F**k off, I like my Coffee
Costa. Starbucks. AMT. If you are anything like me and love coffee these shops are an indulgence/addiction and are places which you frequent if passing one by.
Great coffee, free WI-FI (usually), good paninis, comfortable surroundings; things that all combine together to make coffee shops a great place to relax and meet up with friends and family. I especially like the familiarity you get from a coffee shop. Some may argue (and rightfully so) if you have seen one you have seen them all, but I like this because you always know what you’re going to get when you go inside. Coffee shops for me are sort of a home away from home so no matter where you go, a familiar place is always around the corner.
OK enough of my love for coffee shops, what does this have to do about Personal Finance? Well obviously it’s the cost. Coffee shops not only charge a premium for their coffee but also make you pay through the nose for a very nice, although usually small panini, chocolate shortbread, or muffin.
As nice as these places are it’s easy to come out of the shop 30 minutes later having spent upwards of £10 for not very much in terms of sustenance. In an earlier post I explained how when crunching some numbers I found that even by today’s supermarket prices, £10 can get you far if cooking from home. As a result coffee shops, along with any other vice you or I may have (fast food/takeaways, drinking etc) must be kept in moderation, HOWEVER I disagree that they should be canned altogether. Furthermore I get really tired of reading blog posts with flamboyant titles such as “10 ways to save money”, only to find that number 3 is entitled something like “If you drink a lot of coffee, stop drinking coffee”.
GAH.
Well I say to you “10 ways to save money”, f**k off and let me drink my coffee in peace. Everyone, no matter how frugal they are or how tight their purse strings may be at a given time should be allowed some small indulgences now and then. The path to wealthy living is a long one, and we should not deny ourselves the small pleasures in life less we end up topping ourselves before reaching our original goal. Concentrate on earning big money by starting a business or getting promoted at work, instead of penny pinching £0.50 here, £2.00 there.
Let’s face it, would the world run correctly if people weren’t dosed up on caffeine and sugar all the time? Probably not.
Indulge!
A bit.
Sterling Effort was created to stuff some financial knowledge into those of us who grew up without being taught how money really works; how to make it, save it and grow it. Our aim is to give you clear and concise information regarding personal finance and hopefully provide some entertainment along the way.
Karen BryanOctober 27, 2011 at 12:23 pm
I agree that we all need some pleasures and that it could be better to concentrate on earning more money than saving pennies. However to me coffee shops are a waste of money, I’d rather spend £10 on going to a restaurant to get a meal or buy a £10 M&S meal deal vs a drink and a panini in a coffee shop.
JayOctober 27, 2011 at 3:39 pmAuthor
This is kind of my point Karen. For me, coffee shops are expensive but to me a worthwhile indulgance. I’m sure there are things you spend your money on that I wouldn’t! The point i’m making is we should allow ourselves some indulgances, regardless whether we are told to give them up to save a little money here and there. Thanks for your comment! Great to hear differences of opinion!
Jay
CathyOctober 27, 2011 at 12:43 pm
I totally agree! (As I’m drinking my coffee at home) And sometimes I just want to indulge in a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, which is practically the equivalent of a 1/2 pound of coffee beans.
JayOctober 27, 2011 at 3:41 pmAuthor
Ah coffee from home I guess is the best of both worlds! You have all the greatness of coffee, for less price as well as the comfort of your own home! #goestobuyhugelyexpensivecoffeemachineforhouse
Cheers Cathy,
Careful CentsOctober 27, 2011 at 2:06 pm
I couldn’t agree with you more! Coffee houses are a comfortable place, and they (normally) have such nice, calming atmospheres. It’s definitely a place that promotes relaxation, but productivity also. I love them.
Since I’m a personal finance junkie, I am conscious of the number of visits and coffee purchases. But I just limit myself to once a week or so, not everyday. I will never give up my coffee addiction, and I feel that I can indulge a bit from time to time.
JayOctober 27, 2011 at 3:43 pmAuthor
I think it’s important to find places which promote productivity. Whether that’s at home or in a coffee shop – even spending say £4 on a coffee can be worth the money if it allows you to relax and get work done!
Cheers Carrie, and thanks again for the re-tweet
J
PKamp3October 27, 2011 at 2:20 pm
What’s a £? I kid!
Seriously though, you’ve got to live a little. I can go to thousands of blogs and sits expounding on the massive savings I can get if I stopped buying some stupid drink daily. What if I really enjoy that coffee?
JayOctober 27, 2011 at 3:46 pmAuthor
That’s exactly it dude, too many people get so involved in saving cash they end up being old, with loads of cash and have had a miserable life. Coffee for the win!
Careful CentsOctober 27, 2011 at 4:52 pm
I’m might have to start using that new acronym. CFTW (coffee for the win)! Love it
JayOctober 27, 2011 at 5:03 pmAuthor
OOH I like that.
J
CFTW
AshOctober 27, 2011 at 7:10 pm
Ooh, I have to say, guys…I’m liking this mild revolt against the frugality machine! When it comes to money management, I would sit in the cold and dark, cutting deals online to sell my organs to a backstreet surgeon in Shenzhen over a 56k dial up before I cut out small treats like coffee. Sure, it’s a waste of cash, but I work too fraking hard to live like that. We ALL do!
Kate@ Curb Your ConsumerismNovember 10, 2011 at 11:23 am
If I was buying a coffee and a muffin every morning, mid commute, I would be being mugged(and getting fat).
However, I spent the entire morning working in Starbucks on Tuesday, I took up a table and sofa, and used their free wifi, and electricity to charge my laptop. I think all of that in exchange for the price of a toffee nut latte was quite a good deal. If I had to buy office space, it might finish me. Starbucks are practically sponsoring my professional career!
JayNovember 14, 2011 at 4:58 pmAuthor
Good to hear!
On a side note, Starbuck’s frappuccino’s are much better than Costa’s ice blended s**t.
#ilovestarbucks
HollyNovember 15, 2011 at 11:24 pm
Love this! Coffee is my main indulgence and when I spend so much time on the road it’s one of the things that makes long hours gridlocked more bearable!
Nothing wrong with a bit of indulgence!
JayNovember 15, 2011 at 11:47 pmAuthor
yay hey Hol
Thanks for commenting – nothing worse than long commutes and passing out from tiredness. Coffee is a necessity!
GamerFebruary 27, 2012 at 2:11 pm
God damn, I love my vanilla lattes. I don’t drink them all the time, but I enjoy the luxury that hurts my wallet as well as my belly size haha. There are loads of ways I save money that other people don’t (for example, I don’t drink alcohol… that stuff is expensive!)
AshFebruary 27, 2012 at 8:14 pm
That’s a good point, Emma. We all have our own ways of saving cash so we shouldn’t feel too bad about a little indulgence here or there. And yeah, drinking caffeine isn’t great for your health, but at least it’s nowhere near as bad as alcohol [citation needed]
LeeApril 17, 2012 at 4:46 pm
As a fellow Starbucks addict, and personal finance blogger… I concur! S*d off and let me enjoy my coffee lol. Everyone needs some indulgences (providing they can be afforded) otherwise life would be rather dull.
Identify Your Money Drains & Get Rich | Five Pence PieceApril 17, 2012 at 4:58 pm
[...] But if you can afford it, then as Sterling £ffort says, F*** off and let me drink my coffee. [...]
SaritaApril 24, 2012 at 10:56 am
nice post Jay,
I used to work for Starbucks. Starbucks strongly emphasizes creating a home away from home in their stores and its partly why coffee is overpriced. Just avoid weekends when its way to crowded!
I still enjoy my odd coffee at starbucks and agree with you. Enjoy life by spending on small indulgences every so often and try to make more money than scrimp on the little pleasures in life
JayApril 25, 2012 at 5:47 pmAuthor
Exactly Sarita!
Think i’ll stay clear of the weekend crowds – good advice!
Thanks for your comment
SandroMay 30, 2012 at 7:29 pm
Keep buying coffee, but stop buying coffee from crappy chain stores! Spend your hard earned dollar in independent coffee shops. If you find a good one they wont have you spending £5 on a litre of boiled milk with a dash of cheap espresso. You can get a lovely, properly sized cappuccino (6 to 8oz) for about £2, and they’ll be using high quality beans, so your coffee wont actually be overpriced, you pay for quality.. The staff will be nice and friendly, and they wont ask for your name because their instruction manual tells them to.
And more importantly you’re supporting local entrepreneurs, which is what this site is all about, is it not?
AshMay 31, 2012 at 12:07 am
Haha nice speech man. I’m definitely gonna swing by Castello. Get some pics up!
Rosie Slosek @1ManBandAcctsDecember 28, 2012 at 6:22 pm
I do appreciate your point, if a person has an independent within reach. The only indie where I live has very hard chairs, no wifi and I don’t want to spend 3 hours in there only buying 1 coffee (because I only want 1 coffee!).
It’s about balance – rather than Starbucks/Nero/Costa etc bad, indie good.
It can get very complicated, as a postcode up from me has an apparently independent coffee shop – but half owned by Tesco. I would prefer to spend my money in a Nero with really nice staff (my local) than that one half owned by Tesco with not very nice staff.
It’s about deciding what is most important, and doing that.
Incidentally, big fan of indies
and since you’re in Edinburgh, a buzz over to the lovely people at Freeagent might get you a mention on their blog.
AdamJune 5, 2012 at 10:40 pm
We should take into account how much extra money we all make with coffee on our side! It might far outweigh the outlay! I Suppose we could just take a flask but there’s something about drinking it out of that tiny hole in the lid!
AshJune 6, 2012 at 12:20 am
I know you’re not entirely serious, but you’ve got a good point there!
I’d get nothing done if I wasn’t wired on caffeine! Coffee as an investment. I like it!
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[...] coffee is okay. It’s not as good as Costa Coffee (this is a place where I Disagree with one of my favourite UK finance bloggers) I’d still choose Costa’s [...]
Rosie Slosek @1ManBandAcctsDecember 28, 2012 at 6:14 pm
I have visiting my local Nero in my essentials category. All it costs is one coffee, and a relaxing, creative work space is all mine. I do my best thinking there and it counts as a business expense for me, if not a tax-deductible one.
JayDecember 29, 2012 at 11:58 amAuthor
AS long as it isn’t too busy in the Coffee shop then it’s all good. I’m easily distracted if i’m honest, and so sometimes my local Costa is actually a bit too noisy. That said, we have heaps of great little quiet coffee shops in our town so it’s not too hard to find a quiet place to relax and work