Is it normal to buy a coffee every day?

[MatchingStraws]

DD is 14 and loves watching 'a day in my life' Tiktoks and Youtubers.

We have a regular debate over how aspirational their lives are. DD seems genuinely convinced that it is totally normally to buy an iced latte every day. Whereas I am huffing and puffing about how much that costs over a month

For a 14yr old, no. I take DD for a Costa on a Friday after school, sometimes she will have a Starbucks with friends, but she pays herself. But every day, no, it's not affordable for us.

I own a coffeeshop and it's very normal for a lot of people. I have many customers who come everyday for both sit in and takeaway, and sell a lot of cakes! Personally, it's not something I've ever done before I opened the shop but I'm very glad lots of people do!

When I’m at work I usually buy a coffee from the student-run cafe in our building. Otherwise, I might buy one once a week.

When I was in the office I used to buy an iced coffee everyday on the walk to work. Now I tend to just buy one if I have a few spare minutes after walking my son to school.

If you have a long commute into an office where there's no coffee but a jar of catering instant, or for an all day meeting, I can completely see why you would buy a nice coffee on the way from the station. Some workplaces have pretty minimal facilities.

Having said that, it seems another world now. We used to buy a lot of Costa as we were travelling for work but we bought a coffee maker and a subscription during lockdown. The cost does add up quickly too.

In Italy = yes
In France = not automatic
Iced Latte = never. It's not a coffee

Costa Coffees so shit though. I can understand if it’s an independent coffee shop that serves coffee full of flavour but people are buying over heated robusta.

@Fluffycloudland77

Costa Coffees so shit though. I can understand if it’s an independent coffee shop that serves coffee full of flavour but people are buying over heated robusta.

I love Costa because I don't like very strong tasting coffee.

I don't understand this faux bemusement, as if it's so difficult to understand that people have different taste buds and enjoy different things. I really dislike the taste of wine, but of course many other people like it so I don't pretend I don't understand why people buy it.

Its the creep of consumer society, you don't notice the amount of money being extracted from everyone for 'small treats'. Did those coffee subscriptions take off at all?

Try getting her to make it at home instead!

Its not normal in my circles but I have a bean to cup machine at home and can make it exactly how I like my coffee so I prefer mine now. Prior to that takeout coffee was a treat every now and again.

Normal amongst the wealthy, financially incontinent or illiterate and those for whom it is their one little (big) treat (and who may not have thought seriously about the long-term implications).

£2.50 every weekday = £600 in 48 working weeks.

£2.50 every day, 365 days a year = £912

So you could buy a holiday for that.

Or save for a house deposit. £4,560 in five years, plus interest. Still a meaningful amount outside London.

Meanwhile you can buy bags of ground coffee for £2.50, which last 3-4 weeks for one person with a cafetiere. So £37.50 a year.

So, not just aspirational but actually preventing you from achieving other aspirations.

The bigger issue is that this is probably not your only treat. There might also be nice make-up, professional hair colour, more clothes than are really needed, nights out... just basing this on 20-something self and people I knew.

People should have fun in their lives, a lot of this stuff is not wasted. But you do have to pick your treats, otherwise you end up in debt, or with no savings when you find you need them.

Lots of people do. Apart from the cost the environmental impact of all the cups and kids kill me. Can't use my reusable because of covid 🤷‍♀️

I'm in NZ and it's quite normal here (not for me though).

@lottiegarbanzo

Normal amongst the wealthy, financially incontinent or illiterate and those for whom it is their one little (big) treat (and who may not have thought seriously about the long-term implications).

£2.50 every weekday = £600 in 48 working weeks.

£2.50 every day, 365 days a year = £912

So you could buy a holiday for that.

Or save for a house deposit. £4,560 in five years, plus interest. Still a meaningful amount outside London.

Meanwhile you can buy bags of ground coffee for £2.50, which last 3-4 weeks for one person with a cafetiere. So £37.50 a year.

So, not just aspirational but actually preventing you from achieving other aspirations.

The bigger issue is that this is probably not your only treat. There might also be nice make-up, professional hair colour, more clothes than are really needed, nights out... just basing this on 20-something self and people I knew.

People should have fun in their lives, a lot of this stuff is not wasted. But you do have to pick your treats, otherwise you end up in debt, or with no savings when you find you need them.

I own a house and have holidays. Takeaway coffee didn't stop me doing any of that. I am not wealthy, my income is below the national average.

Yes, seems normal to me when going to work.

Not for me but it was for DH was he worked in the city centre. I’ve lattes will be full of sugar so not the healthiest. I would give her a weekly or monthly allowance and set out what it has to cover eg all social activities or she can buy clothes or make up of her choice. Then she can decide if it’s a good use of her money.

I don’t use Costa or Starbucks though, always tastes of burnt coffee from dirty machine.

Depends if you live and work in a big city or not

I live and work in a rural town - there are plenty of cafes

@lottiegarbanzo

Normal amongst the wealthy, financially incontinent or illiterate and those for whom it is their one little (big) treat (and who may not have thought seriously about the long-term implications).

£2.50 every weekday = £600 in 48 working weeks.

£2.50 every day, 365 days a year = £912

So you could buy a holiday for that.

Or save for a house deposit. £4,560 in five years, plus interest. Still a meaningful amount outside London.

Meanwhile you can buy bags of ground coffee for £2.50, which last 3-4 weeks for one person with a cafetiere. So £37.50 a year.

So, not just aspirational but actually preventing you from achieving other aspirations.

The bigger issue is that this is probably not your only treat. There might also be nice make-up, professional hair colour, more clothes than are really needed, nights out... just basing this on 20-something self and people I knew.

People should have fun in their lives, a lot of this stuff is not wasted. But you do have to pick your treats, otherwise you end up in debt, or with no savings when you find you need them.

What about those who smoke socially or buy a couple of bottles of decent wine a week, pay for a massage or get their hair blowdried, have a meal or takeaway on a Saturday night or go to the cinema. Why is coffee being singled out when there is hundreds of thousands of little short term treats people choose. We'd all be better off if we sat at home and ate basics food and drank water. Not everyone wants to buy a home! As for illiterate- what does people's reading and writing ability have to do with enjoying coffee?

Well said cocoloco987 There are, as usual, some very judgemental people here. I very much doubt they all sit at home not spending anything at all. People have different priorities, and there are a lot of things people spend money on which cost much more than a daily coffee.

As for those who don't understand why people buy coffee when they have a kettle at home - you obviously are not coffee connoisseurs.

When I lived in a flat where 2 doors down one way was a Starbucks & a costa 3 doors down in the other direction. It was very normal

Now it's a treat although when I do go in the morning before work. You can tell that there are regulars who have it in their routine to go every morning

I don't understand what teenagers are doing drinking coffee anyway. It's a drink for adults imo.

I've never really liked coffee but did go through a little phase of getting one from Starbucks each morning, when I passed goodge street tube. I suppose because it was fashionable. And they were nice from there. But a large one was a bloody fiver!

I did used to spend 10-15 a day on breakfast and lunch and drinks though 🙈

@cocoloco987 The responses are about coffee because the OP asked about coffee.

We could have responded about the extravagance of regular hair treatments, smoking, good wine or whatever.

As I said, 'people should have fun in their lives, a lot of this stuff is not wasted'.

As I also said 'But you do have to pick your treats, otherwise you end up in debt, or with no savings when you find you need them.' Which I think is the real issue with the situation OP describes; people behaving as if they're a lot wealthier than they are, in many aspects of their lives, in the hope that they will quickly attain the wealth they aspire to. If they don't, they end up in a lot of debt.

The phrase 'financially illiterate' is pretty well known and easily understood.

I used to - I got into the city early to avoid the traffic and spent a quiet hour with a coffee and the paper before going in to work.