Starbucks People

[NoWayOut]

the random acts of kindness occur quite frequently at Tims as well, at least out in my neck of the woods.

Starbucks drip coffee runs about 2.50 a cup and it pretty crappy, overroasted and burnt. Starbucks does a decent enough espresso that runs 4-6 bucks. It is passable and will do in a pinch. As mentioned above it gets by more on the perception that it is a good fancy coffee house rather than its product.

You mention perception and I think that's at the heart of a lot of Starbucks people. They want desperately to be perceived as hip, and it's a weird side-effect of coffee in general. I notice this at Starbucks in particular but also at my favorite local coffeehouse. I see a lot of people, the more complicated the order, tend to puff themselves up. A sort of look at me, I know your impressed, moment. Almost as if their drink order is a social statement, look at me I'm a hipster!

[Dutch]

also, It doesn't matter if starbucks coffee sucks.

starbucks is not in the coffee business, they are in the distribution business

just like mcdonalds. doesn't matter their food sucks, as long as there I an outlet every 2 km up the road, they will make a killing for providing convenience

[VincentVega]

Must be August for a coffee thread to generate so much interest ... who cares is the real answer.

[STLblues]

I care more to read this than the 57 post asking me to forecast/rank Nyquist vs Toffoli etc.

[VincentVega]

I care more to read this than the 57 post asking me to forecast/rank Nyquist vs Toffoli etc.

lol true, there have been lots of repetitive discussions about the same bunch of players

[STLblues]

But I feel your point to man it's def august! I'm ready for some puck man!

[VincentVega]

But I feel your point to man it's def august! I'm ready for some puck man!

Only 47 days 23 hours and 47 minutes left

[plug]

Only 47 days 23 hours and 47 minutes left

Let me guess... Your league is hosted by cbs?

[forumname]

I think the real issue is that the majority of people have been duped into a false understanding of what they can afford, and what they deserve.

I have more money in the bank than the average person (doesn't take much and I am faaaaaaarrrr from wealthy), but I recognize that I can't "afford" a $4 coffee. It just doesn't give a good return on investment. For that matter, I can't "afford" a $1.80 coffee either.

We're told that we deserve those small luxuries and conveniences, but it really does hurt a lot of people in the long run.

A $4 coffee every day amounts to $25,525.38 over 10 years (assuming you could get a 10% return on that money if used elsewhere).

Over 20 years, that number becomes $91,731.64

If you can "afford" that, then by all means have your daily $4 coffee. If you could benefit from an extra $90,000 in 20 years, you may want to consider being a bit less lazy and coming up with a cheaper alternative.

Convenience is very expensive, and those selling it are very good at convincing us of the opposite. It's only a few bucks they say! You can find the change in your couch cushions!

[forumname]

Sorry to post again but I couldn't resist - over 30 years it grows to $263,453.63 - close to the number I need to hang em' up for good and live off the return.

In other words, a $4 coffee everyday from the age of 18-48 will cost you almost as much money as what I consider my early retirement fund. People will argue that giving up their daily coffee is too big a sacrifice, but is it really a bigger sacrifice than having to tack on multiple extra years of work?

[Dutch]

I think the real issue is that the majority of people have been duped into a false understanding of what they can afford, and what they deserve.

I have more money in the bank than the average person (doesn't take much and I am faaaaaaarrrr from wealthy), but I recognize that I can't "afford" a $4 coffee. It just doesn't give a good return on investment. For that matter, I can't "afford" a $1.80 coffee either.

We're told that we deserve those small luxuries and conveniences, but it really does hurt a lot of people in the long run.

A $4 coffee every day amounts to $25,525.38 over 10 years (assuming you could get a 10% return on that money if used elsewhere).

Over 20 years, that number becomes $91,731.64

If you can "afford" that, then by all means have your daily $4 coffee. If you could benefit from an extra $90,000 in 20 years, you may want to consider being a bit less lazy and coming up with a cheaper alternative.

Convenience is very expensive, and those selling it are very good at convincing us of the opposite. It's only a few bucks they say! You can find the change in your couch cushions!

and a 10% interest rate should be pretty reasonable to get.

but it all comes back to what I said.

it's all about distribution, not the product (mcdonalds/starbucks) they don't care about coffee bean farmers in brazil, they care about the bottom line.

convenience is very expensive indeed

[Dutch]

Sorry to post again but I couldn't resist - over 30 years it grows to $263,453.63 - close to the number I need to hang em' up for good and live off the return.

In other words, a $4 coffee everyday from the age of 18-48 will cost you almost as much money as what I consider my early retirement fund. People will argue that giving up their daily coffee is too big a sacrifice, but is it really a bigger sacrifice than having to tack on multiple extra years of work?

the only flaw in your theory (which I agree with) is that people would need to invest that same amount of money that they spend on starbucks, and in reality they wouldn't. If they don't spend the 5 at starbucks, they will buy a 5 dollar movie at walmart instead.

people in today's world aren't disciplined enough to save, hence the retirement age people (babyboomers) retire at or below poverty levels for the most part.

and the generation after that isn't doing much better yet.

[forumname]

the only flaw in your theory (which I agree with) is that people would need to invest that same amount of money that they spend on starbucks, and in reality they wouldn't. If they don't spend the 5 at starbucks, they will buy a 5 dollar movie at walmart instead.

Sadly, you are absolutely right... If only people could see beyond the sticker to the true cost of things.

[VincentVega]

Let me guess... Your league is hosted by cbs?

Let me guess too, yours is hosted by cbs too?

[newfcollins]

I
[And my wife, she's a swell person, seriously swell. Very kind. She wants to save the planet. Very caring girl, extreme, extreme democrat. Far left wing. But she also feels that spending $4-$5 on a coffee... for herself... or the person behind her... is OK....]

The last part of this quote is kind of interesting. During the Great Depression, women would buy lipstick even though they couldn't afford it (lipstick sales actually increased during the depression). Women felt like just putting makeup on in the morning allowed them a small bit of time to just enjoy a small thing in life when everything else was looking dreary. It gave them happiness, and that was worth it for them even though they couldn't afford it. Instead of being able to buy big purchases, they bought little small things that give them happiness. It's called the lipstick effect.

You know the $5 cupcake you buy at a store? During the recession a couple of years ago, cupcake sales were up. Same reasoning as the lipstick. Even though people couldn't afford it, it gave them a reprieve, so to speak.

I wonder if the $5 coffee is much the same way. You even say that you don't have that money to spend on coffee, but she does it anyway. Maybe it's simply a small thing in life that she feels like she can splurge on to make her happy.