Don’t Buck Starbucks

Starbucks has a pretty bad rap. Lately, there has been the news that the coffee giant is closing 600 stores. But even before Starbucks had these financial difficulties many people saw the chain as a sort of representation of all that was wrong with capitalism; it was the big, heartless chain store closing down locally-owned businesses.

Starbucks does make a point to open up stores next to already established mom and pop coffee shops and wants to be the exclusive coffee vendor in the area but according to Slate Magazine, Starbucks actually helps these locally-owned or small chain stores.

“Just over the five-year period from 2000 to 2005—long after Starbucks supposedly obliterated indie cafes—the number of mom and pops grew 40 percent, from 9,800 to nearly 14,000 coffeehouses”

Because Starbucks isn’t like a big box store that offers cheap products at cheap prices, it’s not really undermining the often more-affordable local coffee shops. Indeed, Starbucks coffee is notoriously expensive (A recent survey says that 76% of Americans think it’s too expensive), but people choosing to spend more for their caffeine fix at the local ‘Bux is not hurting the cheaper, local shops.

I was listening to NPR the other day and they mentioned something called the “Latte Factor”, which is basically taking all the money that you would spend on coffee and similar “unnecessary” things and spending it more wisely, or investing it. It makes sense; the math they did indicates that if you buy one coffee a day (which is a tad unrealistic) then you spend around $1500 a year supporting your coffee habit. That’s $1500 dollars that I could be putting towards my credit card debt or investing so I can have money to put a down payment on a house. Or so they said.

But there is one thing that this “Latte Factor” doesn’t really factor in: I’m a grad student. If I don’t get coffee, I’m just generally not a fun person to be around. And, as financially prudent as it may be, I have no intention of giving up my four-times-weekly Starbucks fix. I just make sure to budget for it and give up, perhaps, eating out as much, or going shopping. It’s a ridiculous expense, yes, but no more so than paying $4 a gallon for gas, or spending $28 to get a pedicure.

There are other ways to save money at Starbucks. If you need several cups of coffee a day, take advantage of the new “treat receipt” program that Starbucks has recently implemented. It allows you to buy one coffee in the morning and then come back after 2 p.m. to get $2 off of your next coffee purchase. Make friends with the baristas, who are usually very friendly (because most of them get paid leave and health insurance, not to mention free coffee and bonuses). If you are a regular, they are more willing to upgrade size or even give you free coffee. Also, there is a good chance that if you live near a college campus, you are going to have a Starbucks in the general vicinity, which saves money on gas.

It’s understandable where this bad rap came from, but it’s largely undeserved. Given the choice, I will always go to a locally owned store over any chain, but I don’t ever feel bad about getting my Grande Nonfat Iced Mocha from the Starbucks across the street from my house.

[Image from Inthesetimes.com]