The Starbucks premium

October 6, 2009Jon Brooks 2 Comments »

Starbucks_Coffee_Logo.svgThe frugal debtor of the last post links to this post totalling up the cost of a daily visit to Starbucks:

…I know people that come in to my office with one of these 20 oz. Starbucks coffee concoctions every stinking morning.

I wonder if my co-workers took the time to consider the money they are wasting on a glorified cup of java? Let’s assume they average two weeks of vacation, and another two weeks of sick time and holidays each year. That means they come in to work with their Starbucks brew 48 weeks a year, 5 days a week. That is 240 trips to Starbucks at roughly $4.50 a pop, or $1080 annually for a stinking cup of morning coffee! Remember, this doesn’t count the days they go to Starbucks when they aren’t working.

Even worse, if you consider the 10 minutes you have to wait just to get the drink, that means you also waste one entire 40-hour work week each year at Starbucks standing in line!

So can anybody tell me why waiting in line to spend $4.50 for a cup of the foo foo coffee you get at Starbucks better than making your own Folgers at home, or walking in to your local Quickie Mart and taking a minute to pay a buck…?

I mean come on, folks. Is going to Starbucks really worth 40 hours of your life each year and the annual $780 premium?

I’m just askin’.

Good question…

Posted on October 6, 2009 at 4:07 pm
http://economybeat.org/consumers/speaking-of-starbucks/
http://economybeat.org/consumers/speaking-of-starbucks/trackback/
Categorised under : consumers , living the recession , personal finance
Tagged with : ,

2 Responses to this entry

  • Katie Says:
    October 7th, 2009 at 10:41 am

    As someone who brews her coffee at home, I can also understand the desire for people to buy at Starbucks. One consideration is that people have less time connecting with community these days. If a visit to the local coffee shop in the morning (Starbucks or other), fills that need to connect… perhaps it “is” worth the time and money. It’s not just the coffee, but the “experience” that people pay for.

  • Jon Brooks Says:
    October 7th, 2009 at 12:46 pm

    I think Katie makes a good point. One of my favorite experiences is sitting in a coffee place and just reading the paper — I could do that at home, but I like the feeling of being around people even if I’m not interacting with them. In these tough times, though, it is beginning to feel a bit like a luxury.