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Buy Yourself a Latte

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Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#21

Post by lostmsu »

gringoDan wrote: post #10

If you're entrepreneurial, I fully believe it's a better use of your time and mental energy to make an additional $5k/yr than to scrimp to save an extra $5k/yr. For the HN crowd, this could mean building a side project that generates income, negotiating a higher salary, etc. That being said, the type of people who have the luxury to focus on those types of things are in the minority. For those who aren't entrepreneur…

I don't think time and mental energy effort is comparable here. To decide not to drink expensive coffee for a year is a 5 min effort tops.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#22

Post by huffmsa »

Say you make the US average $56k, you're spending 3.2% of your income on coffee.

3.2% on bean water.

But who with a latte addiction just buys the latte? Kick in one of AOCs $7 croissants a day (extreme for the sake of example) and you're up to $12/day => $4380 a year, or 7.8% of your annual income on one meal a day.

So maybe consider buying a latte machine instead.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#23

Post by duxup »

Insanity wrote: post #13

My argument would be that you might as well enjoy the money that you earned. You can't take it with you when you die, so make the most of it here. Not saying you shouldn't save money, but if the 5$ cup makes you happy, just go for it. Edit: typos!

Yeah you have to measure the utility (maybe the wrong word) of happiness you get.

If every day $5 means you start your day with something you really enjoy, maybe even brightens your whole day or someone else's day ....... do it.

If you want to save $5, find a place to do it where you might find a better outcome.

Even "saving" that $5... someone might spend it elsewhere anyhow and that's the real issue.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#24

Post by esotericn »

huffmsa wrote: post #22

Say you make the US average $56k, you're spending 3.2% of your income on coffee. 3.2% on bean water. But who with a latte addiction just buys the latte? Kick in one of AOCs $7 croissants a day (extreme for the sake of example) and you're up to $12/day => $4380 a year, or 7.8% of your annual income on one meal a day. So maybe consider buying a latte machine instead.

I always find these articles kind of amusing.

In the UK we have Pret. 99p ($1.30) for a coffee. I'd get it in the middle of a day if I were far from home.

Buying fancy coffee in the morning for breakfast strikes me as an extremely odd use of money. You've just left your house?

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#25

Post by fulafel »

tldr; inflation-adjusted, a $5 daily latte might put about $80-$100k dent in your retirement coffer. An opinion is presented that this is a good tradeoff if you like latte.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#26

Post by youeseh »

$5 latte + $6 + 1 hour ($50 in opportunity cost?) for a round trip. It adds up if you do the latte thing every day.

How many people in this country spend $3k/year in lattes but don't invest $3k/year for their retirement. Wasn't there an app that did just that - rounded up your spending to put the remainder in an investment account?

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#27

Post by AdmiralAsshat »

Counterpoint:

The debate is framed as "$5 a day is a waste--put it into your piggy bank every day and drink office sludge instead".

I instead say that yes, the office coffee still tastes like fertilizer, but I still think $5 a day for a latte is waste because I can make some excellent coffee at my desk for about a dollar a day using an inexpensive French Press, a hand-grinder (or grinding the beans that morning at home), and some whole beans from your favorite hipster coffee shop. And the 5 minutes it takes start-to-finish (1 minute for prep, 4 minutes for steeping) is probably less time than it will take to slip by the coffee shop, stand in line, and get your order.

But that's just me. If they're one of those people who uses the coffee/espresso/latte as a caffeine-delivery mechanism and rely on being a frozen whipped-cream confection with chocolate and a little coffee in it to make it palatable, then my self-brew method won't help them.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#28

Post by CompelTechnic »

esotericn wrote: post #17
CompelTechnic wrote: post #14

To give this conversation a more concrete example, here is (linked below) a calculation of saving $5 a day over 40 years, in real (inflation adjusted) dollars, assuming returns on invested assets are 7% per year. This is a realistic number based on >100 years of U.S. real (inflation adjusted) stock performance. You end up with $377k after 40 years. In my opinion, a lot of Americans and people around the first world l…

In year 40 a coffee is no longer $5.

These are in real dollars, not nominal dollars. Inflation has already been accounted for, for both investment returns and savings.

I make no claim as to whether the price of coffee will grow faster than the consumer price index, or slower, so I assume it matches it.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#29

Post by duxup »

huffmsa wrote: post #22

Say you make the US average $56k, you're spending 3.2% of your income on coffee. 3.2% on bean water. But who with a latte addiction just buys the latte? Kick in one of AOCs $7 croissants a day (extreme for the sake of example) and you're up to $12/day => $4380 a year, or 7.8% of your annual income on one meal a day. So maybe consider buying a latte machine instead.

>So maybe consider buying a latte machine instead.

I changed careers and my workplace went from big corporate office to small company small office.

I was surprised by how much I spend on coffee now that it isn't free at the office. Bought myself a keurig... not happy about the kcup waste, but way cheaper.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#30

Post by jshaqaw »

I think the author misses a point here. The issue isn’t that 5$ cup of coffee alone but rather a mindset of all these little purchases which can add up to say $50 a day which is both real money and don’t actually bring joy/value to your life. If the coffee actually makes you happy go for it. But if it’s just inertia/laziness then it is money flushed down a drain which yes adds up over the long term.
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