Conscious Spending 2020 – A Coffee Recap

Waaayyyyyy back in the start of 2020 I wrote about some of my plans/goals/ideas for the year here. If there’s something I love in life, it is COFFEE and goals. 🙂

One such implementation took the shape of me limiting my Starbucks spending. I put $100.00 on my Starbucks app virtual “card” at the start of 2020 and I wanted to see if I could stretch that $100.00 across the whole of the year. By my (albeit sometimes bad) math, I concluded that amount would allow me one “treat” or “convenience drink” every other week, so long as I stayed under the cost of roughly $3.84 per visit. Mind you that calculation did not include “star” redemptions, discounts, special offers, gifts from others and/or birthday freebies.

Now, I have never been one to actually just go to Sbucks every day because I love it, but I spent a lot of money and time at them during my many years as a student, and since there’s one super close to the office where I work. In actuality, I would say there’s one super close to just about anywhere I go; however, that’s here-nor-there, but I decided to brew my coffee at home and put myself on a “coffee shop” diet.

Now, with just around 3 weeks total left in 2020 – I am proud to report that somehow (ok ok ok, thanks probably in large part to COVID) – my card balance remains at…a staggering $42 dollars and some change! WHAT?! To be honest, even I am a little surprised by this BUT I am planning to just roll whatever’s left over into the same plan for 2021 and see how it goes! I can offset how much I have to “invest” up front for my 2021 “100” budget, and see if I can’t manage to make this work again.

Thank you to:
– Starbucks – for your reward program, your PSL, your convenience/locations, temptingly cute cups, and your freebies that are frequent and quite generous.
– My dear friend RN – who graciously bought me more than a couple drinks on her card during various hang outs.
– My other friend RR – who has also fueled my coffee habit BUT also helped me get free coffees this year at another place during a month long promo lol which undoubtedly offset my Sbucks visits that month.
– My mother, and the many, many bloggers/financial advisors who hammered home the idea that I didn’t need to drink a fancy coffee at a store every damn day of my life, just because I thought I could/should.
– Death Wish Coffee Co. and Black Rifle Coffee Co. – for their amazing blends, cool gear, and awesomely strong, hot bean water that I love so much. PS – thanks for all the stickers that now adorn everything I have in my life.

I won’t say I did perfectly with all areas of my spending this year – but small wins create momentum, and I feel excited by it! What about you? Any interest in finding new or different ways to test yourself or reign in your spending in an area? Would you do the $100.00 per year challenge?

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