Posted on December 19, 2007 at 12:20 pm A friend of mine was telling me she spends eight dollars a day for two coffee drinks at Starbucks.  She's having a rough time making ends meet, but she refuses to give up her Starbucks.  Even though she knows she is in financial hot water, she refuses to make what I consider to be a simple change to better her circumstances.  I wonder how many people are spending money on Starbucks and other luxury items while claiming they can't pay their bills. 

Posted on December 21, 2007 at 9:24 pm I think that's why they are in trouble in the first place. No self discipline. You can't do the same thing day after day and expect different results. I would imagine your friend is in the majority. They are in trouble but refuse to do anything to help themselves. That Starbucks coffee has become too much of a comfort and has not only rented space in their head but taken it completely over. I wish her luck.

Posted on December 28, 2007 at 8:01 am I agree with the above, and I have noticed that I'm seeing more Tim Horton's cups at my workplace in the last couple years. That brand is definitely less expensive than Starbucks, it has a very consistent product and I think a lot of people are no longer paying a lot more for a "designer" coffee.

Posted on March 21, 2008 at 2:57 am It's hard to feel sorry for someone who complains of being in financial hot-water yet refuses to do anything positive to resolve the problems in the first place. I'm sure two cups of coffee a day isn't the only financial leak in her money-bucket... Raven

Posted on March 26, 2008 at 5:18 pm I agree that your friend needs to change her habits if she's going to get ahead but I can feel for her at the same time. I'm a bit of a Starbucks addict myself, and I can't really explain why. There's something about the atmosphere that I like, in my local one at least.Something I did that might at least help a bit was to switch from the $4 drinks to the $2 coffees. If it's the atmosphere that she wants, this could save her 50% of what she's currently spending.If it's the drinks themselves, that's another issue (possibly healthwise as well as financially).

Posted on March 27, 2008 at 8:07 am I think flexprimo raises a good point. I notice that some high end coffee stores including Starbucks have coffee tables and great chairs for people having meetings, etc. So if she wanted a break from stress, she could go there and get a cheaper coffee, nurse it for half an hour, possibly with friends and still save money while having a piece of the "luxury" of the upscale store. Of course financially, nothing beats taking instant coffee you make at home in a travel mug.

Posted on March 28, 2008 at 1:47 pm As a coffee freak, I understand the dilema of NOT wanting to give up the Starbucks trip.  I used to get my daily coffee there as well and love the atmosphere of being able to sit and chat with my friends, but I was getting NOWHERE in getting my credit cards down.  I did the exercise of writing down ALL my expenditures.  I was amazed on how much I wasted on Starbucks and so forth.  From that day forward, I make my own coffee and bring it to work.  I do buy the high end coffee, but I save more in the long run and get a great cup of coffee.  Now once in a while, I will treat myself to a Starbucks or other coffee house drink, but not like I used to.  It's a matter of choice - be in debt forever, or modify my habit.  I chose the latter.  

Posted on March 29, 2009 at 2:34 pm My husband came home with two coffees and told me what the cost of them where and he said he wont do that ever again. He found a way to make his favorite at home and it costs alot less than buying it.

Posted on March 29, 2009 at 9:12 pm Wow! $240 is a lot to spend on coffee. That would pay my ligtht bill and water bill. No way I'd spend so much money on anything.

Posted on March 29, 2009 at 10:39 pm Thats why I seldom go to Starbucks, usually 1-2 times a month only. In my country, Starbucks coffee costs between 140pesos-180pesos, so its a lot.