Hey everyone, it’s Finance Fridays again. It’s that time again… today I’m going to talk about “Trimming the Fat (Again)“.
Stock Photo from: Pexels
Trimming the Fat (Again)
If you haven’t already, you should probably read my prior posts:
So, my confession is:
I’ve been buying Starbucks pretty much every day since falling off the wagon earlier this year. I was doing so so well for awhile, but then I got lazy. It was just so much easier to stop by Starbucks and pick up a Venti Pike before work. However, one of my colleagues at work convinced me to buy a coffee machine for work with him.
If you were wondering — we decided to buy this one:
Cuisinart DCC-1200 Brew Central 12 Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, Black/Silver
It makes a decent coffee. So what I’ve been doing is making the coffee when I get to work. Then I usually drink a cup or two a few hours into my shift. At around 8pm I switch over to tea for the last 3 or so hours.
This is my tea:
Sunflower Jasmine Tea 1 LB (454 g)
I’m pretty sure this is the tea that is served at every asian restaurant like ever. It’s cheap and good. There is a “premium” version in a blue tin, but I prefer the yellow tin. Maybe it’s just because I grew up with a certain kind of tea.
There are a ton of tea infusers, but I like this brewing basket:
Finum (63/421.60.00) Brewing Basket, large, black
Why the change?
Well, it had more to do with principles then it did to do with money. I advocate utilizing a Value Cost Ratio when buying anything. However, I’ve already determined for me that the value Starbucks provides (to me), isn’t really worth it. I just didn’t put enough time and effort into finding the best option for me, instead just settling for “what worked.” I should really practice what I preach right?
So I wanted to explain a few advantages to cutting out Starbucks:
I can leave my house about 10 minutes later than previously. Since I had to stop by Starbucks before going to work, it usually meant I would leave for work about 30 minutes before my shift. Now, since I don’t go to Starbucks anymore, I get those 10 minutes back and I have the flexibility of leaving a little later. It may not seem like much, but it adds up over time.
Time is money, friend. Time is the great equalizer.
The other benefit is that sometimes at work we’re so busy that I don’t finish my coffee until nearly 9pm. This means sometimes at like 9pm I’ll finish like 1/3 of the Venti Pike — which isn’t optimal. This isn’t a huge deal, but as we all know Starbucks coffee is strong. If you drink it at like 9pm and you get home around midnight, you may have trouble going to sleep. You might say, well just don’t drink it then… but then I spent $3 on coffee to not drink it? That would be ridiculous… right? Of course, I understand it’s a sunk cost and I’ve already paid the $3 whether I drank the coffee or not. However, that just goes to show that I am probably wasting coffee and money.
Hmm… anything else?
Yea. Another unexpected benefit is that I had forgotten how much I like tea. It didn’t make much sense to drink it at work when I had such strong Starbucks coffee that I usually wasn’t able to finish in time anyways. However, now that I drink less coffee I’m able to work some tea into my routine. That said, this tea isn’t weak either, so I don’t make too much of it after 9pm, but it’s something to look forward to at the end of the shift.
Long story short, over the last month I’ve managed to cut down on my Starbucks intake significantly. It probably isn’t enough yet to recoup the costs of the coffee maker, tea, and brew basket. However, I think overall it’s a good change for me.
So no more Starbucks ever?
Oh no. I still will be going to Starbucks once in awhile to grab a Venti Blonde and Cake Pops for the kids.
However, it won’t be an everyday thing anymore. Just trying to keep Trimming the Fat.
TL;DR
I cut out Starbucks (again). It’ll last this time — I hope.
Always use the Value Cost Ratio.
I forgot how great Jasmine tea is.
Time is money, friend. Time is the great equalizer.
-Sensei
Agree? Disagree? Questions, Comments and Suggestions are welcome.
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