Coffee… Expenses… Value

By Randell Tiongson on June 30th, 2009

I have to admit that if there’s one thing I need to cut back on, its coffee. I simply love coffee and my day is not complete without sipping a cup. I like my coffee simple as I prefer brewed coffee with a little milk and some sweetener. I also do not substitute brewed coffee with instant coffee, it’s really not the same.

Coffee is good for me, it helps me focus and because of it, I can do more work — like blogging, haha! However, coffee can be harmful in excess, both physically and financially. Too much caffeine in the body is definitely not good for you and some people develop an acidic stomach because of too much coffee. Too much coffee can also hurt your wallet. Imagine drinking two cups of your favorite latte or those coffee blended stuff many people love to drink on a daily basis.

Let’s do a little math here: let’s assume you spend an average of P200 per visit to your favorite cafe and you do it 6 times a week; and let’s say you will do this in the next 10 years. Instead of spending this on coffee, you instead invested it and your average investment yield is say, 5% p.a. — your money would have been P 760,710.94  at end of 10 years!!!

A lot of people do not realize that the compounding effect of the ‘small’ things they spend their money on would have amounted to something ‘big’ in the future. The issue is not just expensive coffee. How about eating out? Cell phone bills? Shopping?

Don’t get me wrong. I love coffee, I like to eat out, I use my cell phone and I go shopping. The issue is if we do it excessively. Like they say, anything that is excessive  is not good and if we can  see the actual cost of those excess, we will think twice, won’t we?

Since I budget my expenses a lot, it doesn’t mean I won’t take coffee anymore. I like to brew my own cup at home, the cost of a home brewed cup would be just a tenth as compared to your favorite coffee shop. I also go to coffee shops from time to time too. Since I am an independent, coffee shops has been like an office for me where I meet clients and friends, work, read and kill time while sipping coffee.

There’s one coffee place that I like going to because of value, The Coffee Bean & Teal Leaf. Why? Their coffee is priced a little lower than the famous Starbucks and as a coffee aficionado, I can say their coffee tastes better. I also love their service… the crew of Coffee Bean are always courteous, friendly and efficient.  They also have this cool rewards program called Swirl which not only gives me rewards points, it gives me unlimited internet access! I love Coffee Bean because even a cheapskate like me who spends just a measly P100 gets impeccable service and unmatched courtesy. In their outlet in Promenade, the crew there are so friendly and courteous that whenever I visit there (not that many times mind you!), it feels like home.

So folks, try to moderate your spending and if you do have to spend, spend it where you get really, really good value.

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8 thoughts on “Coffee… Expenses… Value”

  • i agree! coffee bean’s hot coffee is definitely better than starbucks but the fraps are not that good though =)

  • I am a CBTL fan too! When I was reviewing for the boards, I used to study in CBTL Eastwood everyday! It feels and smells like home as soon as you get in!! Great staff too! During that time, I felt like I had their tea lattes flowing down my veins already!

  • Looks like there are a lot of coffee bean fans indeed. For the record, I am not being paid by coffee bean for writing this, haha!

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Coffee… Expenses… Value