How much can you save brewing your own coffee?
Budget bloggers and financial gurus often point to the latte as a potential budget buster. Buying coffee out is often seen as a questionable move for those living on a budget. Sure, coffee spending tends to get a bad rap, but there is a reason for it. Purchasing a caffeinated beverage on a daily basis might be a symptom of a spending problem, and those dollars and cents can add up to big deficits each year.
How Much Does the Average American Spend on Coffee Each Year At Coffee Houses?
Figuring out exactly how much the average American spends on coffee each year is a bit of a complicated problem for those living on a budget. Coffee prices vary based on the type of beverage you get, where you live, and exactly where you are procuring your cup of java. As of December 2018, the average price of a drink at Starbucks is a staggering $3.43. Prices at the coffee retail chain range from $1.65 (for a tall brewed coffee) up to $6.50 for a Venti signature drink if you are sourcing your caffeine fix from a local gas station you can expect to spend between $1.00 to $2.00 for your average brewed coffee.
That means you may be spending anywhere from $5 to $30 per week on coffee, accounting for the average work week. When you look at the numbers monthly, you may be spending between $20 and $120 a month to get your coffee fix every morning during the work week. Yearly, you are likely spending anywhere from $240 to $1440 on just coffee. That doesn’t account for any additional items you add to your order, like breakfast sandwiches, bagels, or treats.
How Much Does it Cost to Brew Coffee at Home?
Brewing your coffee at home and taking it with you to go can save you a load of money each year. According to recent data, a cup of coffee, brewed in your home costs anywhere from $.18 to $.25 per cup. At home, brewing costs between $.90 and $1.25 per week, or between $3.60 and $5.00 each month. Yearly, your coffee habit, if brewed at home, will barely impact your budget. A year of coffee brewed at home, not accounting for the purchase of one-time items like a coffee maker and travel mugs, will cost between $40 and $60.
What are the Long-term Benefits of Brewing Coffee at Home?
The numbers don’t lie, and brewing coffee at home undoubtedly can save you a great deal of money in the long run if you are living on a budget, but these numbers don’t tell the whole story. What can really make or break your budget is what you choose to do with the money you save from your lack of coffee house pit stops.
According to experts, if you take the money that you spend in a coffee house each year and invest it over 25 years, accounting for a moderate return on investment, you could be sitting on a nest egg worth $175,000 when you reach retirement age.
According to recent studies, one out of every three millennials is spending more at coffee houses than they are investing each year, and that could spell trouble later down the road. While the coffee in and of itself doesn’t seem like a big problem, it is a symptom of a greater spending issue. Millennials, in particular, are part of a spending culture, where they are utilizing their income to purchase things they want and forgoing investing. That’s a big mistake, warn financial experts. By failing to save, young adults are putting themselves in a precarious position later in life.
Now that isn’t to say that you can’t enjoy a finely crafted coffee beverage every now and again. Everyone should experience a treat on occasion, but a daily stop by your favorite coffee shop might be destroying your budget and making it difficult for you to build a sound future.
Equal Housing Lender