TIL some people spend over $500 a month on restaurant coffee - is that a treat or a waste?

I was at a Starbucks in downtown Nashville last week and overheard a guy telling his friend he budgets $550 a month just for coffee shop drinks. That's more than I spend on my entire grocery bill for two people! Part of me thinks if it brings you joy and you can afford it, go for it. But the other part of me thinks about what else that $6,600 a year could do, like a vacation or building up savings. What's your take on this - where's the line between enjoying life and going overboard on daily luxuries?

2 comments

2 Comments

lunakim18d ago

You said $6,600 a year but that's actually $500 times 12, which is $6,000 even.

finleyf8818d agoMost Upvoted

Well hold on, because I've actually had this exact same math issue come up with my own budget before. The thing is, when you're looking at monthly expenses it's really easy to accidentally multiply wrong, especially if you're trying to figure out yearly costs quickly. I remember I did the same thing with a car payment once - thought it was $400 a month and told my wife it was $4,800 a year, but I forgot to check my math and it was actually $420 which changed the total by a lot. My advice is to always double check your multiplication with a calculator or even just write it down on paper before you make any big financial decisions based on those numbers. A small slip up like that can mess up your whole yearly budget if you're not careful.