two years ago, being the color-coded spreadsheet chart-and-graph making weirdo that i am, i decided to analyze chris’ and my starbucks spending pattern. in april and may 2006, we spent $237.21 (or $118.61/month) on coffee drinks that make us gain weight.
seeing it on paper like that was a shock, so we have cut back significantly.
well, at least, that’s what i thought.
i just went in and added up our starbucks for the last two months. in april and may 2008, we spent $42.82 (or $21.41/month) on coffee drinks that make us gain weight. actually, that is way more than i thought (and hoped) it would be.
monday, i shared with you a decision the pinkhairedgirl and i made to forgo our annual tradition of tattooing. with that donation, the one-month salary for a rescue center employee was just paid. with crystal’s donation on top of mine, two employees had their salary paid.
today, i am sharing with you my “no more paying for starbucks” decision. i am not going to buy anything at starbucks for the next year. the java chip frapp i am sipping on right now will be my last until june 1, 2009. i am taking that money ($20) and de-worming 128 kids a month. because really? that is a lot of kids with worms and that just isn’t right.
i am sharing these facts and figures with you not as a “oh, check out MY sacrifice” kinda thing…but to show you that we are putting our money where our mouth is (or perhaps taking away our money from where our mouth is?)
your starbucks fund can help feed children. even if you just gave up two or three lattes a month, look at what you can do.
as aaron said earlier…we are unapologetically asking for your help and sacrifice.
it’s your turn. you will make a decision today. what will you do?
WILL YOU GIVE UP YOUR STARBUCKS (OR _________) WITH ME? ONE YEAR. DARE YA.
Comments
33 responses to “STARBUCKS AND WORMS: WHY I AM GIVING UP STARBUCKS”
my mom works for them, she might disown me if i quit! :)
but there are plenty of other frivolous things i spend money on. like lipgloss. one day i counted and i stopped when i got to 20 b/c it was making me sick.
thanks for this reminder and for letting me know about real hope for haiti.
I really, really like your graph. I have toyed with the idea of giving up my monthly coffee allowance, though it is not as substantial as yours. I am just pretty certain that I would fail. Or like stop buying toothpaste in order to get my fix. Your graph, however, is something I could do…at least to put it in perspective. Baby steps, right? Thanks for the inspiration.
Anne,
I’ve wrestled with these same decisions. I spend waaayyyy to much money on things that don’t matter much. The problem I had was trying to figure out what to give up and when.
Therefore, my wife and I decided to just give 15% of our income away. Some to local church (i’m a pastor) but I also give certain percentages away to social justice needs. I do this off the top-so nothing gets in the way. And if we have to cut something out of our budget…It won’t be the 15%.
This has really freed me up.
Thanks for being a spokesperson for those who are in poverty.
Chris
http://www.simplymissional.com
I was going to give up gas.
So now with that extra moolah, can use it for something worthwhile.
I certainly not going to spend it on me. I would just blow it all on crud.
you rock my frickin’ socks clear off.
I like it. My wife and I have been spending a lot of time recently looking at several different areas that need some trimming in our finances. Especially our restaurant line.
Check this out, it’s just one more attention grabber & guilt giver. > Global Rich List
Adam
you inspire me. serious.
So proud of you. You rock.
Maybe you’ll get some Starbucks cards from Jesus. He likes to suprise us sometimes.
i will be giving up unlimited text messaging, providing 30 people with malaria treatments for $10 a month.
I think it’s great that you guys are aware enough to really take a look at where your money is going. Our family’s income has been drastically reduced this past year and I’ve been forced to make some changes – but at the same time, I WANT those changes to be made. I love “stuff,” but after a while, what’s the point?
So where does this leave Teavana?
Thanks for sharing all you’re giving up (or are inspired to give up–now take that step! woohoo!) :)
Julie, fortunately I have never purchased an ounce of Teavana for myself. As Natalie said above…I’ve been surprised by gifts! :)
Pondering…thanks for the challenge. I need this!
Starbucks and Worms…never thought I’d hear those two words together in a title!
I don’t go to Starbuck’s but I have other things I spend on….Great challenge!
anne! giving up starbucks?!? wow.
when i was in haiti last month, it was hot. HOT. and there was no air conditioning. as in, it was non-existent. heat is normal.
i came back to texas and had planned on getting my ac fixed in my car, but i keep thinking about those precious faces i saw at the rescue center. i keep thinking about what amazing things god is doing there. and how much they need our help.
needless to say, i sent the air conditioning repair money to haiti last week. :) it might be hot in texas, but i know my ac will get fixed eventually… it’s more important that we meet the real, immediate needs of those who need it most.
thanks for sharing your story and challenging others!
I am so glad you have a heart for de-worming children! If we ever have that problem at our house, I now know who to call!
I have said it before and will say it again, I love your heart. Thank you for showing how simple it is to change lives. Your attitude to challenge other is contagious!
Or there is the appropriatly named “Mocha Club”…$7 a month (two mocha/lattes a month) to help people in Africa. http://www.mochaclub.org.
I’m having the opposite problem as a missionary in Paris…I need to start going to Cafes to try and connect with people, and I can’t quite bring myself to spend $5 a week on a drink…kinda ironic. Your passion for helping those in need is encouraging and I know God is using your transparency to multiply what is given as others are inspired to serve also. God bless you!
I’m all over this idea. but…….in the meantime…..couldn’t we contact Starbucks and ask THEM to spend enough $$$ to deworm thousands of kids?????
love your passion on this. i make my own capps and fraps so is that cheating? HELLO! did you have to put emphasis on the fact that they make ya gain where ya don’t wanna!? so not what i wanna hear…=)
Anne,
You and Chris are amazing people and I praise God for young people like you two that are committed to making a difference in our day.
Keep doing what Christ would be doing in our day. He and His passion for the poor and suffering is being lived out through you.
Know that you are loved,
gaj
cool stuff… that again very amazing and something that i completely agree on… just the other day me and me bro and one mate… spent over £10 on cafe/frappes at Cafe Nero that about $19 crazy really and that could have gone straight to someone who really needed it… namely a kid with worms… but thing is it was nice and the atmosphere was great and we had a great time chatting in the loft on a nice big leather seat… so its going to be hard to give that up cos its not quite the same buying a machine one and sitting on a cold wet English town bench… i guess its a sacrifice…
trcwest.com/blog
Anne, that’s genius!
Radical!
i work at starbucks, and i also get my health insurance through the company even though i average about 25 hrs/week. i definitely understand the idea of giving up the unnecessary in order to provide for those whose needs are greater, but here’s another thought from a starbucks coffee master:
in moderation, isn’t is also good to support businesses who share the same goals as you?
i knew before i started working there that starbucks had some pretty good ways of doing business. what i didn’t know is that starbucks pays top dollar to the coffee farmers when other companies low-ball (they’re in the process of fair-trade certifying all of their coffees), starbucks teaches the farmers how to do their jobs better, and starbucks builds schools and clinics in the communities where their coffee farmers live.
starbucks provides their in-store employees with medical, vision, dental, life, and disability insurance if they work at least an average of 20 hrs/week. also, the employees can put their kids, spouses, or even boyfriend or girlfriend on the same insurance.
in fact, the mission statement of starbucks is “to Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow.” (i copy-and-pasted from here: http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/environment.asp)
my point is this: we live in a consumer culture. america, and most of the world, is some form or another of capitalistic. you won’t escape it, no matter how much you simplify. even if you could isolate yourself enough to eliminate all of your consumer ways, you still wouldn’t even make a DENT in the system. so … why not choose to be a WISE consumer, and when you DO spend money (even if it is relatively frivolous, which will happen i’m sure), make sure your money is supporting a business who is already doing in the world what you are trying to do with your life?
which is why i don’t shop at wal-mart, even though i would save a lot of money if i did.
I think it’s awesome what you’re doing! I appreciate the way you show all of the creative ways we can give. The exposure is making me want to sponsor a child – I think I’ll be presenting the idea to my family.
I love that! I donated this week already, I have been reading his blog due to the adoption connection we have.
BTW I buy Community Coffee instead of Starbucks as much as I possibly can and I DONT drink the fancy drinks, I am a black with Splenda kinda girl but CC’s has a strong fair trade ethic, they were featured in Christianity Today magazine and are local (Louisiana) so I feel like I am doing a good thing when I enjoy my coffee.
I found Rachel’s comment really interesting and enlightening.
I am not a Starbucks person. I home-brew Kobos http://www.kobos.com/, for many of the positive reasons that Rachel was mentioning about Starbucks.
A simlar lifestyle analysis is what motivated us to buy a fuel-efficient Toyota Echo (36MPG)almost eight years ago. It is saving us more money than ever this year! That frees up money that, in turn, goes to a wide variety of assistance organizations.
Anne,
If you are trying to take my coffee away, I am giving up flowerdust.net for a year.
BA
Wow – giving up Starbucks for a year! A friend and I have embarked on a Year of No Clothes Shopping ( http://thecybermonk.blogspot.com/2008/01/and-so-it-begins.html), and as I was pondering what to use the money I would save for, and opportunity to raise money for cancer research came up. So this year’s clothing budget has gone to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society via Team in Training. I highly recommend exercising to raise money for charity btw, it’s a win win situation!
Tho now my friend and I are pondering giving up buying books next year – dunno if I could handle that one!!
Hi, Just found your link via 5min4moms. Amazing. I need to give up Starbucks too. We all need to. It is frivolous spending. Sometimes it’s entertainment spending. You can tell, I’m not ready to give up yet. But, I will CUT BACK. Thanks for a very informative post.
Cheers – here’s a virtual gift card flying your way.
I really appreciate your heart!! I do tend to agree with Rachel from Starbucks, though. I did cut back from the fattening cappacino with caramel sauce, to just regular Pike Place and am saving between 2-3 dollars a day. But, I still spend some money there and I’m still supporting my daughter, who also works at Starbucks.
There are all kinds of things we can cut back on in order to be obedient to God’s call to support one thing or the other. Slowing down while driving, not getting haircuts as often, eating a burger without fries, etc., etc.
Thanks for making us think!