A few weeks ago, my doctor told me that I would need to quit drinking coffee.
This was not news that I had ever expected to hear, since coffee is such a widely consumed beverage and, more importantly, it had become a crucial part of my daily routine. For those of you who need your kick of morning coffee, you probably understand the pain without it.
At first I laughed because I thought the doctor was joking. When I realized he was not, I tried to bargain with him, “how about just one espresso shot a day” and “what about just decaf” and “are you sure LOL” - all without success. He didn’t budge. No. More. Coffee.
What was I going to do without coffee?? It was my brain juice. My thinking fuel! Life was slow without it, but with it, my mind could run miles in various directions all at once.
Once reality set in, and in an attempt of self-comfort, convinced myself that ultimately this could be a good thing for my health, I tried to further soften the blow to my hurt feelings by calculating the positive financial impacts of quitting coffee - as any nerd would do.
I reviewed my credit card expenses of 2019 and discovered that I spent a total of $800 on coffee.
$415 of it was spent at Starbucks. The remainder was spread across a variety of coffee shops and cafes.
ANALYZING MY COFFEE SPENDING
At $800 for the year, this meant my “monthly coffee subscription” was about $67 per month. That’s more than my monthly internet bill!
My coffee drinking habits are totally, predictably #basic. I spent more on coffee during the fall / winter months. I mean what are the holidays without that hot grande Starbucks latte in hand? 💁
2019 STARBUCKS EXPENSES
| Month | Amount |
|---|---|
| Feb 2019 | $25 |
| Mar 2019 | $50 |
| Apr 2019 | $50 |
| May 2019 | $25 |
| Jul 2019 | $25 |
| Aug 2019 | $75 |
| Sep 2019 | $25 |
| Oct 2019 | $50 |
| Nov 2019 | $50 |
| Dec 2019 | $40 |
| Total | $415 |
2019 AVERAGE MONTHLY STARBUCKS EXPENSE ($)
Lastly - if, instead of spending the $800 on coffee each year, I decided to invest $800 at the beginning of each year into the market… with an average annual market return of 6% and compounding interest, after 20 years, I would have invested a total of $16,000 but have a portfolio worth over $30,000. And that’s just from saving on my coffee money!
IF I INVESTED MY $800 COFFEE MONEY EACH YEAR (6% average annual market return)
WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?
All in all, I am sad I won’t be able to drink coffee anymore. The doctor suggested tea as a replacement. But the idea of that just isn’t as 🥔 a-peeling 🥔, because tea just doesn’t give off the same warm, cozy coffee cafe ambiance. At least on the flip side, I can look forward to saving and investing more of that money into my future.
