11 Things You Could Be Buying With the Money You Spend on Coffee

Coffee: addictive, amazing and unfortunately expensive. The average American spends $1100 a year on coffee purchased outside of the home. For those of us in college, that is a sizable amount of money. If you haven’t figured out how to save at Starbucks, you probably spend even more than the average with their fancy seasonal beverages.

If you stopped drinking coffee for a year, you could buy so many different things. Some outrageous, some practical, all show you how much your coffee addiction is worth. You might be going cold turkey before you know it.

1. 55 30-packs of Bud Light

For those of us in college, beer might be as good as currency. If you quit your coffee addiction, you can afford 55 30-packs of Bud Light (at an average of $20 a case). That is 1650 beers. You’ll have enough to last through a couple semesters of college, or enough to throw some crazy ragers – as long as you’re 21.

2. Sub-adult South African Crocodile

Not like you would ever buy one of these – I hope – but you could, and that’s the point. These mid-aged crocodiles were actioned off for $1100 in South Africa last year. Not sure if these would be allowed in your dorm room, but maybe you could keep one in the backyard of a frat house.

3. 27 liters of Grey Goose

Stay classy, my friends. Grey Goose may seem expensive and not worth the premium price, until you realize you can buy 27 bottles for the small price of buying coffee out. Seems like a small price to pay for some smooth vodka. If you drink a bottle a month, that’s over 2 years of vodka.

4. Macbook Pro

How long have you had your laptop? Want a new one? Willing to give up coffee? Everyone thinks that Macs are crazy expensive, and try to wait as long as possible to get a new one. Well, just stop drinking coffee for a year and you’ll have enough to get a new Macbook Pro (without retina).

5. 1100 Items at the Dollar Store

The dollar store is a college student’s best friend. You can get all your kitchen supplies, food and cleaning supplies and still have money left over for some random holiday decorations and a party hat or two.

6. Free Beer for Life from a Minnesota Brewpub

Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub which was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives will give you free beer for a year if you invest $1000 in them. Sounds like a great deal to me, if you live in Minnesota. If not, maybe they deliver?

7. A Pair of Milla Louboutins

What girl doesn’t want a pair of these classic red soled shoes? For $1100, they could be yours. If you don’t want to spend all of your hard earned, coffee-deprived dollars on one pair of shoes you can get a pair of their infamous black pumps for only $675.

8. Roundtrip Airfare to Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro may seem like a far off dream, but getting there is easier than you might think. If you have ever dreamt of hiking the highest mountain in Africa, it is definitely worth ditching that cup of coffee. You’ll have an awesome picture at the top as a reward for all your hard work (I’m talking about not drinking coffee, not the actual hiking).

9. One item off the Taco Bell $1 Menu for 3 Years

Drunchies are essential to every college student’s life. $1 menus are also useful for those days where you are out all day, forgot to eat, and don’t want to spend a lot on lunch. Taco Bell has recently added dollar breakfast to the menu for those who are lucky enough to have one on their way to a 9 a.m. lecture.

10. 5 Night All inclusive Bahamas Trip with Airfare

Dreaming of paradise? It’s not that far out of reach. If you stop drinking coffee now, this could be yours by next Spring Break. Not to mention this Groupon deal is only $899, so you have $200 left over for spending money. Since it’s an all-inclusive resort, you can spend it on some Bloody Mary’s on the plane.

11. 64 dozen cookies from Insomnia Cookies

Warm, soft, gooey cookies delivered straight to your door = heaven on earth. 64 dozen, or 768 cookies, are not that far away. That is a cookie a day for over two years. While it might not be the healthiest option, Insomnia is worth it.