The Starbucks Savings Plan

I am the room mom in my son’s classroom. At Christmastime, I organized a class gift for her, and one of the items was a gift card to Starbucks. In her thank you card to the class, she wrote how excited she was because she stops at Starbucks every morning on her way to work. I was very excited that we got her something she could really use. At the same time, I started doing the math in my head.

There are roughly 180 days in one school year. If she just gets regular coffee, she’s spending a minimum of $1 a day. If she gets a latte, mocha or any other concoction, she could easily spend more than $5 a day. In one school year, that’s $180 -$900 just for coffee.

The point of my story is not to judge. We all have the right to spend our money the way we see fit. However, if you are looking for a way to save money, and you’re a daily Starbucks visitor (or any other food establishment for that matter), this is the easiest place to cut back and put money away for something else.

Think about what you could do with an extra $900 every year. That could be a cruise or other vacation for your family, home improvements, part of your down payment on a new house or car. On many health insurance plans, $900 would cover your deductible for a hospital stay – something we don’t always plan for. It could be emergency money for unexpected car repairs, or unexpected travel expenses to see a sick relative. That money could also cover part of your mortgage in case of job loss.

Let’s do some more math. What would happen if we cut out just one $5 drink or lunch a week and put that money in a Prize Savings Account. At the end of a year, you’d have $260, plus interest. Give up two of those drinks or lunches, and you double that.

Now, nobody is saying don’t eat out or don’t go to Starbucks. We’re just encouraging you to really think about where you spend your money if you’re trying to save more. Skipping just a few trips a week can really add up and put more money in your pocket. Put yourself on the Starbucks savings plan and see how much you save.

What other ways do you have for saving money? Let’s continue the discussion here.