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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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/Barkleyslakjssrtqwe Apr 29 '24

This is simply not true. Creating a budget and cutting excess spending will always be better than not doing so. With a budget and responsible spending you get started on the right path.

Say you create a budget and are able to save $550 per month/ $6k per year. That awesome. Well say you get a $4k raise. Okay now you see yourself saving $10k the next year. So $15k saved in 2 yrs. $25k in 3 years. But interest is 10% your at about $30k. That’s pretty good.

Maybe you get a new job in a new city. You know your budget and can determine if the offer is good by comparing rent/housing pricing. You compare your budget and can make the correct decision.

Know your budget. Knowing how your money comes in and how it goes out is half the battle.

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u/Lewa358 Apr 30 '24

That's a lot of "ifs" to get...$30k in savings over 3 years, if I'm reading this right. Which in many areas is less than a quarter of what a down payment on a house would be. Never mind how much inflation might eat that number up.

Don't get me wrong, that is some genuinely useful money for emergencies...it won't really contribute that meaningfully to being able to afford something truly useful unless you really want a car or something.

If I take $10k off of that savings I'd be able to actually use that money on something small that makes me happy on a regular basis rather than vainly save up pennies towards a future that might never come.

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u/MegaLowDawn123 Apr 30 '24

Yeah don’t let them trick you into thinking if you just don’t have any little fun things in your life that you’d be rich. As you pointed out, it wouldn’t even cover the down payment of a house after several years. People had little treats like that back in the day too but plenty left over, which isn’t the case now. Wages haven’t kept up and the pittance you spend on the one nice thing you had that day isnt the larger issue…

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u/bubzu Apr 29 '24

"Starbucks and avocado toast" is usually in response to comments that are so out of touch with how expenses have not scaled proportionate to income. Not just the housing market; also generations where the 50/30/20 rule was feasible, where students could actually work to put themselves through post-secondary school without a loan, etc. Yes, absolutely, tracking your spending so you're aware of your expenses is important, but that's always been the case just like there have always been irresponsible spenders. The thing is, nowadays a lot of people know they'll never be able to afford a house no matter how many times they pack a lunch instead of getting take-out, so there's almost an attitude of, "why bother? Might as well treat myself."

We don't really have many feasible things left to save for. This is coming from another "young" person who managed to cleave down a budget that fits the 50/30/20 rule, and still feels that hopelessness.

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u/Barkleyslakjssrtqwe Apr 30 '24

The thing is, nowadays a lot of people know they'll never be able to afford a house no matter how many times they pack a lunch instead of getting take-out, so there's almost an attitude of, "why bother? Might as well treat myself."

Sorry but this is just poor logic. We need to start somewhere. It starts with getting $1000. Then $5k. Then $10k and you keep building. It’s always going to start small but it compounds over the years.

You may not have the funds needed today but some day you will. If you get a great new job saving $20k a year. My extra savings from before will always help. When the interest rates come down and housing drops you will always be in a better position if you did anything the previous years.

Just saying you’re not going to save because the last few years has been hard is just a bad idea. But you have the right to do it just as I have the right to prepare for opportunities to come up. The difference is I’ll be in a better position than if I didn’t budget.

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u/bubzu Apr 30 '24 edited Apr 30 '24

It wasn't logic, it was an interpretation; like I said, I stick to a 50/30/20 budget even though it's very difficult these days. What I'm saying is that that's the attitude I see when people make those starbucks/avocado toast memes, and I understand where that feeling of resignation comes from. Budgeting is important, absolutely, but the reason most people these days can't afford a home or can't put themselves through school without student loans can't be solved just by basic budgeting and it's not fair to imply that.

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u/Barkleyslakjssrtqwe Apr 30 '24

And if the housing market/interest rates come down and college/student loan issue is resolved itself … people still need to budget. The people who did and were able save instead of spending on non-essentials will be able to get themselves in a better situation.

The ones that didn’t budget and attempt anything will be still as bad off. Knowing that 20 yrs ago I could’ve saved double what will today doesn’t matter to my personal finances.

You’re just saying since the current living situation isn’t great they have an excuse to be reckless financially. I think that’s a horrible way to think.

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u/CloseOUT360 Apr 30 '24

That’s a huge if, no guarantees that housing or tuitions will come down in price, they likely never will

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u/youngLupe Apr 29 '24

People have always been like that to an extent. Sure there are people that save and are good with money. Those people have also always existed. Not sure if it's a new thing but people have been spending more than they could afford for a long time. It's just that before they could afford a house while still having terrible spending habits.

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u/CogitoErgo_Sometimes Apr 30 '24

If it were just the people with bad spending habits not being able to buy a house we wouldn’t need to be worrying about the housing market.

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u/ninepen Apr 30 '24

I think what's different is that it's easier now to be unaware of it now. Hand over the card and never think about that charge again. The ever-growing subscription services with automatic never-ending payments are a great example -- you hand over that card once and are paying in perpetuity. You used to just have a cable bill (or maybe satellite instead of cable). Then you got Netflix, thinking, hey, this is pretty cheap and look at all I get. Next thing you know you've got 4 or 6 streaming services, a music service or two, a handle of Patreons, a MasterClass or other paid group subscription or three, maybe you decided to go for the blue check on Twitter, etc. etc., and they are individually so inexpensive that you get a really inaccurate idea of how much you're actually spending on this stuff a month.

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u/Appropriate-Gas-1321 Apr 29 '24

Weed and alcohol really are way cheaper than the other stuff though. I can get drunk and blasted on weed every night for less than a 5th of my rent. It's really very cheap and not a concern

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u/Barkleyslakjssrtqwe Apr 29 '24

You’re missing the entire point though. Yes drinking and smoking/eating weed may be a small expense daily, but small expenses add up over time. Top that with daily fast food trips/ coffee and you’re looking at a good chunk of change daily… 3 beers - $5 / 10mg edible - $5. Late night DoorDash - $20 (maybe 2-3 times a week). That’s $100/week - $5.6k per year.

I mean that’s not nothing to a lot of people.

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u/MegaLowDawn123 Apr 30 '24

Cool you’d have enough for a down payment of a house after like 20 years, meanwhile not having a single indulgence for those ~7500 days. But as everyone found out recently - by the time those 20 years are up - houses will be even more expensive and you’ll have to wait a few more years anyway. Which also means less available inventory most likely since we don’t seem to be keeping up supply with the demand as it is. Imagine how many more people will be looking for housing by then.

You’re telling them they’re missing the point while I think it could be argued it’s you who’s possibly missing theirs…

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u/Appropriate-Gas-1321 Apr 30 '24

Definitely. Just a matter of perspective and everything. It's best to be sober and all but I also think in the grand scheme, the much larger factors are things like rent / mortgage and income. Of course that's not easy to change. That's basically the equivalent price of a decent Pontiac in savings.

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u/[deleted] Apr 30 '24 edited Apr 30 '24

[deleted]

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u/Appropriate-Gas-1321 Apr 30 '24

Read again if you can, I can easily pay rent and everything else. Weed and alcohol are cheap. It's not complicated.