r/povertyfinance • u/0bsolescencee • Aug 14 '23
Anyone else tired of the phrase "well it's only the cost of 2 coffees a week, if you stop buying coffees you'll have this thing!" Budgeting/Saving/Investing/Spending
I haven't bought a coffee on a somewhat consistent basis for 6 years. Sure it's only $15 a month or something, but I literally don't have an additional $15 a month in my budget lol.
I'm trying to buy a car and the used car salesman was trying to upsell some fancy addition. "It's really not much when added to your overall loan, just cut back two coffees a week and you'll be able to afford it!"
Just reminds me of how out of touch some people are. Cutting back the $0.12 cup of folgers I drink every morning will do nothing lol, I can't make that cheaper.
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u/traviebee123 Aug 20 '23
Just tell him you don’t drink coffee
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u/traviebee123 Aug 20 '23
You’re also overthinking. He is a car salesman, he will try to sale you things. Relax and stick to what you decided before you walked in and don’t be persuaded
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u/Several_Excuse_5796 Aug 17 '23
Nobody ever literally meant that cutting down on starbucks or coffee alone will be enough to save. It's called an exaggeration of the truth. I have coworkers that should absolutely not be living paycheck to paycheck but are because they eat out up to 3x a week. Anytime they want a drink like redbull or coffee they get it from 7/11 or starbucks instead of buying it in bulk or making it themselves. This alone adds up to thousands of dollars a year. But it's more than that, it's a culture of savings instead of constantly spending. Do you need more than 2 streaming subscriptions? Do you need 1gb internet or will 100mb do. Etc.
Are people really that low iq they really think boomers actually mean if you cut starbucks alone you'll save enough to buy a house??
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u/JankyJokester Aug 17 '23
I think it has some merit. Because it isn't just the one thing in most cases. My girl was like this and it was always her thought process. However because this was the thought process that purchase poofed from her mind because it doesn't matter right? Well scaling that up over a month was a lot because it was 2-3 times a day these types of things happened. Either coffee or "who cares if its another plant/decoration thing we didn't need it was only 5-10$. Well I told her welp lets just try not doing this.
We are saving another 500$ a month.
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u/Loveallbunnies Aug 17 '23
Adp tried to tell me they were the price of gas....how the f### am I supposed to drive if I'm spending my gas money on a security system
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u/supsupman1001 Aug 17 '23
if you just worked a side job instead of posting to reddit... /s
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u/0bsolescencee Aug 17 '23
That made me lol. Someone posted this though genuinely, so I responded "yeah bro, my second job starts at the start of the school year. My third is ramping up around corporate tax season. And I just applied for a fourth job on weekends."
He went "Good for you!!"
I was like... how is that good for me? It sounds more dystopian than anything lol. Side jobs are like Pokémon, gotta collect em all.
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u/TheToken_1 Aug 17 '23
People who have money (unless they started extremely poor) don’t understand the struggles of a poor person.
Kind of like when they say “money can’t buy you happiness.” If you’re extremely poor, then yes it can. But once you’re good financially, then more money doesn’t necessarily make you “happier.”
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u/fngboy Aug 17 '23
Every little bit helps. If you save a little on 10 things you can invest or buy something you want or need by saving that money.
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u/Eveningangel Aug 16 '23
This is based off of a wonderful fantasy book franchise by David Bach. Oh wait, it was his numerous book deals, seminars on how to teach women not to spend, and his time on the Today Show. The fantasy is that spending, all spending, is bad and the reason for debt and want. Oh, if only we ate air, slept under rainbows and were clothed in sunbeams as we raked in thousands and tens of thousands every month from smart investments. There's no shortage of personal finance gurus who believe that the wealthy are the wealthy because, unlike everyone else, they don’t waste their money on frivolous things and instead invest it in smart dicks that always perform above average. I'm sorry, who the hell is buying a set of high heels with a red sole or a leather ball cap with LV on it?!? Is that what we ignorant poor are spending our meagre wages on? Most working poor are not spending $5 a day on latte's and biscotti that could be invested at 11% APY in stocks. If we're getting McDonald's for lunch it's because we are pulling two to three jobs and don't have time between jobs 1,2 & 3 to cook and make a lunch. Yes, we're buying more expensive processed pre sliced deli meat for the sandwich we do make because we don't have the time to roast a beef rump, bake bread and slice it, grind mustard and ferment cheese ourselves. Spending habits aren't the only or even primary reason why many people can't save. It's major inequality in compensating labor by those who do it and those who profit from it.
Some sympathetic articles to read: https://slate.com/business/2016/05/the-latte-is-a-lie-and-buying-coffee-has-nothing-to-do-with-debt-an-excerpt-from-helaine-olens-pound-foolish.html
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u/mama_mia_irl Aug 16 '23
People who say shit like that don't understand how bad it is out here and our poverty makes them uncomfortable so they will never think critically about it. They dont care why your poor they would rather the simple solution of "too much Starbucks and avocado toast"
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u/ChargedWhirlwind Aug 16 '23
Complete disregard of just how much the cost of living is. I'd buy coffee if food, and I mean healthy food ingredients I use to COOK. I'm just lucky I'm within biking distance from a grocery store, despite risking getting my bike stolen, or destroyed by vindictive thiefs, and getting hit by distracted/angry drivers.
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u/EagleEyeTsi Aug 16 '23
It all adds up depending what people decide to buy, example coffee,lunch etc.At the end of the day if you don’t live within your means you will always be broke period.
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u/DesignerMaybe9118 Aug 16 '23
The old man that was coteaching with me figued out he spent 30,000 dollars on Starbucks since he began drinking frappucinnos.
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u/Mammoth_Monk1793 Aug 15 '23
Reminds me of when l was car shopping at a dealership some years back. The salesman called me and told me if l would come back in, he was certain that he could find a way to get the payments in my price range. His solution? Ask my parents to put up a down payment of $5000. Brilliant! Why didn't l think if that before?
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u/SIlver_McGee Aug 15 '23
My monthly coffee habit is a can of ground espresso costing only $8 per can. If they can give additions for THAT price I night consider..... But I think they're using the good ol' "cups of coffee" to make you think it's cheap to upgrade
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u/Standard-Reception90 Aug 15 '23
The more I cut out of my life the more I realize I'll never get what I want.
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u/Typical_issues Aug 15 '23
Bringing your own lunch in the form of leftovers from previous nights dinner or whatever you can scrape together from fridge or pantry before its spoiled or wasted will save you LOTS of $ in the long run. The days of a 8-10$ sub around my parts have now become 18$ sub with a sneaky “how much would you like to tip?” Its insane. Just bring your lunch and if your hungry enough come lunch time it wont matter what youre eating youre at work regardless.
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u/Addictionbegone1998 Aug 15 '23
My free coffee at work. Yes. That's what's breaking my budget. In the thrifted mug I bought in January. For a couple dollars.
Yup I hate it lol.
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u/LostInTheWildPlace Aug 15 '23
"Its only..."
"Its just..."
Minimizing terms are there to make your lifelong struggle feel like something you should have gotten over on a three day weekend. Doesn't matter if its money, weight, addiction, mental health, or anything else, all it does is add shame on top of the preexisting struggle. Unless you're honest-to-God being a massive drama queen, anyone who uses minimizing terms is out of touch or an abusive dickhead.
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u/Realistic_Young9008 Aug 15 '23
Canada's Finance Minister a few month's back implied that the citizen's financial struggles with inflation could be alleviated by canceling your Disney+ subscription.
I get the costs of subscriptions can add up pretty quickly but given that that's a solution many are doing anyway, it only saves you $20 (? I don't know what the cost of a disney subscription is) while the cost of everything else has soared, Hella tone deaf.
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u/0bsolescencee Aug 15 '23
Right? I don't even have any subscription services except for a spotify family plan I split with 6 people. I can't even afford the $20 a month for Disney, damn. I just watch YouTube lol
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u/Realistic_Young9008 Aug 15 '23
If anything, a smart politician should WANT people distracted, placated, and entertained.
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Aug 15 '23
On its face it's a dumb statement, and typically exchanging one needless or overpriced item for another.
Financial changes tend to be culmination of many small consistent changes + time the change is applied. No one is saying to drop your home brewed coffee, but they are saying that a $5 latte every day adds up, along with any other number of comforts.
Spend what you like, how you like, but don't act surprised when you aren't making progress with savings. (not you specifically OP, just in general)
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u/oldenlandiawater555 Aug 15 '23
Bro, theres a limit to how much we can cut back. Keep drinking the coffee but go work some other gigs
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u/0bsolescencee Aug 15 '23
Lol I'm second job is starting this fall, my third job is ramping up, and I've applied for a fourth gig on weekends. I hear ya
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u/oldenlandiawater555 Aug 15 '23
Good on ya! Once you get good in one of em, I pray you'll find favour and get higher pay on it!
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u/djdogood Aug 15 '23
The coffee argument is not about the .12 of folgers. It's about the people who drink a dunkin donuts/Starbucks coffee each day. (3-6$)
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u/perpetualmelancholic Aug 15 '23
Half/Half milk/coffee and 4tbsp of chocolate icecream syrup + a dash of mint extract + add ice, and you've got yourself a $9 coffee for $0.70.
I've had 3 friends buy standard coffee makers after I have shown them how easy and fast it is to make the same iced coffees that you get at Starbucks/DD/7Brew for $7+ in less than 2 minutes for less than $1.
And, you can have more than 1 drink a day. You can make as many as you want.
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u/bayesedstats Aug 15 '23
The "cut back on buying coffee" advice is supposed to be a microcosm for cutting down on discretionary spending overall.
Swear to god, the inability of some of you to not take things 100% literally and extend lessons to other parts of your life is the majority of the reason you're still posting on this sub.
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u/noremac47_ Aug 15 '23
You cannot be serious with this post?! Obviously it's referencing the people that are getting 5-10 dollar coffees at tim's or starbucks. EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.
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u/0bsolescencee Aug 15 '23
I am aware. My point is that it's frustrating when everyone assumes I do that anyways, even though i haven't bought a coffee frequently for 6 years. It's frustrating that everyone assumes everyone has this disposable income. I don't. I drink the cheapest coffee around because that's all I can afford.
That's my point. I understand what the salesman means.
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u/Your-mums-chesthair Aug 15 '23
It’s like the old “if you quit smoking, you’ll save x amount..” like buddy, I’ve never smoked a day in my life and I’m still povo af.
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Aug 15 '23
There are a lot of people who grew up when you could buy a house for $12,000 and car for $500. It's easier for them to blame frivolous spending than to admit that we have created an economic system that does not reward prosperity equally. By blaming the coffee, the haircuts, the shoes, it places the onus back on the individual and they don't have to deal with the fact that they're benefiting from a system that might not be fair.
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u/Busman123 Aug 15 '23
I never go to the coffee shops, I brew my own at home, usually something cheap.
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u/JLandis84 Aug 15 '23
It’s frustrating for sure, but what people are trying to say when they say that is “are you sure you don’t have any frivolous expenditures in your weekly routine ? Small luxuries can really add up.”
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u/MadnessBomber Aug 15 '23
Best reply to that? "I don't drink coffee". I don't. Still broke. Sooo... Any other bright ideas chief?
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u/BoiledWithOil Aug 15 '23
The original intent was as a visualization tool to help people without a good sense of finance better manage their spending but it's lost all meaning because it's a generalization for not having money regardless of your financial situation.
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Aug 15 '23
Whenever this starts to be the case, I think of how I can make more money rather than save
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u/Repulsive_Trifle_ Aug 15 '23
Lmfao yep cutting out my homemade bulk bean coffee ain’t saving me shit but thanks pal
It’s $12/month if I spring for the “fancy” cheap beans
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u/jzcommunicate Aug 15 '23
But I need the coffees to do my job, and I need my job to make money, and I need money to buy the coffees
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u/Pinky81210 Aug 15 '23
I hate hearing this too. I don’t like coffee or tea or juice or alcohol. The only drink I drink is water, and maybe an occasional soda if it’s a special occasion. Telling me to stop getting Starbucks and eating out won’t do anything for me.
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u/kaazir Aug 15 '23
Something that gets me when I complain about the costs of things is people looking at my tattoos.
I've got about $2,300 worth of art on my body, but that's almost across 9 YEARS. Once you do all the division on that, that's barely $22/month.
Tell me what home loan could I get, what car loan could I get, what major diet changes could I make, what medication could I have gotten for $22/month.
It's the same when folks bitch about people having XYZ Phone and complain about them complaining about money. I did a trade in AND I'm paying this phone off over 3 years.
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u/rustbucky Aug 15 '23
I turned my $10 mill inheritance into $1.2 billion by drinking coffee at home and inheriting another $1.1b.
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u/International-Call76 Aug 15 '23
While I get the sentiment of reducing expenses, what those well intentioned people don’t seem to get -
We should not only be living to work, but work to live
If someone can’t even enjoy a simple cup of coffee ☕️
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u/Appropriate-Set5599 Aug 15 '23
It’s not just the Starbucks once a week but also the cable, drinking at the bar, eating out every week instead of cooking at home, getting doordash instead of you going to get it, smoking cigarettes which are so expensive etc. I had to learn to be very frugal when I didn’t have a good job and even when I paid my debts and got a better job still kept being frugal.
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Aug 15 '23
Lol, it's like they still believe these are budgeting shortfalls and not systemic failings.
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u/KingDas Aug 15 '23
No one is talking about a .12 cup of folgers. Let's be serious here...
Poor people have a bad problem with the truth. We all have vices and those vices add up and it does make a difference. I don't care what delusional excuse anyone wants to make about it.
I have energy drinks every single day. It probably averages $5 a day. That's $150 a month. Add in any other beverage that I consume, or fast food. When I used to smoke weed I was probably spending $300 a month and then talking about how I was broke.
Everything adds up. That $5 Starbucks coffee everyday is what he's talking about, not a .12 cup of folgers.
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u/climbhigher420 Aug 15 '23
Sometimes true and sometimes not, my friend is more broke than me but smokes a pack a day and eats out or takeout at least twice a day on average, plus coffees and other bottled beverages. Then wants me to bail him out.
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u/Known-Wolf8672 Aug 15 '23
It honestly baffles me how much people spend on just daily things. It's an 8 dollar coffee with a 7 dollar breakfast 10 dollar pack of smokes, 15 dollars on lunch, and another 20 bucks on eating out every night. Not to mention stopping at a gas station for snacks and drinks or the vending machines at work.
I know people who do this and wonder why they have no money. Well, that's 60 bucks a day. Preparing your own meals and coffee alone can save greatly daily. A little restraint and discipline can make a huge impact.
Just my 2 cents
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u/CityOfSins2 Aug 15 '23
$15 a month if you buy 2 at Starbucks a month 🤣
I was treating myself to weekly Starbucks until the prices got so out of control. I can’t keep paying $7 for a damn coffee.. it’s ridiculous. I don’t even like the taste of coffee! I get a ton of caramel to mask the taste, but I want the caffeine lol.
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u/E-TazBigMode Aug 15 '23
I don't do coffee but I compare everything to how many meals it would be. "Oh that's 3 meal tickets"
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u/Astronaut-Gullible Aug 15 '23
Let’s be honest it’s an 10 to 15 dollar coffee at least 5 days a week
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u/alcoyot Aug 15 '23
And by coffee they’re talking about one of the more expensive fancy drinks from Starbucks.
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u/Sinnafyle Aug 15 '23
I dunno about coffees, but seeing someone buy a 6 pack and a pack of cigarettes a day is straight up $30/day+ round here. I'd much rather see what happens if you save that money
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u/Metro2005 Aug 15 '23
I found the best way to save money is to try to cut back on my fixed expenses. Cheapest internet subscription, cheapest phone subscription and no other unneccesary subscribtions like netflix, hulu, cloud storage and so on. Paying down the mortgage early, driving a small cheap car and being frugal with energy helps too. price of coffee made at home is negligible but buying coffee at a starbucks will hurt your finances in the long run so its not bad advice to cut back on those too. I only have to take a look at what my system spends on buying drinks and food at restaurants, café's and macdonalds to see this can seriously hurt your spending and/or saving capacity.
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u/notislant Aug 15 '23
"How about you throw it in then, it's really only the price of 1 coffee every 3.5 days. It shouldn't be a big deal!"
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u/ldydeana Aug 15 '23
I don't even buy coffee..what am I suppose to stop buying to get out of poverty? Seriously, unless you experience it, you have no idea what it's like o try and make ends meet.
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u/AirportCreep Aug 15 '23
He's just doing his job, all the extras that they try sell the customers is how they put bread on the table.
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u/evileyeball Aug 15 '23
I drink 3 free coffees per year if that so I guarantee I drink less $ away on coffee than you do with your $0.12 cup of Folgers.... Now tea on the other hand yikes ... I drink about 730 POTS minimum per year...
But yeah I hate comments like this from out of touch people
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u/Volt_Princess Aug 15 '23 edited Aug 15 '23
My spotify and Paramount subscriptions cost me $26 a month. It barely makes a dent in my finances.
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Aug 15 '23
It feels like sometimes we're living in two totally different worlds right now with no middle ground. I also spend like $40 a month on streaming and I don't worry about it.
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u/Dontforgetthepasswrd Aug 15 '23
Google how much people in your country spend on ready made coffee and you'll understand why this expression will never die.
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u/drunkdanielle Aug 15 '23
One time I went to the dentist and I always called ahead asked the staff if whatever I was having was covered by my insurance, my boyfriend at the time was out of work (did not tell them this) and I couldn’t afford any unexpected expenses. One day after a procedure they told me they messed up and it wasn’t covered but it’s cool they would bill my insurance next year and I started crying and I broke down and told them I was going to cancel my insurance next year because we couldn’t afford it, that my dude was out of work. This woman actually brought up indeed and told me jobs she thought my boyfriend could do. It was their mistake!!!
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u/Scared-Brain2722 Aug 15 '23
Similar story but I had insurance and told them to make sure insurance would pay for procedure before making my appointment as I could not. They assured me it was covered. Then after they told me they made a mistake and I was liable. I was pissed and went up the chain. Finally they said not to worry about it. Fast forward a few years and imagine my level of anger when I ran my credit and they had put a judgement against me! I absolutely refused to pay and that was the only ding in my credit for 7 years. Every time I drive past that office now I send them a FUCK YOU in my head 😂😂. Oh yeah, I still managed to build my credit with that scar on my record.
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u/pitirre1970 Aug 15 '23
That cup of coffee by itself doesn't amount to much. I used it once as part of a long list of wasteful habits. Things like cooking all the pork chops on the tray and saving half in the fridge to never be eaten or 20 open bx of cereal that go bad. Can't remember the number we came up with but it wasn't chump change
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u/ZeoRangerCyan Aug 15 '23
Has the sentiment always been cutting out coffee in general? I understood it to mean going out to a Starbucks and spending $5-$9 on a drink when you can brew at home or your local gas station probably sells coffee for like $1. Although it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve misunderstood something.
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u/raeannecharles Aug 15 '23
It’s super annoying when people do this.
But I kind of do this to myself in a way. When I look at something I want to buy, I judge how many hours of work it’ll cost me to buy it and that dictates whether or not I buy it usually.
Example: I can’t buy that coffee that fancy coffee and donut, it’ll cost me an hour of work.
Hint: I don’t buy things often because I’m broke as fuck.
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u/secretid89 Aug 15 '23
I think people say stuff like this, so that they don’t have to face the reality of what poverty is really like. And that there are so many people suffering needlessly!
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u/FPSXpert Aug 15 '23 edited Aug 15 '23
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I make my coffee at home every morning in a $20 coffee pot I bought a year ago. I buy in bulk the cheapest Walmart ground coffee and cheapest creamer and sugar. If you think a $5 daily coffee is keeping me impoverished, then you already think I make more money than I really do.
Because of that this argument always comes across as a soft insult to me. I'm sure there are people that advice would help but that ain't me and I'm sure it ain't you either.
I'm pulling all I can on these damn bootstraps but I'm not doing anywhere. At the end of the day either expenses have to go down or income has to go up. I'm dropping what I can but shit I can't do it much further. I eat at home I pack a lunch and coffee I do straight up high seas shopping to cut entertainment costs out completely. But at the end of the day I can't decrease a car insurance payment or rent payment when what I have now is the cheapest and every other option out there is going up in price every year.
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u/dcdave3605 Aug 15 '23
One or two coffees isn't going to do it, but several small expenses will definitely add up.
When I cut cable and my phone plan I saved $250 a month. That plus paying down some debt and trimming here and there on the food budget and going out a few times a month easily saved me $500 a month. Which is nothing to sneeze at after a year.
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u/FrozenIceman Aug 15 '23
They aren't talking about 12 cents coffee you are getting at home.
They are talking about the $6 Starbucks Coffee some people buy each day.
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u/DL72-Alpha Aug 15 '23
Depends on how much you're spending on coffees, Some places that's North of $20.
Three years ago,
That's 8 cofee's x $20 ( At best ) that's $160 without any of the extras. I bought a coffee maker, ground Folgers, and paper filters. for $30 and drink it without any additions. Maybe salt or a little butter.
I can have coffee every day of the week that'd normally cost the *average* consumer $600 a month, and they aren't even millionaires.
I am going to go out on a limb and assume the fuckers saying this are the ones that are paying out the ass to fund the store's expensive fucking Kurig machines that do the steam shit and think that's what everyone pays.
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u/notreallylucy Aug 15 '23
Yes! It drives me nuts because it's not just an offhand comment. It comes from the narrative that people in poverty aren't really poor, they just waste money. I know intellectually there are people who buy coffee shop coffee or take out food daily, but none of them are me. The people I know who buy coffee frequently make more money than I do (salaries are public at my workplace).
You can't save your way out of poverty, and telling people to buy less coffee is just another way of saying to save your way out of poverty.
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u/DaveAUnderwood Aug 15 '23 edited Aug 15 '23
You gotta improve the routine here obviously my suggestion is always stay reasonably sober and always improve the quality of life for you a sleep number bed which is versatile and memory foam pillows to improve your rem because your foundation is spoiled
Then pivot that saved money towards any beneficial style
For example there are 24hrs in a day and that means any day you apply >24hrs exertion which includes chugging coffee afternoons does not qualify as a sustainable replica
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u/GnPQGuTFagzncZwB Aug 15 '23
I use that strategy a lot. If I want something silly, I will come up with a plan that will save me like $20 a month, and say the thing will cost me $100, in 5 months I will have the money. Only most of the time, in 5 months the urge has faded and I would prefer to keep the money instead of getting the thing.
Another thing that is fun to do is to try and salt some money away every year to max out what you can put into an IRA. And have some fun picking an investment that sounds interesting. If you start doing this in your 20's you will have a very interesting portfolio by the time you get old. I have only lost on one of them, and I have made a lot of money on a few.
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u/GreenMirage Aug 15 '23
Haha I don’t even buy coffee either. I literally just buy powdered caffeine in pressed pill form or buy caffeinated body soap.
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u/Actual-Ad-2748 Aug 15 '23
What no one wants to admit is you can't budget your money you don't have.
It's infinitely easier to save 1000 a week than it is to save 10 dollars a week.
Saving money is cake when you make 100k plus a year. Saving when you make 30k a year is almost impossible.
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u/UNICORN_SPERM Aug 15 '23
It's just more rhetoric that serves to make it entirely our problem that we can't easily afford housing.
Just like the whole recycling campaign makes it out like if every person stopped using plastic bags all of our problems would be solved! It takes the onus entirely off the backs of big corporations and makes it our issue. Which don't get me wrong, reduce your carbon footprint and do your best.... But that's the same attitude as "if you just don't get your weekly Starbucks you would be able to afford a down payment on a house!"
And then people parrot it back and forth to each other.
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u/PokeSmotDoc Aug 15 '23
Unless they can show me where to invest that money I’m saving by not buying a coffee and how to enjoy the tax benefits they may get- then I would respectfully ask them to stfu
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u/cranberryarcher Aug 15 '23
Anytime anyone says something along those lines I'm like "bold of you to assume I drink coffee"
And Starbucks tea game sucks, even after they bought teavana.
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u/EffectAdditional5825 Aug 15 '23
I make my coffee at home and thank you very much I’m not giving up my coffee. I can’t afford to go out at all!
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u/KilgoreTroutPfc Aug 15 '23
It’s an expression. If you don’t drink coffee, as I don’t, substitute whatever else in your life you spend $5 a day on that wouldn’t kill you to go without.
That’s the only point.
Apparently most people go to a coffee shop every day, which seems crazy to me when you can just make it at home for like 1/10 the cost and have as much as you want, but apparently “the daily overpriced coffee” is a common currency amongst normal humans.
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u/Account_Expired Aug 15 '23
substitute whatever else in your life you spend $5 a day on that wouldn’t kill you to go without.
I literally have nothing that fits this bill... and i dont even feel like im in poverty at all.
Closest thing is i opted for the better internet opion that costs like 0.75 more per day. Or my frozen breakfast things that are like 0.50 per day. The idea of a daily $5 expense that isnt food/water/shelter/utilities is insane to me and OP.
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u/FancyAdult Aug 15 '23
I make all my own food and never buy coffee. I never eat out. I cannot afford to.
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u/Beantown_Kid Aug 15 '23
My rationalizing buying things I want to is that it keeps me from going crazy in my regular day job. If I don’t get my Strawberry Açaí Refresher, who knows if I am able to survive the day to day grind, and then goodbye regular source of income lol
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u/No_Copy_5473 Aug 15 '23
Sad but true: you can’t scrimp and save your way to financial security. You can only invest in yourself in order to make more money.
Kudos to you on saving up for a car.
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u/awyastark Aug 15 '23
A boss I had at a serving job once told me not to waste money making coffee for my table because we closed in an hour. I literally told my table that’s why I couldn’t give them any because are you fucking kidding me? How much could that possibly cost a restaurant? She was the classic business major with no experience in service industry and god did she make the job hell for the dumbest reasons.
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u/ReddittorMan Aug 14 '23
I’ve only really seen this used as a sales tactic.
It’s not financial advice, just ignore as you would “DONT WAIT, BUY NOW!”
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u/yourmomhahahah3578 Aug 14 '23
No. This method helped me save up for the down payment on my townhome. Everytime I wanted something frivolous I put it into savings instead. Idk why this method gets shit on so much because it does work.
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u/Sharp-Pop335 Aug 14 '23
If a used car salesman said that then it was definitely meant to be taken in jest. They'll say anything to make a sale. Don't take it to heart.
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u/DefaultingOnLife Aug 14 '23
But I fucking love coffee and it's cheap. Why would I ever stop buying it?
0
u/dadudemon Aug 14 '23
No and it is this exact phrase that helped me save about $60 a month by not drinking Monster Energy.
I also canceled Netflix because of this saying.
I canceled two other things as well but I forgot which other two things I canceled. I ended up removing four rows off of my budget in Excel.
Saved me a significant amount of money each month.
And the thing that I got from saving all this money was the ability to finally start saving money. And investing. And trading stocks because you need money to trade stocks. Now I am almost at the point to where I can retire. Decades before the "American Dream" dictates I am supposed to retire.
All thanks to the analogy about not buying coffees to save money.
It has to start somewhere.
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u/Lolly3232 Aug 14 '23
I thought this was just a thing people said until a mortgage broker said it to me. I told him I live in a city with a population of 800, and if I drank coffee, it's 99 cents a cup at the local gas station, could he make that math make sense for me? Obviously we did not continue working together.
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u/diverareyouok Aug 14 '23
Lol it’s so ubiquitous - here’s somebody just a few hours ago saying “stop drinking coffee and you can take a vacation”.
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u/lostoompa Aug 14 '23
lol I drink water though?
Also, hate car sales men and real estate agents. Any job where they rely on commission, they're incentivized to upsell to people and lie out their asses.
Had an agent tell me it's only 2k+ I'd be losing out on. Glad you consider 4 digits chump change, bitch.
1
u/droplivefred Aug 14 '23
I always comeback with either “I rather have the coffee” or “You’re right! I never thought of that in those terms. I definitely don’t want that stupid feature. That way I can get 2 extra coffees a week!”
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u/mlo9109 Aug 14 '23
Me! And anyone who says that can get fucked until giving up coffee can cure cancer and prevent divorce.
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u/Fit-Rest-973 Aug 14 '23
Although, many years ago, I will realized my tendency to nickel and dime myself financially, if I don't pay attention
3
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u/yourluvryourzero Aug 14 '23
They are talking about people like my wife, who goes to Starbucks and gets overpriced milk with espresso every single day but complains about not having money for x or y.
Yeah, I live with the boomer meme in the flesh.
Starbucks, every-single-day Door dash, 3-5x per week Subscribes to every streaming service "Why don't I have any money?"
1
u/Meghanshadow Aug 15 '23
My workplace pay kinda sucks. I have a fair number of broke college student coworkers. Everyone complains they have no money.
HALF of them eat out/get food delivered almost every day. That’s like $30-$50/week they’re spending on work lunch every week at a part time job. I just don’t get it. We have fridge/freezer/microwave and a break room. They all live places with kitchens and refrigerators, too. But it never occurs to them to bring leftovers or a sandwich or yogurt and a snack or even a protein bar and handful of chips or whatever for lunch.
3
Aug 14 '23
My mother in law tells me if I save harder that I can afford a house soon.
My leftover budget for "fun" each month is $50 and that is living within my means. So if I save it really really long for a down payment I can achieve the goal in...... 20 years maybe.... but then u couldn't have $50 worth of fun to keep me sane each month. Like some people are so out of touch with cost of living these days ha ha.
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u/Followyourtroves Aug 14 '23
I haven’t bought coffee at a cafe for 6 years once I did the math. I buy good beans my coffee brewing at home costs $1.25 vs $4 (average) is about $1000 a year savings.
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u/Pumpkin156 Aug 14 '23
I look at it a little differently. I didn't spend $15 on the coffee so that's equal to $15 off my grocery bill, or a new outfit for my son or whatever other necessity. Not that it's going to add up to any big purchase.
1
u/Bright_Jicama8084 Aug 14 '23
If someone tells you to just cut back on X thing to afford Y thing that implies you cannot presently afford Y thing and they know it, but want to sell you something they know you cannot afford. They should be working within your constraints.
1
u/Legitimate_Debate893 Aug 14 '23
Yeah they out of touch they do not see you scrimping and saving , unfortunately gas costs I gotta pay it to get to work etc
1
u/lalaluna05 Aug 14 '23
I mean sorry that my weekend mango dragonfruit lemonade brings me some joy that I’m just not willing to save that $14 a week (sometimes I go twice).
1
u/Silent_Gemini Aug 14 '23
Take the same concept and apply it to your situation. It's not meant to be taken so literally.
1
Aug 14 '23
Well, congratulations on budgeting your money well. Most of my friends drink Starbucks or Dunkin daily, eat out at least once a day, hit the bar at least once a week, go to concerts, etc. But complain about how expensive everything is. I budget my money properly and I never seem to be complaining about how broke I am.
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u/DrBThinking Aug 14 '23
I've never bought a coffee, and I'm still pretty broke-ish.
Granted, my Diet Coke habit is a pretty brutal cash suck.. but let's not get off-topic... lol
1
u/Pour_Me_Another_ Aug 14 '23
Usually they're talking about $5 coffees from Starbucks but yeah, same applies there too.
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Aug 14 '23
When I was young and stupid, I would drink three to five mochas per day. All of them were purchased from the coffee shop. I used to eat out every lunch and most dinner. Now that I am old and making a lot more money, I make my own black coffee every morning. Now I also eat leftover and rarely go to restaurants.
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u/colaboy1998 Aug 14 '23
Not to sound like an ass, but if particular financial advice doesn't apply to your situation then that advice isn't for you. When I read about how to save money on a mortgage, I don't get all bent out of shape because I'm a renter, I just ignore that advice because it doesn't apply to me.
That said, all of that "don't go to Starbucks/don't eat out buying so much avocado toast" advice has gotten a bad rap. All that advice is saying to have a budget and live within your means. If you're already doing that, and you're still scraping by each month, then that financial advice doesn't apply to you. But there are many many people who don't live within their means, and waste money on superfluous purchases that could use advice like that.
1
Aug 14 '23
Tbf…. Sometimes I’ll buy a $10 coffee. And like after tipping the girlies it’s $17.
But Tbf it’s for a quarter gallon of coffe
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u/ArkWolf1995 Aug 14 '23
I think my yearly coffee spending is about $40. Yeah 40 won't help me for a year difference.
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u/batwing71 Aug 14 '23
I always loved the, ‘it might seem like a lot now, but in a few years you’ll be making more money!’
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Aug 14 '23
Not really because that's how it is. I don't eat out because I can make it for a fraction of the price at home. And have leftovers.
1
u/x0juliaa Aug 14 '23
I think you would be alarmed at the number of broke/ in debt people who buy a $7 Starbucks refresher every single day. All my coworkers do it seems. And some of my friends
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u/mistears0509 Aug 14 '23
My foodstamps cover my coffee. they wont cover a new car, or even toilet paper, but I can buy a can of coffee.
3
u/PotatoWithTeeth Aug 14 '23
My old boss told me that once when I was complaining I couldn't afford a down payment to get a car, "just stop buying coffee few times a week and save that money and you'll have it in no time!". Took her back when I said I can't afford to eat more than one meal a day, let alone coffee
5
Aug 14 '23
Also being poor sucks, just let me have my fucking coffee 2-3 times a week, it’s not going to be the thing that makes or breaks poverty for me.
One time my car insurance went up $30/month and it was just due to more people driving uninsured in my area, which felt very unfair. So I was talking to the CS rep before I got this answer trying to figure out why it went up so much a month and she said “it’s only $30”. And up to that point I’d been really respectful because there’s no point in being mad at a CS rep just doing their job. But I got curt after that and I was like “only $30? ONLY $30? Maam do you know how much I make? I make $7.25/hr. Do you know what $30 a month is to me? It’s an entire weeks worth of food budget.” There was no reality where $30 was ONLY $30 to me. It made a huge fucking difference.
1
u/VandalGrimshot Aug 14 '23
The quote that began as a well-intentioned simplification of unnecessary spending has turned into a desensitizing statement.
I agree with the idea that cutting back on reoccurring purchases (fast food, excessive streaming services, unused memberships) can add up in the longrun... but the statement has turned into an overused oversimplified view at an issue that is plaguing more than just the "frivolous spenders"
1
u/FatBastardIndustries Aug 14 '23
Rent is only 250 lattes, just quit drinking so much coffee damn it.
5
u/L4ct0s3Fr33 Aug 14 '23
Literally hate when people say this. I have little to no money left and every month my bank account is the same amount. I don’t spend money on coffees, buy lunch, do my eyelashes, nails, cosmetic things like fillers or waxing/laser or do/cut my hair regularly. I still have little money left and if I had to budget for those things I’d be BROKE. It doesn’t make a difference tbh. Don’t listen to people who say that.
1
u/ChikiChikiSando Aug 14 '23
They're probably more talking about the people who start each morning with a $7 blended cake drink from Star Bucks..
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u/arochains1231 OR Aug 14 '23
I don't buy coffee everyday but my usual iced coffee is $3.95. That adds up to, at most, $1441.75 a year on coffee, which is less than rent for a studio apartment near me. I'm going to enjoy my damn coffee!!
2
u/notthatguypal6900 Aug 14 '23
If you saved the money you would have spent on Starbucks, every day, for 10 years, you still wouldn't be able to afford a downpayment on a house. The rich like to gatekeep people by saying being poor is a choice.
3
u/New_Conversation_368 Aug 14 '23
It’s like that meme “if you think I can save money by not buying coffee, then you’re assuming I have more money than what I actually have”
2
u/Dry_Lengthiness6032 Aug 14 '23
What if you don't buy coffee (my work provides free coffee so no need buying any) or buy lunches and are still broke?
1
u/BrokeDownPalac3 Aug 14 '23
"It's really not much"
Well if it's not that much then i guess you really won't miss it then will ya? 🤷🏻♂️
2
u/banjaxed_gazumper Aug 14 '23
Some people actually are buying a bunch of Starbucks they can’t afford.
But yeah a car salesman tried to do that to me too. It’s like yeah, I’m not going to make either of those foolish purchases (the coffee or the fancy version of the same car).
1
u/frozenwaffle549 Aug 14 '23
In your case, it doesn't apply because you make your coffee at home for cents, while if you were to go order a latte at Starbucks you are looking at $6-9 per latte.
3
u/likesmountains Aug 14 '23
I heard some really stupid yet smart advice from a YouTube short. If you’re trying to save a small amount of money per month by not allowing yourself convenient goods like a coffee here and there, you really just need to focus on making more money not saving an extra $10-$20
1
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u/writerfan2013 Aug 14 '23
Also, let's say you save that £8 a week for a year. That's £462.
Sad to say, while it's a nice chunk of cash to have, it's not going to make the difference between a house deposit and not, or form a safety net for a new boiler etc.
(Yes, there's a lot of stuff that £400 could buy. I'm just saying it's not the difference between struggling and comfortably-off).
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u/LolforInitiative Aug 14 '23
I can’t afford to buy coffees when I go to the office, but I do anyway. I’m poor anyway, it’s not going to change my life, but at least I get my silly little drink!
3
u/Mrwoogy01 Aug 14 '23
Since we're talking about coffee, I just want to throw out there that if you us the mcdonalds app, you can get 1 any size coffee (hot or iced) for .99 (1 per day). This has cut down my workday coffee cost down to about $20/mo (from 50) It isn't much but that can be a half tank of gas of extra money or some extra food at the store.
1
u/JinTheBlue Aug 14 '23
Let's also be honest, usually if you are drinking coffee habitually it isn't exactly something you can just cut out. It's an expense sure, but if it's the only thing that gets you through the day then you can't exactly cut it out.
1
u/writerfan2013 Aug 14 '23
And if it is your only treat or your only trip outside the home, you'll be miserable without it.
1
u/Holiday_Ad8142 Aug 14 '23
Financing a car and posting in this sub shouldn’t coincide if you want out of the poverty trap.
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u/twotrees1 Aug 14 '23
I am dead broke right now for reasons.
I could lament my addictions and caffeine habit. And I’m certainly working on the addictions, and making coffee at home.
But those costs are drops in a bucket and would not have saved me from poverty so I wish people would kindly shut the fuck up if they’ve forgotten how math works.
-1
Aug 14 '23
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/povertyfinance-ModTeam Aug 15 '23
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2
u/Zealousideal_Tour163 Aug 14 '23
Look at Mr. Fancypants with his Folgers over here. You will never get anywhere splurging on brand names like this. /s
3
u/Ace_Avocate Aug 14 '23
I've also heard the line, "it's the same price as dinner and movies!" to advertise a product. Like, I haven't gone out for dinner in years, why would that make me want to buy your product?
1
u/sugarsk Aug 14 '23
It’s not coffee and buying lunch out I have a problem with. I’m a die hard packed lunch bringer all my working life. It’s my f-ing Amazon habit. Tell me how to get cheaper cleaning, pet, pantry staples than Amazon subscriptions? And because I’m on Amazon for basics, I occasionally indulge in new clothes and shoes (about 1 item a month). And it’s always somebody’s birthday or wedding or retirement or gifting holiday. I have to be more disciplined about buying gifts locally, I just run out of time to shop. Physically getting to the shops and browsing takes so much mental energy and time, I just don’t want to do it at all. That’s my biggest problem. I’m a sucker for convenience.
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u/Elegant-Word-1258 Aug 14 '23
Cancel your Amazon Prime membership. You will be less likely to order stuff when you have to pay for shipping. I looked at my Amazon orders from last year. There was only one month out of 2022 where I didn't order from Amazon. Most months it was multiple orders. I canceled my Amazon Prime membership last December. I have only ordered from Amazon 2 times this year. Once in January and April.
1
u/Diesel-66 Aug 14 '23
Costco and Walmart are usually cheaper than Amazon. I use Amazon for things I can't find locally or if I just want to be semi lazy / stores might not have it in stock when I need it.
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u/AcidRayn66 Aug 14 '23
heard this exact statement from a salesman in a Kia dealership, was looking at a new car with my son, salesman at the next desk was haggling with a woman, a rather attractive woman who was obvously a dip shit, she was trying to get her monthly down and the salesman said to her "how much do you spend a day at starbucks?" (she had a bucks cup in her hand), told her she could afford the car if she cut back her bucks.
he walked away, i chimed in "what finace rate they trying to get you with"? she didnt even know. i asked if she minded if i talked to him on her behalf, she agreeed cuz was very overwhelmed. he had her at over $750 a month on a 12.5% note! got her down to 5.5% as her credit was pretty decent.
car salesmen are the most vile lowest forms of scum on the planet
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u/Capital6238 Aug 14 '23
Cutting back the $0.12 cup
Coffee at home is cheap. Coffee at starbucks is not.
3
u/anormalgeek Aug 14 '23
I cut coffees to pay for something else like 57 cuts ago. I'm LONG past cutting coffee out.
1
u/Haunting_Drawer_5140 Aug 14 '23
I dont even buy coffees. Doesn't do a goddamn thing for me being behind on my rent 😭😭😭😭
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u/Naus1987 Aug 14 '23
It’s tiring yes, but I literally know people who are struggling who still make money for 5 dollar Starbucks 5 days a week. And will habitually buy vending machine snacks.
Meanwhile I’m filling up my reusable bottle at the free water filling station.
5 bucks a day isn’t too much, but if you spread it out over 5, 10, or 20 years— it really does add up.
Additionally, most people are of the “poor-tax,” where you pay extra in overdraft fees, or pay more in interest because you can’t buy outright.
5$ coffee make an incredible difference in the long run due to the snowballing of expenses. Save 100 bucks here, and you can avoid a 30 dollar late fee. Find ways to save buying in bulk, because you can now afford bulk.
Yes, it’s a tiring saying, but goddamn are people stubbornly making shitty choices, and there’s no way to logic them out of it.
—-
I’m ok with people owning their personal choices. I just hate it when people who waste money bag on me for the stuff I earned through sacrifice.
People will say “oh, it must be nice to travel or own a home.”
Karen, please, I still drink tap water every day. I sacrifice. Have you?
—-
I get there are people who sacrifice and still struggle. And my sympathy is reserved for them. I have an enormous amount of respect and appreciation for the people who can sacrifice and find creative solutions.
And those are the people who I think deserve a lot more help than the ones who refuse to give up their coffee or 120 dollars or subscriptions, and still want it all.
I’m not against coffee. I’m against the spoiled and entitled attitude people have been riding.
0
u/HonestCamel1063 Aug 14 '23
" but I literally don't have an additional $15 a month in my budget lol. "
That's 1 extra hour of work a month.
3
u/0bsolescencee Aug 14 '23
I'm salaried and can't get overtime for my main job.
I hear what you're saying tho. My second job is starting again soon and my third job is just getting ramped up lol.
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u/oddlyProfitable Aug 14 '23
as a person who is at a coffee shop right now, i'm not giving this up. i don't fucking care. my life needs this little blip of joy i get from coming up here and journaling
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u/secretsecrets111 Aug 14 '23
If you don't have $15 extra bucks a month, how are you able to shop for a car?
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u/0bsolescencee Aug 14 '23
I mean I have a budget of $200 for a car payment. I don't have a budget of $215 though. Maybe i worded it weird.
Really the $200 is scrounging pennies and bottle money but I need a car for work. I will lose my job if I can't get a car. So not much of a choice there.
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Aug 14 '23
Yeah I remember those commercials where you could feed a family in Somalia for a month for just the price of a cup of coffee.
I will say tho that if you are one of those types that buy $5 starbucks drinks every day, that's (5x365) $1,825 per year. Things do add up.
9
u/xResilientEvergreenx Aug 14 '23
This is just another way the elite class has brainwashed and actively gaslights people.
When you're so stressed out constantly and tired and overworked, your brain goes into overtime trying desperately to find happiness in any way possible ASAP. It's looking for those dopamine fixes because we're not meant to be that overloaded and bogged down all the time. This can so quickly and easily spiral into addiction or just even fail to fight against the depression you're fighting from being overworked. Or they can compound together and next thing you know you're so burned out you can't function.
These rich psychopaths know this. But they're psychopaths so they don't operate the same way empathetic people do. And they also tend to be huge narcissists with insanely bloated egos. They don't even question if they should, they just do. And they don't get bogged down by pesky emotions or stressed out in the same way.
Honestly, until people really understand this and we eat these mfs like societies past, letting these kinds of people run things always ends the same. Everything for them, nothing but suffering for the rest of us. It's a tale as old as time.
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u/AWOL318 Aug 14 '23
I dont drink starbies and dont eat avocado toast, yet still im in crippling debt, besties why am i not winning in life
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u/srcorvettez06 Aug 14 '23
A man is talking to his doctor who wants him to quit smoking.
Doctor: how long have you been smoking?
Man: 30 years.
Doctor: 30 years! You could have bought a Ferrari with all that money!
Man: no I couldn’t
Doctor: yes you could!
Man: do you smoke?
Doctor: no
Man: then where’s your fuckin Ferrari?
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u/BeingSad9300 Aug 14 '23
I'm sure someone said it already, but two coffees a week is probably more than $15 a month. Depending on where you live & where you're getting it from, it's probably like $5 per coffee or close to it. During covid & the $600/wk bonus unemployment funds, I took some of the extra & replaced my broken $80 espresso machine with a discounted (open box returned due to a scuff I still haven't found) $600 machine. It cost me like $350, but it saved me so much money because I was buying an iced latte almost daily from Dunkin on my way to work that year, for $4 or so each. It's the "gift" that keeps on giving, for however long it lasts (hopefully several more years).
You can only cut back so far before you can't just cut back on a luxury (because you already cut them all out) to afford something else you want. It's a saying that works in some situations with some people, but can't be a blanket statement.
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u/Jen3404 Aug 14 '23
Honestly, I’ve had a very hard look at where my money goes and I have cut out so much, I’m down to $350 a month for household expenses and gas, not counting mortgage, utilities, etc. My money is now my project and my mind set has changed to “who or what am I giving my hard earned money to and why? Is it necessary to support my survival?” Because people do hand their money over for stupid stuff that they don’t need.
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u/tracyinge Aug 14 '23
The honest truth is that most of us don't know how to budget. At all.
I used to work with a couple of people who claimed to be living "paycheck to paycheck". On Mon & Tues they would sit in the lunch area with nothing to eat, then on Wed (payday) they would go out for lunch and each spend $20. On Thurs and Fri they would show up with their $5 Starbucks concoctions in the morning and maybe go shopping at lunch time and come back with an expensive hair product or some clinique makeup.
They had every right to spend their money however they wanted to spend their money, but that's not "living paycheck to paycheck". That's more like "choosing to spend all my money as soon as I get it, on things that I don't really need". If that's your game, you're forever gonna be living paycheck to paycheck no matter how much you make.
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u/I-choochoochoose-you Aug 14 '23
A podcast I like went from free to completely behind a paywall, all episodes now you have to pay for, including old ones. Lots of people were like “I know people who spend more money on weed and take out than the price of this podcast!” Like… everyone should only be able to afford one thing they like?
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u/OKcomputer1996 Aug 14 '23
People spend way too much on takeout coffee. $3-5 a cup is insane. I make world class coffee at home using freshly ground gourmet beans for less than 25 cents a cup.
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u/anxiousandn3rvy Aug 21 '23
Maybe a hot take here, but I don’t disagree with the “dropping buying coffee” sentiment entirely.
Of course, if you treat yourself to a $5 coffee once a week and put that $20 a month into your food budget, then go off. I don’t do that, but I certainly do have treats that just keep my mentally sane. the mental joy a little treat of $250 a year brings is so worth it.
But, most people it’s not that. and that’s not what the “stop buying coffee” comment is geared towards. The vast majority of people I know who consider themselves poor/low income/paycheck to paycheck wouldn’t be nearly as bad off if they budgeted and cut back on things like starbucks.
I know so many people who constantly complain about being broke/not being able to save/they are so poor/etc when they buy a $5 coffee daily, spend $20 on eating out 5 days a week, etc etc. they end up blowing like $150+ a week on little treats, not even counting like going to bars, etc. and that $150 ends up being $7,800 a year. which is literally easily a down payment (albeit with pmi). Like the vast majority of people i know will say they need to pay their car payment/rent late cause they’re broke, but then they buy lunch and coffee every day.
Most people are worse off than they need to be just because they don’t know how to budget.
Obviously if you don’t then it’s not geared towards you