[This is a post written mostly out of curiosity]
As most people know, I don't drink coffee. This has meant a lot of things throughout my college and professional years.
1. I need to be fake-happy when a new friend or colleague wants to grab a coffee together. I either need to secretly order my hot chocolate/chai tea latte before the other person gets there, or suffer the intolerable, "Oh you don't drink coffee? Oh my gosh, you should so get a Mocha. It barely tastes like coffee..."
2. I could never be cool and carry around a Caribou cup with me to class like all the other English majors.
3. I don't get a free beverage at social events that usually involve baked goods.
Amidst all of the negative things, however, there is one positive: I have saved a crap-ton of money.
Let's figure out just how much money I've saved.
Let's say that from the time I started college (five years), I drank 2 coffees a week, and that my average drink price is $3.50. That sounds pretty reasonable, right?
That equals:
$28/month
$336/year
$1,680/five years
But let's be honest. I've heard the way you coffee people talk. "Oh, I just can't start my day without a coffee!" Let's say I drank 5 coffees a week. One before going to work or class every day--what most people would consider their morning treat to themselves.
That equals:
$70/month
$840/year
$4,200/five years
Holy crap, that's like a vacation for two to Europe. I wonder: How much would it be if I remained a peppy, coffee-drinking professional for the remainder of my career?
$840 x 32 + $4,200 = $31,080. Ladies and gentlemen: a entry-level salary.
Excuse me while I go count my money.
$3.50 is what it costs to get a fancy expensive drink. Not just a $1.25 plain cup of coffee you pour "free" milk and sugar in.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm a cheap/poor college student that makes my own coffee, it looks more like this:
Coffee maker: $30
Bag of coffee beans: $7
Pint of milk: $1.25
Bag of sugar: $3
Coffee travel mug: $5
So assuming that in 1 month I use 2 bags of coffee, and 4 pints of milk and that I use 2 bags of sugar and feel like buying a new coffee maker and mug each year...
$269/year
Or about $22.42/month
Assuming that I'll be the same old coffee fiend until I'm 60...
$269/year x 37 years = $9,953
That's assuming I go the expensive route of buying a new coffee maker/mug each year and continue to buy milk by the pint.
It'll probably be more like $8,300 assuming the coffee maker lasts 4-5 years.
And that concludes my spiel on why I make my own coffee.
Even when I look at your math I think, "Woah that's a lot of money just for coffee!" But it really isn't. It's the cheap way to do coffee. It's just super surprising to break spending habits down by one item. Like, "How many cheeseburgers do you buy in your life?" It's probably like $5,000 by the time we die.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much money I will spend on ice cream by the time I die.