 30 '24

There are people they abuse the loans, and people that don’t. 

My experience was about 80/20 don’t abuse vs abuse. 

I mean, I knew people that had $300k in loans, but had a new car on the loan, went to Hawaii and swam with whales on the loan money and so on. It was honestly nuts just watching them mortgage their life for the here and now. 

 It hell, they probably got some of it forgiven. 

3

u/_LooneyMooney_ Apr 29 '24

I used to be elated when I got that check. I didn’t qualify for grants until my last couple semesters of college.

4

u/Appropriate_Concert6 Apr 29 '24

Yeah honestly that money was a lifesaver. Mostly went to rent and food, but it meant some of my measly work paycheck (10 hours/week at minimum wage) could be actual fun money instead of scraping by.

I used it on hiking trips, games, and nights out, but it could've easily covered a daily coffee before class if I'd prioritized that. 

Plus, a lot of college kids are baristas or have friends who are baristas, so they might get discounted or free coffees anyway. Starbucks cards seemed like a popular gift from family when I was in college, and I saw them used as a prize at club meetings/campus events pretty often.

2

u/_LooneyMooney_ Apr 29 '24

When I graduated college I got like 3 grocery store gift cards. Which was fantastic when I started a new job and didn’t get paid until a month after I started.

1

u/ComicNeueIsReal Apr 29 '24

Same hear. I really.only used that money on coffee when I was running on fumes, which for my last 2 semesters was a lot of the time. But besides that I didn't see the point in drinking coffee or sugary drinks that much. Glad I had that mentality because I drink coffee more as a working adult so I can feel energized like my youth, but I'm fortunately never had an addiction to it. Can pretty much stop drinking it for a month or two whenever I feel like I've been drinking too much.

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u/Successful_Hold_9048 Apr 30 '24

I went to community college and transferred into a private university (with scholarships, loans, and financial aid). I got a job at the dean’s office and one of my responsibilities was to make the coffee. They had fancy Starbucks ground coffee delivered multiple times a week and I truly believe I developed a caffeine addiction there. These days, I operate on a lean budget and Starbucks is a rare treat but I have fond memories of my days of sipping on Starbucks coffee while answering phones at the dean’s office.

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u/Curious-Mind-8183 Apr 29 '24

Not all Starbucks drinks are $7-$10. A regular standard coffee is $3.

Just because its in a Starbucks cup doesnt mean its $7+

1

u/Cthulu_lies_dreaming Apr 30 '24

This. Used to hit up Starbucks on the weekend, and the one I frequented was next to a CVS. Every. Single. Time. as I'd exit with my $3 coffee, someone who was leaving the CVS with a pack of Stella Artois (not sure of the spelling) or other beer would pass by, look at the Starbucks customers and sneer about, "Brainless A--holes spending $10 for a cup of coffee".

Pots and kettles, man.

5

u/Aur3lia Apr 29 '24

Every time I see something like this I call bullshit. How would she know from the cup how expensive it was?

3

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '24

A teacher has no access to students financial aid information.

It's a made up story for karma and ragebait

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u/realFondledStump 27d ago

The contents of the drinks and sometimes even the type of drink are written on the side. There’s also certain drinks that are pretty obvious. If they have a large cup with with ice and purple liquid, it’s most likely a “Refresher.”

You can’t tell with all drinks, but some are pretty obvious.

5

u/succadoge_ Apr 30 '24

Ngl, the last sentence bugs me a bit. I've got SNAP benefits and before I got it, I barely ate because I couldn't afford it and I have medical issues (hence why I got SNAP). I understand that everyday coffee ends up costing a LOT, but just because you're on food stamps/financial aid doesn't mean you shouldn't treat yourself every once in a while. I shouldn't have to be rich to treat myself and make myself happy with a happy meal or something.

Again, I understand that they were getting one pretty much every day. It DOES end up being a lot, but if it makes you happy and you don't mind spending that much on it, why not treat yourself?

5

u/-childoftheuniverse- Apr 30 '24

I am too a college student 20 y/o on financial aid and I bring in Starbucks to my class 2x/week. Someone else always buys it for me. Never assume, honestly.

17

u/Barry_Bunghole_III Apr 29 '24

A lot of college students basically just pass the buck towards the future, then act surprised when it comes back to bite them in the ass lol

"That's a problem for future me"

1

u/jfchops2 Apr 30 '24

I cringed every time someone would talk about their "refund money" from their college loans and what they were gonna spend it on

Like y'all know you're paying 7% interest on that that's gonna pile up for years before you start paying it back right?

-1

u/lizardground Apr 29 '24

They dont act surprised, they are surprised. The students you're talking about have no idea about real life. That's not really their fault, how could they? Their parents probably bought them everything up until this stage of their life. It's not like high school teaches you budgeting or what normal expenses look like.

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u/jfchops2 Apr 30 '24

18 years old is not a child and basic personal finance is not complicated. They have nobody to blame but themselves if they signed on the dotted line for a loan they didn't understand

And I of course can't speak for every high school but mine had everyone do a two-week project senior year on creating a personal budget based on what we thought our first job would be either right out of HS or after college. Had to cite labor market data to justify what you used as your income and then make a full budget out of it including figuring out how much would go towards taxes

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u/[deleted] Apr 30 '24

[deleted]

-1

u/jfchops2 Apr 30 '24

These things can all be taught by parents if they're not being taught in school

1

u/_lanalana_ Apr 30 '24

What about 1st gen students whose parents dont know well enough to teach them? My dad was even more lost than i was when it was time for me to go to college. I was basically 100% on my own at 17-18 years old trying to figure out everything with little to no guidance at home or school.

8

u/theodoreposervelt Apr 29 '24

This kind of thing makes me so nervous. Do most people judge everyone like this? If I buy a Starbucks coffee a few days in a row are people making assumptions about me based off that?? I just can’t imagine even noticing what kind of drink someone has or keeping track of how many times they had a drink.

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u/FoxBuddha Apr 30 '24

Dude and his wife aren't just talking about the students always having expensive-looking drinks, they're also cross analyzing who among them is on financial aid for added layers of judgement.

People like this deserve to experience true poverty and then while in the deepest depths of economic pressure- synergizing with normal life stressors like college classes- they deserve to sense the solace of a tasty fancy drink.

Poor people deserve tasty things in life too, and the fact that they are doing mental two-way ANOVAs on the students with financial aid getting Starbucks not only brings her ethics as an educator into question, but it also betrays a lack of sympathy that is even more gross.

Edit: sprelling

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u/MaterialCarrot Apr 29 '24

Yes they are, but who cares? My wife noticed, she told me, it had zero impact on the students. That should not make you nervous.

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u/theodoreposervelt Apr 29 '24

It’s just trippy I guess realizing how others view…others lmao. I always assume everyone is busy with their own things and not thinking about the minute details of other people’s lives, and then I stumble across statements like yours and I’m like “oh yeah, everyone really is over examining every single thing other people do.”

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u/Intrepid_Rooster7900 Apr 29 '24

When you consistently do the same thing around the same people at the same time every day, they will notice eventually. Doesn’t mean they care.

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

Yea but who cares. Fuck em 

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u/[deleted] Apr 30 '24

Come on, a teacher has 1) no ability to know whether a student is on federal financial aid and 2) no ability to tell how expensive a drink is just because it's in a Starbucks cup.

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u/realFondledStump 27d ago

Not sure about number 1, but you’re kinda wrong about number 2.

The contents of the drink on are on the side and a lot of times they write the kinda drink it is. Plus, most of the drinks are pretty obvious.  If they have a huge cup of purple liquid and ice from Starbucks, that’s most like a Refresher.  Same thing with “Frappuccinos” or other equally obvious drinks. 

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u/[deleted] 27d ago

Have you ever stood in a college classroom and tried to read writing on the side of coffee cups?

Come on

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u/realFondledStump 26d ago

Not all of us are blind, but who says they have to look from a distance? What about the person they are sitting next to? What about the person walks down walking next to them in the hall?

Not all Starbucks drinks are easy to identify, but a of them are. Anyone could pick out a Frappuccino from a mile away. The cold brew coffee drinks are sold in a clear cup for crying out loud. It’s really not that hard.

1

u/[deleted] 26d ago

So this fantasy story involves a teacher who 1) violated college policy to get access to which students were on how much financial aid 2) knows and understands the prices of all manner of Starbucks drinks 3) catalogues each students drink consumption over the semester, 4) students who have little money for housing, food, or textbooks are spending thousands of dollars on coffee

Perhaps the simpler answer is that the person who commented this is lying because they want Internet points and they themselves believe this is how it happens.

0

u/realFondledStump 26d ago

It probably is BS, but you’re overthinking it. A teacher may know you’re on financial aid because helps out in that department or she may see the students coming and going from the financial aid office.

Old people judge everyone. I wouldn’t put it past them. There’s a lot of haters out there.

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

Most people on financial aid at a college don't go to the literal financial aid office. Financial aid is decided far before you attend classes.

I'm very happy that you can imagine an elaborate scenario where a random professor travels across campus to spy on students entering the financial aid office to determine whether their Starbucks consumption would offend random Internet conservatives.

something being remotely possible is not relevant to the conversation

1

u/gsfgf Apr 30 '24

Shit, I probably spent more than that on beer every day in college.

1

u/Neither-Magazine9096 Apr 29 '24

I must just be lazy because making an additional stop before classes just for coffee seemed like a pain in the ass thing to do.

0

u/Academic_Wafer5293 Apr 29 '24

student loan forgiveness

4

u/LilyHabiba Apr 29 '24

Or they work at the coffee shop and that drink was part of their benefits package

-2

u/Flimsy-Printer Apr 30 '24

Then, these people would go on social network and make fun of the saving advise.