# So, how much does your coffee habit cost you?



## mind_business (Sep 24, 2011)

I've been looking at all my opportunities to reduce my household budget and decided to check out how much my Tim Horton's coffee habit is costing me. Actually I switched over from Tim Horton's to our coffee at work which is $1.60 per cup.

Per my attached spreadsheet, my 2 coffee per day habit costs me $998.40 per year. So then I thought I'd throw it into my compound interest / savings calculator. Assuming coffee prices go up 2% per year, and instead of buying coffee I put that amount into a tax-deferred investment (6% return), I'd end up with the following savings:

After 10 years = $15,129.87
After 20 years = $45,538.51
After 30 years = $104,034.71
After 40 years = $213,715.98
After 45 years = $299,678.80

Any other coffee addicts here? How much is your habit costing you?

View attachment Cost of coffee.zip


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Wow. 

I spend $0.00.

But I would probably cry if I looked at my gasoline burning habits.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

I'm probably at $2 per day, on average. But! My transit costs are usually $0 and I bring a lunch every day. 

I don't sweat my coffee habit. 

Editing to say that once upon a time, I read all of Amy Dacyczyn's "Tightwad Gazette" newsletters (you could get them from the library in big book format). She had this really useful "cost per wow" metric, which suggests that if you could get two similar items (i.e., two pairs of boots - one $20 and one $100), in order to buy the more expensive item, you should get (in this example) 5 times more pleasure and/or 5 times more wear out of the more expensive one. 

Now, this doesn't really apply to my coffee habit, because I'm not evaluating cheap vs. expensive coffee. But! I LOVE coffee and I am pretty sure it is a great tradeoff for my $2 per day. I get to take a walk, leave my office, and do something personal for the amount of time it takes me to get the coffee. Plus I love drinking it. So, for me, the "cost per wow" of my coffee habit is very very low.


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## mind_business (Sep 24, 2011)

Oops, I thought I posted this in the 'General Personal Finance Talk' forum. If an Admin wants to move, please go ahead. Sorry guys.


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## mind_business (Sep 24, 2011)

Don't blame you MG, everyone has to have their vices 

After doing this calculation, I'm going to see if I can remember to set our coffee maker the night before to automatically turn on in the morning. I've got 10 to 20 years to go before I retire, so it could add up to some serious cash.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

I was up to 2 extra large a day never mind cot to drive there ,I quit and starting making my own at home and save over $1200 a year .


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

It is concerning that people routinely assume "investments" bring in assumed return rates of 6%. Good luck with that. The average citizen doesn't get those kinds of returns, nowhere close to it. 

But anyway, I don't have a coffee habit. I haven't had coffee in about 2 months and that was a delicious McDonalds coffee. I might drink about 5-10 cups per year at about $2 per, so I'm spending $10-20 per year on coffee.

Before the McDonalds new blend coffee, it was ZERO.


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## slacker (Mar 8, 2010)

I make my 1st cup of coffee at home. It has "saved" me a lot of money.


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## mind_business (Sep 24, 2011)

the-royal-mail said:


> It is concerning that people routinely assume "investments" bring in assumed return rates of 6%. Good luck with that. The average citizen doesn't get those kinds of returns, nowhere close to it.
> 
> But anyway, I don't have a coffee habit. I haven't had coffee in about 2 months and that was a delicious McDonalds coffee. I might drink about 5-10 cups per year at about $2 per, so I'm spending $10-20 per year on coffee.
> 
> Before the McDonalds new blend coffee, it was ZERO.


Perhaps a bit high for a return, however it's a whole lot more realistic than what I was quoted by banks in the early 90's. I remember them handing me charts of how my money would grown at 12%. Yeah right.


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## DanFo (Apr 9, 2011)

I was doing Timmies runs all the time..then bought a Tassimo (~.50/cup)costs me maybe 1.50 /day now instead of per coffee..could prob save more just doing instant coffe but the tassimo spits the coffee out pretty quickly...limited selection though but good enough for me


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

During an earlier coffee discussion, MG turned me onto the Aeropress. It's awesome. I don't sweat the cost of grocery store beans. I get very good cups of coffee for maybe 25 cents. Great way to make a quick cup of coffee in the morning as you're headed out. Requires maybe 2 minutes of active prep with some time for boiling water and letting the coffee brew.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

OSM. Another convert. I just ordered a stainless steel filter for the Aeropress, BTW.


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## mind_business (Sep 24, 2011)

Looks interesting. Might have to give it a try. Can you find them in local stores, or did you buy it online?

I have to wait till our coffee maker completely dies first. I'm trying to get rid of 'stuff', not add more to our clutter.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I bought it online, but it is available in a very select number of coffee specialty stores.

Let me know what you think of the stainless filters. I have enough paper filters to last me years, so I'll probably hold off.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

This is the only way I enjoy coffee now. I always preferred coffee with a bit of sugar and milk but I prefer this stuff as is. The simple design ensures the water doesn't get too hot making the coffee bitter


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