Those anyone who has ever attended some form of financial course somewhere, online, or just opened up a finance 101 book has probably come across the oldest example in modern finance: the at home brewing vs. coffee house expenses. There have been lots of back and forth on this and stating that coffee house coffee is simply only better because the in debt consumer has bought into the lie.
Just a little back drop so that you know a little bit of where I am coming from
1. I do not drink coffee.
2. I used to work for a major coffee house that starts with an S and ends with an S.
3. I am pretty frugal but but service and quality does not get trumped by my frugality.
So back to my question… Are you an at home brewer or a coffee house frequenter? Do you prefer the daily visit to the coffee house for your coffee or do you pride yourself your coffee skills that surpass any offee conneseurs?
I totally agree that lots of money go to these coffee places and further plenty into debt as they spend money they don’t even have. There are better ways to spend that money than on coffee, but just as that goes, there are just as much worse ways to spend money too, such as drugs, junk food, and things that hurt other people.
So why do we do it? Why do we get into more debt when you can do it – brew your own coffee – but don’t do it? We all want to be out of debt, right? But are we willing to brew?
Why do we spend so much on coffee? Is it because we value great coffee? Possibly. But if that was the whole truth, why not buy their beans and brew it ourselves at home? It’s the same beans!!! Can we not “feel” just as good making it at home too and saving our money? We can… but what does all this really boil down to? My answer is… VALUES.
The hard-to-deny truth is that it is not about the $ but the VALUE we put on the things that we spend our money on.
It is about the feel (more) good effect and we feel good when we can have what we VALUE, and in this case of the coffee house, we value the act of someone serving us and making our coffee more than anything. I always hear it, “It’s not the same at home.”
There is just something about having someone else make or do something for you, whether it be over your coffee or that Thai food at that restaurant, despite you being Thai and can make it just as good at home or even better. People put value on service and being served…. people just like me. Oh I love being served. There is no doubt that is my Love Language.
Someone made the argument that using coffee as an analogy for wasted money is a waste of time and and suggest that we use a better example like a Gardener. It appears this guy does not have a gardener or not know the their value because if he ever has had one and seen them at work, I think he would skip the coffee to pay for a gardener. Yes, one can feel as good gardening one’s own yard, but what if you had to be a Gardener when you know that you could be elsewhere that same day and making in one hour what you would have been paid if you were to perform the job of your gardener? Would that make you feel good? Probably not. You would rather be served and pay for the gardening service as you VALUE something else more.
For those who value service, you would probably be feel better knowing that you can be served by a gardener and you have served him by paying him. You would feel better that you are able to do what you are good at, make good money, hire someone for what they are good at, and help someone stay in business while you are an instrumental part to putting food on his table.
And that’s my point, it is not the money saved or the money you earn for yourself by not spending it, but the feel good effect of attaining what you value in the form of service; feeling good at what your money is able to do for you.
I agree with someone on a post on this matter. Forget about the brew vs. coffee house argument…. simply increase the income. Rid of debt, increase income and neither one requires self-banning from your favorite type of cup. Wasn’t it Jim who said, “Don’t wish it were ____, wish you were better. I say, let’s make a better income and keep the small business open and feel REALLY GOOD about it too. Feel good that you can have coffee YOUR WAY and receive its VALUE regardless of how it is made. FEEL REALLY GOOD about getting to what make you FEEL REALLY GOOD – whether that is saving and spending your $’s on you or keeping someone employed and someone’s business open.
Here at home, we French Press Peet’s Coffee Beans, frequent Peet’s Coffee locations and do Starbucks when Peet’s is not nearby. I say, Let’s drink “each to its own” cup and FEEL REALLY GOOD about it!
