The Starbucks Ban Savings Challenge

But Why?!

Following up on my reading of Cait Flander’s The Year of Less, I felt empowered to start on a savings journey and to look at how to re-center my minimalist lifestyle. That being said, my lifestyle currently is thrown every which way as I’m away for a time for work, living out of a single hotel room with only a handful of outfits and the least amount of material possessions, I thought I was doing a pretty good job… but Starbucks. I’m a huge sucker for caffeine and take-out coffee, I have a Keurig at home but before I left had been so busy, I was drinking coffee at home and still stopping at Dunkin’s nearly every day as an in-between pick me up from job one to job two. Here I’m only working one job however I was still finding myself sleepily stumbling into Starbucks to pick up a mobile order daily and let me tell you, those delicious beverages add up! Given the fact that all the money I’m making here is going directly into supporting my lovely family back home, as well as having to be immediately shelled out into a new car when I return, it really was selfish of me to keep blowing what little wiggle room we had in the budget on fancy drinks. Inspired by Cait’s no-spend year, I decided to take the plunge and commit to saying adios to Starbucks for the month of April.

The Break Down:

Since arriving here on March 15^th, I have spent exactly $85.19 at Starbucks. Having calculated that out I am both amazed and horrified that in roughly two weeks I spent roughly $6.00 a day on coffee! Looking at it somedays I also splurged on a sandwich or a cake pop, but in the grand scheme of my financial goals, the $85.19 could have gone towards the savings account, or paying ahead on bills. Do I regret my Starbucks addiction? Absolutely not, the transition from living in a house full of noisy kiddos, a warm husband, and the overall comfort of my family to a single bed in a hotel room that is silent and chilly was a bit of a shock to the system after the first three nights of uninterrupted sleep, and in coffee, I found my comfort. However, it’s been two weeks and I am fully acclimated to this temporary life, so the coffee addiction has got to go.

The Pay Off:

Looking at the figures previously mentioned by not going to Starbucks for a month I should be able to save about $170.38, which is a mere $9.47 short of a car payment! With the goal of this year being to pay off all our consumer debt, we’ve been aggressive and able to pay off all but what’s left on our car which is exactly $1,658.09. Having an extra car payment found in the budget simply by stopping my love affair with the hotel’s Starbucks gives me even more motivation to stick to my ban.

The Game Plan:

The game plan as to how I’m going to resist the sweet taste of a nitro cold brew is simple, I’ve uninstalled the app from my phone to curb the temptation. This is a two for one special because I have no idea how to physically order at Starbucks and my social anxiety will downright prohibit me from doing so, which is a foolproof plan. I also have a small coffee maker in my room and get free coffee and non-dairy creamer from the front desk, so I will still have my caffeine, just without all the bells and whistles.

Why bother though, it’s just coffee?

The motivation here is not to torture me, but to see how dedicated I can be to a goal, how I can handle the temptation, and to truly start being aggressive in how I spend and save my money. Yes, I’m a big fan of treating yourself and letting yourself have what you want from Dunkin’s or Starbucks because you work hard, and you earned that macchiato. If I truly want to get back to my minimalist roots and work towards financial freedom, this is something I find 100% necessary to try.

Feel free to hold me accountable and check in from time to time, I’ll update you on the progress two weeks in and at the end of the month, and hopefully this time next month I’ll be one step closer to financial freedom!