How much is your coffee habit costing you?: Money Talks

Maybe you can’t relate I smoke marijuana like me.

You may think that smoking weed is a disgusting or degrading behavior and have avoided it your entire life.

This is fine.

Now let’s tackle your coffee habit.

You have to pay for this too, you know?

There has been a long-standing controversy over coffee in the financial literacy community. Is it wise to give up caffeine for those who want to take control of their finances?

I recently came across a meme that was clearly on the side of coffee.

At $8 a day per cup, the meme said, a person spends about $2,900 a year on coffee. That’s about $500 more than my projected weed bill.

But this column is not about my take on the great coffee debate. I’m not here to tell you what’s right or wrong, or what you should or shouldn’t buy coffee.

I’m not even a coffee drinker. I’ve never drunk a cup!

I don’t want and shouldn’t drink this. Grass is my coffee. I just wish my hobby didn’t carry the same stigma as yours. But I’m glad to see that this negative perception is starting to fade as legal marijuana comes to more states.

Instead, I hope that my words will make you think, especially about your own habits and how changes in behavior, even in the presence of more socially acceptable customs, can be beneficial.

Like all changes, the first step requires a change in thinking.

If I told you I spend $2,500 a year on weed, you’d probably wince and wonder what’s wrong with me.

But what would your answer be if you paid $3,000 a year on coffee?

Justification?

Long list “well, actuallycounters?

Just as my marijuana habit involves more than just smoking, the cost of consuming coffee depends on more than just the coffee. It’s more than financial, it’s behavioral. Replace coffee and marijuana with subscription services, eating out or online shopping, and the essence remains the same.

But at airports across the country, I pass coffee-obsessed people waiting patiently in long lines at Starbucks at dawn. I think it’s time for them to get some coffee. But I’m interested in the question of time.

The investor in me loves to see this. When Starbucks stock fell 24% year-to-date in May, I took the dip as a buying opportunity.

Between May and August, I increased my stake in Starbucks to 32 shares, confident that the stock would recover and I would eventually make a profit. I am learning to use a method called swing trading to generate additional income.

Four days after my last purchase of just under 2.5 shares on August 9th, Starbucks stock soared. Former Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol has been named to the same role at Starbucks. The coffee giant’s shares soared 25% on the news, marking the best day in the company’s history. Since then it has not decreased.

My position increased by 31%, or $787. The day after Thanksgiving I received a $20 dividend from Starbucks.

So yes, I will be buying sauce instead of drinks.

Coffee lovers can point to the positive aspects of drinking a cup of coffee every day. Research shows that coffee, like marijuana, has potential health benefits. Although I can’t help but think about addiction when I hear conversations in a coffee shop.

However, from a strictly financial perspective, this is another drink that will undoubtedly bleed your bank account, especially if you don’t pay attention to it. Before you know it, you’re stuck in the pointless habit of paying for coffee, tea, soda, alcohol, bottled water, energy drinks and sports drinks.

When will this stop?

Are you really need these drinks?

I’ve shared many of the things I cut or reduced during my financial transformation. Like coffee, they all seem insignificant. These are things like pizza and beer, subscriptions And eating out. I even told you how I changed mine water consumption.

I know first hand that all these drinks are expensive, mostly unnecessary and mostly unhealthy.

Collectively, they can become another silent barrier to wealth creation when your funds are low and the resources you have are not being used optimally.

This is something we can control.

Some will likely view discipline as deprivation. Others will applaud your sacrifice.

But remember: no change should be permanent. I’m proving that simply cutting back can be beneficial.

I realized that what I once made a routine doesn’t have to be an everyday occurrence.

By re-evaluating our small daily habits—whether it’s coffee or weed, subscriptions or eating out—we can free up funds for more important things like saving and investing.

Darnell Mayberry is a Chicago-based sportswriter and author of 100 Things Thunder Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. He loves his daughter Parker, money and the Minnesota Vikings. You’ll find his Money Talks column every Saturday on cleveland.com and Sundays in The Plain Dealer.