
Let’s talk coffee. If you buy a simple cup of joe from Starbucks every day, here’s what a 300% markup looks like, according to USA Today’s coffee calculator:
- You’ll spend $63 in a month.
- You’ll spend $766.50 in a year.
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You’ll spend $22,995 over the course of 30 years.
Your Coffee Habit is Costing You
And we aren’t even talking lattes or Frappuccinos here. We’re talking the cheapest caffeine on the menu in the drive-through! Think about what you could do with an extra $766.50 this year:
- You could buy a round-trip plane ticket to almost anywhere in the U.S.
- You could pay off your $10,000 student loan 52 months earlier.
- You could invest it and earn $7,535 in interest after 25 years (with a 10% annual rate of return).
The point we’re making is this: be smart about where you’re spending your money. If you’re happy with your daily Starbucks, go for it! But if you’re trying to achieve other goals, turn on the coffeepot. This minor sacrifice can make a huge impact.