Ever imagine how much money you’d save if you didn’t buy that fancy coffee drink every morning? We have.
A grande caramel macchiato from Starbucks costs $5.17 in New York City, including tax. If you get one every day, it’ll run you $1,887.05 per year. Here’s what else you could get for that price:
A) All-inclusive 5-night trip to Punta Cana for two: The trip, complete with airfare, food, and all the booze you can drink is only $1,298. You’d still have an extra $589 for fun excursions like snorkeling and boating while there.
B) NY Yankees Season Tickets: For $1,620, you can become a season ticket holder for the New York Yankees 2015 season. That means 81 home games plus $267 left over for beer, pretzels, and hot dogs
C) Christian Louboutin Pumps AND a Louis Vuitton Clutch: Yes, ladies, you can have red bottoms and a Louis V bag for the price of your daily latte. The Louboutin pumps pictured here cost $675 and the Louis Vuitton clutch costs $775. Combined, that’s $1,450, meaning you’d have an additional $437 to spend on more accessories—perhaps a new pair of Dior Sunglasses?
What would you buy with an extra $1,887 this year? We presented these options to dozens of people and asked the question, “Which would you rather have?” Not one person chose the fancy coffee option. When given the total dollar amounts up front, everyone thought going on vacation, attending sports games, or buying awesome clothes was much more in line with how they envisioned spending their hard earned cash. So why do most of us still swipe our credit cards for that five dollar coffee every morning?
In small increments, spending a few dollars on caffeine each morning doesn’t seem like a big purchase, but in the long run it really adds up. Before you know it, you’re not living your dream life because you’re spending money on expensive little things like coffee that end of the day don’t make you nearly as happy as a tropical vacation in the middle of freezing cold February would. But it’s not your fault–most schools don’t teach us how to make a budget and stick to it. So how can we be at fault for something that we never had an opportunity to learn?
Yes, I know, budgeting sounds like such a boring and annoying word. When I hear the word “budget,” I automatically think of constraint and not being able to get what I want. But in reality (and especially here at Invibed), we see budgeting as a way to live the lives we want to live. It’s about being cognizant of all the stupid crap we waste money on that don’t really make us happy, and spending our money on awesome things and experiences that have meaning to us instead. If we want to take that summer vacation in Greece, we’ll make it happen, if we want to see New York Knicks lose in person at Madison Square Garden, we’ll figure out a way to afford it.
Interested in testing out this lifestyle? It all starts with a budget. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be breaking down how to create a budget and stick to it without causing much change to the way you currently live your life. We’ll give you the tools, motivation, and technology to make it happen. Before you know it, it’ll be summer and you’ll be taking that vacation in Italy that you’ve been dreaming about for the past few years…stay tuned!
Read the original article on Invibed. Copyright 2016. Invibed is an online community for successful millennials who are building wealth and creating their dream lives. Follow Invibed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Make sure to get TCM’s guide to saving on a tight budget:
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By Dani Pascarella from Invibed.com. Dani is the Founder & CEO of Invibed. Prior to founding Invibed, Dani was an Investment Specialist at J.P.Morgan, where she managed assets for ultra high net worth individuals ($25MM+). She holds a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University and previously worked at CNBC on the show Mad Money with Jim Cramer. Dani is fluent in sarcasm and has a deep appreciation for dance parties and all things neon.
tcmdisqus 
May 25, 2016 at 5:35 pm
Gah… girl, preach. I really need to stop regularly buying expensive coffees. You forget how quickly it all adds up. Thanks for sharing :)XO Amanda | http://www.glitterandspice.com
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May 26, 2016 at 6:46 pm
You’re welcome! Thanks for reading! I stopped buying my fancy coffees and was able to start maxing out my IRA haha!
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May 25, 2016 at 6:53 pm
I work from home now so I don’t do the daily starbucks run anymore. But four years ago I decided I wanted to be debt free and cut out all eating out and coffee and paid off our debt in 9 months with what we had been spending on "going out". It’s totally worth it plus less "bad" calories!!
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May 26, 2016 at 6:45 pm
Congratulations Angela! that’s awesome! Such a testimonial that it really does work! I bet it feels so much better to invest in yourself too, rather than those big corporations!
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May 25, 2016 at 11:18 pm
Wow, this really puts things into perspective. I’m a college student, and I dream of traveling and doing amazing things, but I definitely make expensive coffee runs more often than I would like to admit. I’ll definitely think twice before making my next coffee run.
Chelsea | http://coffeewithchels.com
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May 26, 2016 at 6:44 pm
Haha when I was in college I drank coffee like a Gilmore Girl! I’ve since cooled down with it and have saved tons!
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May 26, 2016 at 4:41 pm
Great post, I need to keep this in mind next time I want to go to Starbucks! Just goes to show how small changes can make a big difference, especially in your budget. Thanks for sharing :)Melanie – http://www.lightheartedlettering.com
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May 26, 2016 at 6:43 pm
So true Melanie! Thanks for reading!
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May 29, 2016 at 2:39 pm
It always baffles me how many of my friends complain about never having money while sucking back 1-2 starbs drinks a day!
I love me a fancy coffee, but when I started saving it was the first thing to go! Now I only go every other Friday (pay day) for a cappuccino and a breakfast sandwich as a treat!
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May 29, 2016 at 11:04 pm
Haha I am SO with you Laura! I love my treats and I love saving dat money!! 😉
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June 6, 2016 at 1:19 am
It is also amazing what kind of impact you can have n your life by taking that money and using it to pay down debt or to save and invest it. So many people complain that they can’t get out from under their student loans but then spend money everyday on little things that add up to have a big impact on their financial life.
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June 13, 2016 at 8:59 pm
Totally agree! Living debt free takes dedication and commitment, but if you live like nobody else for a short period of time and get out of it, you can live how you want the rest of your life!
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