Small victory but I'm proud of myself...

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Small victory but I'm proud of myself...
10
Fri, 12-31-2004 - 12:59am

I have a really hard time with Starbucks coffee...I am addicted! I keep telling myself I will just make coffee at home, I can wait until I get home to have a cup, only one Starbucks outing per week, etc. Yet, I seem to ALWAYS be spending money at Starbucks! My favorite drink is $3.70 a pop, and if I take ds with me the total goes up to around $5.50 for the two of us. Last February (when I was doing a GREAT job tracking every penny) I spent $70 at Starbucks just on drinks for myself! YIKES!

So, what's my victory??? Today, I fought the urge TWICE to go to Starbucks! I had to go to a doctor's appointment and Starbucks is practically on the same corner, plus it's DRIVE THRU...how convenient! And, I had ds with me too! I did NOT STOP!!!! I managed to satisfy myself with a cup at home after my appointment and later made myself a peppermint hot chocolate as an extra reward at home! :) YEAH!

So, I saved AT LEAST $5.50 today by NOT stopping at Starbucks! Let's see if I can do it again tomorrow! My goal is to last thru Monday morning without stopping at Starbucks!

My goal is to ONLY go to Starbucks ONCE per week...some weeks I go as many as EIGHT times...sometimes even more!!!! I plan to go on Monday mornings with ds as a beginning of the week treat for the two of us...that's $5.50/week which will be a really small amount considering my past Starbucks habits!

I know some will say, "Well, why go at all? Why not STOP going and ONLY take coffee from home?" Well, I tried total avoidance of Starbucks in the past and it completely backfired every time...I end up going MORE if I try to say no entirely. So, I'm going to try limiting myself...it's worked for me in the past!

I also am going back to tracking every penny I spend, even ten cents in a vending machine! I figure the New Year starts on Saturday so that's the perfect time to start my new Starbucks and spending tracking goals.

Small steps but they are in the right direction....

Malea

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Fri, 12-31-2004 - 3:51am
Way to go!!!
It is the little changes that will add up to bigger progress. Just think "If I can make it through today..." I don't have any similar addictions (unless you count Pepsi, which I am NOT giving up : ), but I do the delay gratification thing, too. In fact, all last week I wanted to pick up a couple of sweaters for myself. I still want to pick up sweaters for myself, difference is that if I went today I could pay cash. Last week, I couldn't. $4 a day is pretty significant. So every day you can manage to do without is awesome. I totally understand your victory dance.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-1999
Fri, 12-31-2004 - 5:50am

Malea,

I think I'll join you in tracking spending starting tomorrow, too! I stopped in August, but I found it really helpful in my quest to save money....it forced me to be accountable to myself everyday, and it helped me keep spending down. I hated writing down a lot of entries for one day, and I tracked the 75 cents in the vending machines, too. I have to be careful in January 2005, too, because the expenses are going to be high, and the income is going to be lower than usual, and I can't predict the income yet.

I just used a plain notebook and just started tracking. It will be interesting to compare Jan. 2005 to Jan. 2004.

Happy New Year!

Littlesbigs

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Fri, 12-31-2004 - 8:49am


Would it be cheaper to buy the starbucks coffee beans either at Starbucks or a grocery store and make it at home? That way you would have the yummy taste of Starbucks, but at a lower price? Maybe look at the dollar store for a nice insulated cup that will fit in your drink holders in your car? That way you could make it at home, put it in your own cup, and it should stay warm during your drive.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2004
Fri, 12-31-2004 - 8:52am


We're tracking like this too. DH set up all our accounts in his Quicken program, and he created two additional accounts for my cash and his. When he buys something with cash, he has to record it in the Quicken program...even if it's a vending machine purchase. Same with me. If I am out with my son and he asks for a quarter for a gumball machine, I have to record it when I get home in the Quicken program....that .25 cents was spent on a gumball machine. This way we truly know where every penny is going.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Fri, 12-31-2004 - 11:27am

Congratulations on your victory. You are doing a good thing. To really motivate yourself on the days you avoid Starbucks but the money you saved in a jar or an envelope. At the end of the week make a deposit and pay on your target debt. It will really add up.

Julie

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Fri, 12-31-2004 - 1:21pm

Good for you! Sometimes it's the small steps that get us where we want to be.

I like the idea of getting the Starbucks coffee beans so you can make the coffee at home. It's not *exactly* the same, I know, but it may help take the edge off the craving. Or, you could get a part-time job there, lol. My friend's little brother works part-time, and gets discounts on the stuff before and after his shift, plus gets a free pound of coffee a week as a perk! (He doesn't drink coffee, which is why that's so funny, lol)

Seriously, though, every time you don't go there but do redirect your money into a snowflake-it adds up quickly.

~Lisa

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-15-2004
Fri, 12-31-2004 - 5:11pm
Are you planning on taking that money that you didn't spend and put it aside (like in a jar or something)? Just wondering, because any time I decide to make cutbacks, if I don't see that money piling up, it kills my motivation.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Sat, 01-01-2005 - 8:28am

I also have a mjor starbucks addiction!!! Those damn frappuccinos kill me! But I am not allowing them as a daily part of my diet! (even though the light ones are yummy too!) I am saving them for once a week. I promised myself I would go to the Barnes and Noble (they have a starbucks cafe) and sit down with a nice magazine, crossword puzzle or book and relax and have one. That way I can really enjoy it. Usually I just sucking on the thing while I am running around work. And before I know it, it's gone!!

kel
ps. I definitly recommend buying the starbucks coffee.. also they sell those flavored syrups in the coffee aisle now!! you can also experiment with flavored creamers. For that homemade "latte" taste.. I brew some really strong starbucks, and heat up about half a cup of milk in the mircowave. When the milk is nice as warm I put a lid on the microwave cup and shake like a mad woman. (it makes the milk all nice and frothy.) pour your coffee and maybe a small but of the flavored syrup in a cup, then add in the milk! yum! I swear it tastes like an expensive latte!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Sat, 01-01-2005 - 12:10pm

I just have to say, Malea, that I work to support my Starbuck's habit. =)
j/k
I know what you mean. I do brew Starbuck's from home and take it to work or just enjoy from home, but sometimes, I have to just go there. Don't deny yourself completely or you will end up rebelling and going everyday!

Here is what I have done to help myself in the past and am going to start doing it again..when I set my grocery budget, I allot so much for Starbuck's and put it on a Starbuck's prepaid card. When I reach the end, that's it until next payday.

Raising my coffee cup to you in the New Year from one Starbuck's junkie to another,
slojuly =)

Avatar for nicholasaleksandr
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-29-2003
Sat, 01-01-2005 - 7:27pm

good for you, you should be proud of yourself. I tend to get addicted to dunkin donuts coffee so I know how you feel. anyway , you have inspired me to start tracking my expenses

mary anne