And now for something completely different.

My wife and I regularly go through our budget and try to find areas we can cut back, in order to be better stewards of our resources. “Dining: Snack” which equates to “Lattes” is always higher than we’d like or expect.

A few years ago, when I worked at Starbucks, we purchased a small Via Venezia Espresso machine using Christmas money, holiday sale prices and my employee discount. We’ll occasionally make lattes from home, but it’s so nice to walk around the corner to the local coffee shop (We’re in Old Colorado City, so Jives and Agia Sophia are our faves) and grab a drink from a smiling barista who does the prep and clean-up for you.

But what is that convenience costing us?

Being a self-professed (and quite frankly, others-confirmed) nerd, I opened up excel to see what a homemade latte costs. What are we spending on convenience?

Breaking down the cost of milk, syrup and espresso, I calculated the amount needed per drink and how many drinks were possible, based on the amount purchased. The summary: a homemade latte costs roughly $0.87 (not counting electricity and time).

Supposing that a latte at the nearby coffee shop costs about $4.00 after tax, that’s a $3.13 convenience charge to have someone make a latte for me. And maybe that’s worth it, every once in a while, because it supports the economy and the latte experience is certainly enjoyed.

Sobering thought

But, when I consider that more than 660 million people live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million on less than $1 a day, that convenience charge begins to look rather inconvenient. Ordering a latte doesn’t keep people in poverty; not ordering one doesn’t directly help, either. But being mindful of how we spend our resources can help free up funds that could potentially impact the world.

I like that a “latte”.