Coffee – Is it Costing You a Fortune?

 

Let’s talk coffee.  I could debate good coffee vs. bad, or Starbucks vs. your local brew vs. home brew, but I won’t.  I’m not talking flavor, I’m talking cost.  Living minimal has a lot to do with what you make vs. what you spend.  Have you ever summed your total yearly cost for coffee?  What would you have remaining in the bank each year by cutting your personal coffee spend?  Let’s take a look.

Story time:  A previous employer made a drastic change in their coffee buy for employees.  This employer was convinced that employees were stealing coffee.  Management figured that employees were taking full cases of coffee packets home with them.  They thought that stealing was a significant reason for such a high monthly coffee service cost.  This company of 800 employees was spending more than $13,000 per month on coffee service.  Costs included coffee packets and coffee maker rental.  They changed to a service that made it more difficult to take coffee home.  I don’t know if they saved, and the new coffee was good, but their theft premise, from my point of view, had little merit.

Well, I did the math for the company coffee spend.  They had 800 employees and let’s assume half drink coffee.  With 400 people drinking coffee, that would be $13,000 divided by 400, which equals $32.50 per person per month.  So, the company thought that people were stealing, when in fact, $1.00 per day per coffee drinker is a reasonable cost.

So what about your cost for coffee (not to mention the calories if you use sugar/cream.)  A typical Starbucks coffee averages more than $2 ($2.40 in my area), which would be $60+ per month on average, or $730 per year if you bought a plain black coffee every day.  If you by the super mocha-locha iced frappo drink you are looking a much higher spend.

Occasionally I buy hot coffee, but I normally use the office coffee service, or brew my own at home.  I should stop completely, but then again, I’m only kinda minimal.  Before my purge I had the high-end super duper Kitchen Aid coffee maker.  While I still use Kitchen Aid for the quality, I use one of their small, single serving models.  I got a great deal on Amazon (KitchenAid KCM0402OB Personal Coffee Maker) for my coffee maker.  It’s easy to use and takes little space on the counter.  I don’t buy the cheap coffee (you know, the one in the yellow bag labeled “coffee”), but I don’t go overboard with the really expensive stuff either.  My overall coffee spend is about $5 per month, or $60 per year, not $60 per month.

It is the small changes like coffee spend that can make a significant difference in what you have in your bank account at the end of the year.

Caveat:  If coffee is your life, then live life to the fullest.

If you struggled with this issue or can inspire others on this subject I would like to hear your story.  Please comment below.