Americano. Café latte. Cappuccino. Espresso. The many sophisticated ways in which you can enjoy your coffee. Ah, that beautiful beverage. It’s our 3pm re-charge (and) or that 6am boost. Either way, us lot love it. And Americans adore it! And now, it’s become as much a part of our daily routine as washing our face and brushing our teeth is.
Our love affair with coffee came from one company. Starbucks. That’s where it all began. They were the ones who were able to turn a boring old commodity into a $4 (or more!) splurge. And we all bought into it. They made buying our coffee into a personal experience. And a special culture of sorts.
Addictive stuff
In high school, I remember my art teacher being so addicted to coffee. So much so that her body would literally start shaking when she missed one of her daily cuppas. Another friend of mine drinks about six or seven cups of coffee. Per day that is! I honestly thought he was joking. But no. This is what he does. He tried to get me into the stuff. But that didn’t really go down well.
I don’t drink much coffee. Simply because I don’t like the taste. But, when I add a dollop (or several!) of sugar, to make into one sickly sweet thing then I’ll happily down it. Thinking it’s gonna magically wake me up and make me all perky. See, I think that not many of us actually like coffee, We just drink it because it’s become such a thing.
Everyone has coffee in the morning so I must do that, too, no? It’s almost become a societal norm and our go-to drink that we don’t really stop to think whether we actually like the taste (minus all that sugar). We had these Italian builders who drank the real stuff. Pure, unadulterated black coffee. They were appalled at the sweet stuff we used to drink!
Don’t care
In the land of economics, the less sensitive we are to price rises, the more that the producers of whatever it is we buy, can put up the prices. This is especially true of necessities or things that have very few (if any substitutes).
Take petrol. Now unless you lot have electric cars, you can’t quite fill up your car with any other (oily) substance. It’s gotta be petrol. So, whether petrol prices rise from 140p to 147p per litre, you don’t really have any other alternative. So, you gotta buy the petrol. At the higher price. And a couple weeks back when we had that spike in oil prices, I saw people queuing up for their precious petrol. They didn’t care how much more they had to pay. They bought the stuff anyway. C’est la vie.
But it’s not just these things that we (as consumers) are price insensitive too. See, I think that coffee fits right into it. Sure you can buy a cheaper (non-branded) packet of coffee aka not your Starbucks or fancy brewed stuff. But since you’re so into Your Specific Brand of coffee that you know and love, they’ve got you hooked. Nothing else tastes quite the same, you know?
So, switching your beloved coffee brand is probably a last resort for you, if that! Now moving on to substitutes. Because these companies (cough, cough, Starbucks) have made us obsessed with the drink, nothing else will do. Not a cup of English tea nor a hot chocolate. There is only one coffee and they shall have no replicas.
So, guess what us lot as consumers do when coffee prices rise? We keep on buying! These coffee companies have us eating out of the palm of their hands. Nothing anyone can do or say will change your mind, you tell me.
But what about this? The price of coffee has hit a 10-year high. This whopper price hike is down to two things. Supply and demand. A double-whammy. Demand for our warm beverage is rising all while supply is being strained. Shipping this stuff is no small feat thanks to ongoing bottleneck shortages. So, the only way is up.
It’s a no-no
We as financially savvy folk First and consumers Second, have to be able to say No. We’ve gotta be able to reject companies’ desperate attempts to grab our money. At the end of the day, they all want to sell us something. Your friendly, local Starbucks barrister who writes your name on your coffee cup is doing a wonderful job at persuading you to come back. You feel awfully welcome and this small gesture of writing your name on your cuppa makes you feel special. Marketing can be a real genius.
But with inflation and all sorts of uncertainty brewing (pun very much intended), you want to keep your pennies and pounds quite close to you. We’ve gotta be smarter than inflation. Read here what you can do about that and how to protect your money from inflation. ‘Cause it’s real. And it’s here.
Less is tastier
You don’t really need that £4 cup of coffee every single day. As a one-off, sure. But daily? That’s a wee bit much. Say you grab a cuppa every work day. That’ll cost you £20 a week (seems relatively okay). But it’s £80 a month. And almost one grand (£960) every year! On drinks you could’ve brewed at home. For a fraction of the price. To help you do that, why don’t you consider buying one of those metal bottles perfect for keeping things hot (and cold).
During lockdown, I bet you lot saved a ton of money from not commuting and grabbing your daily coffee plus a bought lunch. So let’s get back into the groove and not fall right into those pre-Covid habits. Because they were not helping our pockets.
Why don’t you keep that Starbucks of yours for occasions. Like when it’s bloody freezing out! I was waiting for the bus the other day and I was so desperate to hop into Starbucks and grab a hot choc (with whipped cream and full-fat milk, of course) but my bus was arriving in 4mins and I definitely didn’t wanna miss it. I guess my bank account was glad for that! But it’s times like that when you can say you really deserve it.
See the thing is, it’s not just coffee that’s rising in price. Everything is. Which means it’s time we slowly but surely change our habits. See, if I have a budget of say £100 for groceries and prices go up. Guess what? I buy less. That means fewer cakes (luxuries) and more veggies (necessities). It’s time we switch up our mindset and stop falling into the trap of buying things simply because they’re what we’ve always bought.
Mindful Me
You’ve gotta know yourself and what works for you. And if your purse is feeling the pinch from all this (coffee) inflation, then do something about it. Don’t be passive and let inflation eat into all that you’ve worked for. Because all that money was once time. And that time ain’t coming back.
It’s okay to have that Starbucks. It’s okay to have that Nespresso. But if it’s something you pick up almost everyday that you no longer feel (or even notice) the pinch, then maybe it’s time to start thinking about it.
Be mindful of whatever you’re doing and always be sure that you aren’t living above your means.
“You can be twice as rich by deciding you need half as much” ~ Unknown
So go on, beat that inflation beast. You can do it!
Disclaimer: This blog is not investment or financial advice. It is my opinion only. This blog is not a personal recommendation to buy/sell any security, or to adopt any such investment strategy. Always do your own research before you commit to any investment.
Knead Your Dough 