Death of My Starbucks Consumption

Death of My Starbucks Consumption 

by Aleichia Williams 

My daily commute involves me staying on campus all day, going to class, writing papers, doing research, and attempting to force myself to make sense of the dense writings that are college textbooks. I go to the Starbucks on my campus on average 3 times a day. And I've often asked myself how much cheaper it would be to buy a high quality coffee machine or to just give up coffee all together (though we know with two degrees in the works.. that AIN’T happening). One day, after scratching my head while looking at my bank account trying to figure out where all the money went, I decided should sit down and do the math. This is the result.

So we start with a chart of my average Starbucks consumption using prices found on Hack the Menu's website. I usually make sure I hold money in my account when I get paid so that each week I have something for the school day. Granted, I have days where I switch things up but things are typically stagnant with me. I usually want breakfast and a cold thick beverage in the morning, then something to quench my thirst after class, as well as some chocolate, and during my night classes I want something warm because it's cooler out. Anyway, here's the chart! 

Now let's check some prices! 

* Could not find amount for chocolate covered almonds. I averaged it was probably $2.00.

Mix in the two!

And put it all together...

That’s 106 MUTHERF*CKING DOLLARS AND 25 SCENT A WEEK. OH MY GOD.

Wow! I’m sure you’re surprise as you’re reading. I’m disgusted as I'm grasping my reality and writing this. Let’s consider the fact that the average Keurig coffee machine ranges from $70- $150. While a pack of wonderful coffee k-cups can be found on amazon for $15! I would spend less than 75% (if I used a pack a week) on Keurig than I do on Starbucks.Though it’s scary seeing large figures removed from my bank, saving for a week seems a small cost after finding out that I've probably spent over $400 cumulatively on Starbucks this semester.

So this concludes my experiment. I am appalled. Also, I am now planning to save and buy a coffee machine within the week. I was almost too embarrassed to share this chart but I think people should know that little things do add up. Each time I walked into Starbucks I was thinking 7 or 8 bucks, no big deal. I wasn't thinking 106.25. You live and you learn though! I’m going to start paying closer attention to the money I spend. Next step? Figuring out how much I spend by eating out on the weekend! Wish me luck!