I drink at least one cup of coffee every day and sometimes two. Most days, I buy a latte at a coffee shop. Oh, and I have to get non-dairy milk (instant $1 upcharge) because I’m lactose intolerant.
As a recent college grad, I’m always looking for ways to save money; but as a coffee lover, I’m constantly trying out new coffee shops. With my regular order being an iced oat milk latte, I’m usually paying at least $6 per latte.
Let’s do the math.
Cost of buying coffee
On average, my coffee order costs me $6. Drinking an iced oat milk latte (two shots of espresso over oat milk) daily costs me $2,190 on coffee a year.
Cost of making coffee at home
According to some rough estimates from Spoon University, it costs around $200 a year for one shot of espresso and a cup of oat milk daily. The lattes I order typically have two shots of espresso, making that about $400 a year for the ingredients in my daily lattes.
Note that the $400 cost doesn’t include the one-time cost of buying an espresso machine. Espresso machines range in price from $100 to over $20,000, but according to a quick Google search on espresso machines, solid starter espresso machines are about $500 and should last five years with proper care. Therefore, I will add $100 a year to account for the cost of an espresso machine.
With these estimations, it would cost me roughly $500 a year ($1.37 a day) to make my own daily oat milk lattes.
The cost difference is indeed significant.
There is a $1,690 difference in the yearly cost of buying versus making my coffee order, averaging a difference of $4.63 a day.
I won’t sit here and say that it’s not a big difference. I’ve seen many people defend the daily cost of coffee online by citing the math and explaining that $2,190 is insignificant because it won’t “buy you a house” or “help you retire.” They explain that you should just spend the money on the coffee because the amount of money you’ll spend on coffee will barely make a dent in the big expenses you need to pay.
Yes, compared to the grand scheme of all your expenses (or any single big expense like a mortgage), $2,190 is not that significant. Still, $2k is no small sum of money for most of us.
I asked ChatGPT what could be bought with $1,690, the extra money I’d have if I made my own lattes at home. The response I got included a long list of expensive things including high-end smartphones, mid-range laptops, some luxury clothing items, vacations, rent, etc. $1,690 can also be used to make a significant dent in loans, tuition, savings, and other big purchases.
So…why am I still dropping $6 on my daily iced oat latte?
Simply put — the vibes.
Yes, I drop more than $2k a year on iced coffee because I genuinely love the experience of it.
But there’s more to it — let me explain.
There are many different types of people at a coffee shop. In the morning, there’s an influx of people grabbing their morning cup of coffee on their way to work. There are people who meet there to catch up with friends, people reading, students studying, and then there are tons of people with their laptops out browsing or working away.
Coffee shops are the ultimate coworking space.
When I’m looking for my morning caffeine fix, I always choose coffee shops that have seating, tables, and WiFi. Bonus points if they have outlets! When I get there, I’ll usually buy an iced oat milk latte and maybe a pastry. Then, I’ll connect to the WiFi and do work there for hours.
I do a lot of work on my laptop and remotely. I work a hybrid software engineering job, write online, read books, draw, etc. By far, coffee shops are my favorite place to work (I am writing this right now at a coffee shop!).
They are more inspiring.
I find that sitting in a coffee shop amidst the environment — the buzz of the coffee machines, the chatter of the patrons, and soft coffee shop music — I feel very inspired to get things done casually. At a coffee shop, I feel much more motivated than if I were to be at home or even at a traditional office space. As a result, I get so much more work done, all while sipping on my daily latte and munching on my pastry of the day.
They are cheaper.
The experience that I get while at a coffee shop is comparable to a hip and lively coworking space; only a coffee shop is much more casual and more vibrant. You can do work and experience similar energy as a coffee shop by paying premiums for coworking spaces like WeWork.
The biggest reason why I think it is financially worth it to buy that “overpriced” coffee is that I treat my time at the coffee shop like it’s a coworking space.
Let’s use WeWork as a point of comparison. It costs $29+ to use a WeWork office for one day. When you compare the cost of membership for a coworking space, finding coffee shops that double as a workspace is a steal.
At a coffee shop with a good setup for working remotely (WiFi, ample tables and chairs, not too crowded or loud, etc.), it can cost as little as the cheapest drink for you to sit there for the whole day. Plus, you get to drink fantastic barista-prepared beverages and food while getting stuff done.
When you compare the cost of membership for a coworking space, finding coffee shops that double as a workspace is a deal and a remote work hack.
They are more flexible.
Value coworking space memberships are typically not that flexible and require some level of commitment.
You can purchase a basic WeWork membership starting at $149 a month or an all-access membership for $299 a month. This comes out to about $5 a day if you go 30 days in the month. While a $5 fee is decent value to work in a coworking space for a day, the monthly membership confines you to work at WeWork all month if you want to get your value worth.
Additionally, coworking space memberships tie you to locations. For example, the WeWork basic membership confines you to 180 locations while the all-access membership gives you access to all of their buildings. If you travel, especially to less urban environments, it can be difficult to commit to these plans.
On the other hand, working out of a coffee shop means literally no commitment and so much flexibility. You can go any time during their hours, stay as long as you want, and any day you want. Coffee shops are also everywhere where there’s civilization.
Let’s go work at a coffee shop.
The coffee shop experience fuels my creativity and productivity like nothing else, and it’s really not something I can replicate at home. The dynamic environment, the camaraderie, and the inspiring atmosphere make it worth every penny.
The joy it brings to me when I’m sitting on my iced oat milk latte makes it an investment in my passion and potential. So, I’ll gladly continue sipping on my daily iced oat latte and fitting it into my budget.
P.S. Maybe it’s not for everyone, but I’ve even gotten a lot of my non-coffee-drinking friends to be regular coffee shop goers for the work environment too.
