I know of literally thousands and thousands of people who buy expenses coffees daily.
How? Because I was curious and I've asked a lot of baristas if they see the same people every day, and every single barista I've spoken to over the past 20 years has indicated that they serve hundreds of the same people on a daily basis.
I have a few friends who own coffee shops or coffee shop chain franchises, and I took a keen interest into what their client base was, so I started asking and it's just become a point a small talk for years.
So yeah, overpaying for coffee, often multiple times a day is definitely a thing.
DH was one of them until I calculated for him that he was spending more than his entire share of groceries on his stupid Americanos.
That said, it's absurd to generalize it to mean that frugality means you "can't" buy lattes if you want to. That's just silly.
Going out for fancy coffee/tea/Italian soda/whatever is a favourite activity for DH and I, we utilize it as an inexpensive alternative to going out for cocktails or meals.
As people above said, it's never about not spending, it's about understanding the real impact of everything you spend.
It was never about the lattes, it's about the dozens and dozens of latte equivalents and how they all add up very quickly to an absolute hemorrhage of money without actually getting much in return.
Yup, exactly. Used to be a Starbucks barista myself, and there are loads of regulars, even at 4 AM in the morning. A lot of people see it as a treat. That's fine, if that's what they can 'afford' in the Bigger Picture, but I personally think way too many people overuse the 'treat' excuse while still complaining that they're poor or that they can't afford XYZ. And ditto on the 'latte equivalents,' which can also be applied on a caloric context, too... You know - if you're in surplus, then you'll gain fat...
I know too many coworkers who even when there is FREE coffee at work, they still come in with a Starbucks. Sure, they may just like specialty espresso beverages, but it's so easy to prepare at home. And most of that crap is just some espresso shots with flavored syrup. I have a coworker that also sits directly next to me, so I always see him coming in every weekday morning with a Starbucks and a pastry. That may be about $10 each time, or $2400 a year if only consumed once per week day. When feeling especially "budget" he goes to McDonalds. I'm sure there may other factors in his life that prohibit from making the choices to prioritize student loan pay off, but espresso beverages and pastries sure aren't helping. I also know far too many people who eat lunch out instead of packing their own lunch to work, which could be around $3600 a year, and some of these people are the same people with the latte habit. Then they go out to bars, etc. and get expensive drinks. This stuff adds up!
There are too many people out there with the attitude of "it's just a little bit of money," so the spending might as well be negligible, when it's quite the opposite if it's more like a daily ritual, something they always do on their commute, as normal as brushing their teeth in the morning. For some people, it's even a multiple-times-in-one-day habit.
That all being said, I do on occasion like going out to get a cafe beverage, usually a tea with steamed almond or soy milk, like 0-2 times a month. I can make all these things at home, so sometimes it's just about the experience, if I'm going to be out and about town.
