What started as a routine coffee run with my wife—right after her birthday—turned into something I didn’t expect: a wake-up call about spending, rewards, and the habits we normalize without thinking.
This isn’t a takedown of Starbucks. It’s a reflection on how a seemingly small habit—like spending $1,300 a year on coffee—can quietly add up to $13,000 over a decade. And more importantly, what else that money could do if we paused long enough to notice it.
In this story, I walk through the moment that sparked it all, the numbers that made me pause, and the three paths we started considering—whether it’s brewing at home, investing the difference, or starting something of our own.
It’s not about guilt. It’s about clarity.
And about developing healthy financial habits that help us improve our financial well-being.
My wife and I celebrated her birthday on a Friday in May. And on her birthday, while I was heading home, I decided to get her a Starbucks gift card and her favorite drink—a Caramel White Mocha.
When I got home, I left it on the table and went about my day because I knew she’d walk by and smile when she saw it. It was a small gesture, but it meant something.
Fast forward to Saturday—that’s where this story really begins.
It’s her routine on Saturdays to grab something from Starbucks. I needed to make a return at Target, so we decided to run our errands together and enjoy the morning. But this Saturday was different—it was the day after her birthday, and she had a free birthday drink to redeem.
She ordered her usual: Caramel White Mocha Hot (this time free for her birthday) and a Bacon, Gouda, and Egg Sandwich. While we were waiting, I asked her why she liked getting rewards from her favorite places. She lit up, pulled out the app, and started explaining how the points work and how her favorite reward is the handcrafted drink.
Out of curiosity, I looked at a few of her past purchases and calculated that she earned about 1.87 reward points for every dollar she spent.
Then I asked ChatGPT: “What’s the average weekly or monthly Starbucks purchase per household?”
Here’s what it gave me:
So I calculated what $1,300 per year in spending could earn you in rewards points. The answer: 2,400 stars.
Then I asked: “What’s the most commonly redeemed reward at Starbucks?” ChatGPT replied that handcrafted drinks are among the most popular redemptions.
Each handcrafted drink costs about 200 stars, so 2,400 stars would get you 12 drinks.
Next question: “What’s the average cost of a handcrafted beverage?” ChatGPT said $5.50 to $7.50, so I took the average—$6.50—and multiplied it by 12 drinks. That’s about $80 in value.
So let’s do the math: you give Starbucks $1,300 and you get $80 in drinks. Does it add up?
This was the moment I sat there in silence.
After going down that rabbit hole, I turned to my wife and said, “I wonder how much you spent at Starbucks last year.” And then: “I wonder how many of us are quietly spending this much without even realizing it.”
About a week went by and something reminded me of that moment at Starbucks—and that’s when I pulled up her transaction history.
That’s when the title of this article started to feel less like a headline… and more like a reality.
This wasn’t some exaggerated stat. If someone’s spending around $1,300 a year at Starbucks—and a lot of people are—that’s $13,000 over ten years. Quietly. Consistently. One drink at a time.
So I did what I do—I started thinking deeper.
How much are we really spending at other places like this? What are we getting in return and is that return worth it?
In 2024, my wife spent $825.38 at Starbucks across 40 visits (about $21 per visit). By April of 2025, she had already gone 15 times and spent $375.62 (about $25 per visit). At that pace, she was on track to hit over $1,100 for the year.
If that continues—and it easily could—we’re talking about more than $11,000 spent at one brand over the next decade.
And I’m not saying she shouldn’t enjoy her coffee. I’m not against joy. But something about seeing it all laid out like that… It made me pause.
And then it made me ask the kind of question I try not to avoid anymore:
“What’s really going on here?”
My wife uses the Starbucks app almost every time she goes. She’s consistent with it—earning stars, tracking her points, and looking forward to the next handcrafted drink she can get for free.
She probably redeems about 10 of those a year, which is roughly $65 in value. So when you zoom out, she’s spending at least $1,100 per year to get $65 back in return.
That math? It works great—for Starbucks.
But for most of us, that math stays invisible. We feel the reward in our hand. We don’t see the thousand dollars quietly slipping away in the background.
That’s when it hit me—we’re playing the game as consumers, not owners.
And we’re playing it well.
My wife wasn’t being reckless. She was being consistent. It was just part of her rhythm—Starbucks on Saturdays, rewards in the app, the drink she enjoys. Nothing wrong with that on its own. But when I stepped back, I saw the pattern. And once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it.
Turns out, we’re not the only ones.
People aren’t careless—they’re just stretched. Most of us are doing the best we can with what we know. But at some point, we need a moment that helps us step back and see things differently.
For us, it was a free birthday drink.
So if you’re spending $1,300 per year (about $25 per week) on coffee, what else could that money do?
That’s a question we started asking ourselves. And here are a few paths we’re exploring—maybe you’re thinking about one of these too.
If the goal is to keep the coffee without the constant swipe, making it at home might be the move.
You don’t need anything fancy. A basic drip machine or single-serve brewer, some decent beans, and a milk frother is enough to get you started.
If you want something closer to the Starbucks vibe, there are machines that can replicate it. We looked at the Delonghi Magnifica Evo and Breville Barista Express. At $100/month in spending, these machines pay for themselves in about a year.
If you enjoy dialing in the perfect espresso, experimenting with beans, or steaming milk just right—there’s a world of machines for that too.
No matter your budget, brewing at home isn’t just about saving money. It’s about reclaiming your routine. Making something with your hands. Enjoying the process.
We also asked: "what if we just invest some or all of the money that we spent at Starbucks each year?"
We ran the numbers using a 5% annual return. Here’s what that looks like over 10 years:
Whether you invest all or invest some, the return you get is about 26%.
That’s not just money saved. That’s momentum going towards building your future.
And maybe you’re someone who doesn’t just want to save—you want to build.
If you used that same $1,300/year to start a small business—like roasting your own coffee—you might be surprised at how far it could go:
You’re not trying to be Starbucks.
You’re just turning spending into something that reflects your values, your skills, and your story.
We’re not cutting Starbucks out completely.
But we are becoming more intentional to develop healthy financial habits.
At some point, we’ll probably buy an espresso machine. We’ll also keep investing steadily throughout the year. Those might seem like small changes, but for us, they mark a shift—from spending on autopilot to making decisions with a little more purpose behind them.
It’s less about cutting things out, and more about asking, “Does this still make sense?”
Reading this might’ve stirred something in you—and maybe you’re starting to wonder, “What’s my version of the $1,300 per month habit?”
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It's a good way to:
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Starbucks didn’t build a $100 billion brand overnight. They did it one swipe, one sip, one routine at a time. And if we’re honest—we helped.
But once we zoomed out and looked at the bigger picture, something shifted.
Maybe it’s time to stop putting all our energy into building someone else’s empire… and start investing in our own.
Even if that investment starts with something as simple as a home espresso machine.
We’re not saying no to joy. We’re just giving it a new framework. If we’re going to enjoy good coffee, let’s do it in a way that keeps more money in our pockets—and maybe even shows our kids something different about how joy and money can work together.
This isn’t about guilt. It’s about noticing.
The habit wasn’t the problem.
Not paying attention to it was.
What habit might be quietly costing me more than I realize?
What could I build with that money instead?
What does developing healthy financial habits look like for me?
Write it down. Reflect on it. Let it lead you somewhere better.
Your story is worth paying attention to.