Featured Posts
Why We Are So Bad at Buying Happiness

Why We Are So Bad at Buying Happiness

"Those who say that money can't buy happiness aren't doing it right."  Have you heard that joke before?  Well, it turns out that there is more than a kernel of truth in there. People are generally bad at buying happiness because: 1. We buy to keep up with the Joneses / ...

Read More

Hair, Hair, Everywhere – the Recession Edition

Hair, Hair, Everywhere – the Recession Edition

I wrote a hair post in both 2007 and 2008, so I suppose it's only appropriate to continue the tradition in 2009! This post is dedicated to recession's impact on hair budgets. The recession is a major reason why I've been neglecting my hair a bit during these past several months: ...

Read More

Experience, Not Stuff

Experience, Not Stuff

Experience, not stuff: I've decided to make this my mantra to live by. It'll be hard, because I like nice things (ex: shoes), but guess which of the following I remember the most? (a) A $100 leather jacket purchased in Buenos Aires, that I've worn ONCE in 3 years. (b) A $45 hour-long horse ride on ...

Read More

What Sex And The City Taught Me About Love, Life, and Money

What Sex And The City Taught Me About Love, Life, and Money

Sex And The City: The Movie is coming out in May! I am so, so excited, and I'm betting that many Sex And The City feel the same way. Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda - you ladies have been missed! (By the way, I love the photo below - head-to-toe ...

Read More

5 Year Travel Plan: Making Your Travel Dreams a Reality

5 Year Travel Plan: Making Your Travel Dreams a Reality

I've been struck by a bad case of the travel bug lately... I haven't been out of the country since 2007, which seems like a long time. CB and I are saving for Galapgos, but we also want to travel quite extensively in the intervening months before our Big Galapagos ...

Read More

Graduate School: (When) Should I Go?

Graduate School: (When) Should I Go?

Graduate school is a significant undertaking both in terms of time and money. During the last few months, I've felt some pressure from concerned family members about going to graduate school. I know they only want the best for me, but I'm glad I followed my gut instinct and ...

Read More

Should Parents Pay For College Education

Should Parents Pay For College Education

A college education has, for a large percentage of society, become the de rigueur entry-level degree. "Should parents pay for college education" is a question where the answer is always, "it depends." In today's economic climate, I imagine that many parents are having the difficult talk with their kids ...

Read More

Free GMAT Study Resources

Free GMAT Study Resources

Taking and prepping for standardized tests isn't cheap, fortunately, there are many free study resources available online. I've taken advantage of most of these resources when I was preparing for my test last year. Hopefully you will find them helpful as well. Free Online Study Materials The GMAT Uncovered by ManhattanGMAT: A ...

Read More

7 Steps In Overcoming Rejections In Job Search

7 Steps In Overcoming Rejections In Job Search

Rejections during job search are disappointing, to be sure. Nobody likes to be told that they were qualified candidates, but the management has decided to go in another direction. In this environment, however, rejections are common-place through out the job search and interview process. After the initial disappointment wears off ...

Read More

How to Host a Dinner Party On a Budget

How to Host a Dinner Party On a Budget

Hosting a dinner party is always fun, but right now I need my get-togethers to be budget-friendly as well. Remember when I made crab cakes? That was for a group of 5 or 6 friends. The crab cakes were delicious and everyone loved them, but, crabs are expensive! Two pounds ...

Read More

Pure Altruism - Does it Exist?

Pure Altruism - Does it Exist?

Every time the holidays come around, feel-good human-interest stories surface. This is a time to give to others, help those in need, and realize that the world is not as cutthroat or as competitive as we may believe. But is it true? Can people be purely altruistic? The authors of Superfreakonomics (the ...

Read More

The Price of Addiction To Argentine Tango

The Price of Addiction To Argentine Tango

It's happened. I fell for the sultry dance, hard. (I even made its own category!) I leave class with a big smile on my face. I read Argentine tango forums and blogs. I fall asleep thinking of boleos and molinetes. I'm not sure how my wallet feels about the possible financial ...

Read More

Old Cars: Unsung Heroes of Personal Finance

Old Cars: Unsung Heroes of Personal Finance

New Cars are shiny, gleaming, loaded with the latest technology and features. New cars get the big commercials on TV, where they swerve confidently in snow storms, zoom down idyllic country lanes, and maybe even dance a little to the sound of a state-of-the-art in-car sound system near a trendy ...

Read More

Disney World Recap

Disney World Recap

I realized that I haven't really talked about my Disney World adventure (aside from the Dining Plan review) on this blog yet... and well, that oversight must be rectified! If you have any specific questions about Disney World, please ask away and I'll do my best to answer. We Got To ...

Read More

Job Fairs: How to Prepare So You Stand Out

Job Fairs: How to Prepare So You Stand Out

Job fairs can be a great opportunity for applicants to interact with many different companies. But if you don't prepare adequately, job fairs can be a disaster. Last week, I attended a job fair - prior to the event I debated whether I should go. I had heard the horror ...

Read More

How To Practice Safe and Responsible Credit Card Use

How To Practice Safe and Responsible Credit Card Use

Wait, you mean you never had a credit card education class in school? Okay, me neither. The quality of education these days! But there's no reason that high schools or colleges shouldn't offer a class like this. After all, credit card education isn't an awkward topic like the other type of ...

Read More


Another Cost of Studying: "Coffee Money"

by WellHeeled on July 6, 2009

Coffee Lover Another Cost of Studying: "Coffee Money"When I was preparing for the GMAT, I’d frequently go to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Starbucks, or Borders to study.

Often I would be too distracted to study at home. The libraries around my apartment would close at in the early evenings… that’s way too early considering I usually got my studying in between 9PM and 11PM.

At $3-$6 a sitting (I’d usually get a drink, sometimes I’d splurge for a sandwich), these study sessions aren’t cheap. I went out to study at least once or twice a week. Assuming an average expenditure of $10-$20 a week, I was spending $50-$80 a month on coffee drinks alone!

I don’t know how I got into studying at coffee shops - it’s a habit that started in high school when I first started cramming for statistics at a Starbucks.

Mentally tallying up all the coffee money I’ve spent in the name of studying…. must have been in the hundreds.

image source: reallynatural.com

You May Also Want To Read :

{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }

S. July 6, 2009 at 9:39 pm

When you put it in the perspective of $50 a month for coffee, it does sound like a lot of money. On the other hand, t sounds like it has paid off for you. You got a return on that investment with your great scores. Thank goodness college libraries usually stay open late so that should help when you do go back to school.

Reply

AK July 6, 2009 at 9:49 pm

Ahh I miss Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf! I wish all coffee shops made their ice like that.

Anyway I took at least 6 Coffee Bean/Starbucks breaks each week during the school year, so yeah, that ended up being a problem for me as well. Then I discovered Jamba Juice’s oatmeal which took care of the mornings… whoops.

Reply

.deb. July 6, 2009 at 10:19 pm

I work/study at coffee shops pretty frequently, and consider the increased productivity worth the cost! I often get a lot more done in a coffee shop than in my office… and as a grad student, happily take advantage of that flexibility :)

Reply

Katie July 6, 2009 at 10:38 pm

I like the routine of going to the coffee shop and getting my one cup a day. I don’t buy the expensive lattes; my Americano with sugar-free vanilla syrup and nonfat milk comes out to less than $2. My husband and I are saving at least $1,000 a month, and I have very few other things on which I spend, so I figure if one cup of coffee gets me through the day and gives me a little pep in my step, why not? I’ve felt guilty about the “latte factor,” but if I’m really frugal in other areas, why can’t I have this one thing?

Reply

Sarah (theanalyst) July 7, 2009 at 5:06 am

Wow…I think we share a life sometimes. My blog even has photos of my second office (aka Borders, featuring a latte!). I would frequent bookstores and coffee houses for GRE studying, writing, etc. Thankfully, I’m done with the GRE forever. Recently, I cut my coffee purchases to one per week (not including whoel beans for the house). It is too expensive when I have to buy a house. I miss coffee dearly and it definitely challenging, but I have to learn to cope.

Reply

psychsarah July 7, 2009 at 5:57 am

I started drinking regular coffee when I was studying for my comprehensive exams for m PhD. I had been drinking only lattes and other such fancy drinks, but the cost was rising rapidly, so I switched, even though before that, I didn’t like regular coffee. I now blame my caffeine addiction to my comps.

I would concur with others that the increase in productivity and sanity (I studied with colleagues at the coffee shop, which was integral for my comps) was well worth the cost, and if it fit into the budget, why not?

Reply

Kathleen July 7, 2009 at 7:24 am

I miss Coffee Bean (no locations here in MA)! I now visit Dunkin’ Donuts regularly as I’ve started drinking coffee in the past year but never really liked it in college and grad school. It certainly is an expensive habit.

Reply

Lindsay July 7, 2009 at 2:23 pm

I am in this habit too but sometimes I buy coffee online at Starbucks.com through Ebates.com and get cash back on my coffee addiction!

Reply

Miss M @ M is for Money July 8, 2009 at 12:18 pm

Studying makes me massively hungry for some reason, I don’t know why my brain craves calories. But I was never very good at studying at the coffeehouse, heck I was never very good at studying anywhere! It’s a miracle I made it through school. If a coffee a day helped you get through school then it’s money well spent.

Reply

Mena July 12, 2009 at 2:02 pm

I just started studying for the GRE. I am sitting in Borders right now and just ordered a cookies and cream coffee drink. I have a feeling I need to budget for my coffee now.

Reply

Kona Coffee December 14, 2009 at 7:17 pm

When I was in college, there were no Starbucks or other places like that in LA so we went to Denny's late at night to study and for $2 had the endless cup of coffee all night.

Reply

Leave a Comment

CommentLuv Enabled

Previous post:

Next post: