Get Thee Behind Me, Starbucks

If this quote looks unfamiliar, it’s from the Bible (only slightly modified). Shame on you for not reading it more. If you know where this quote comes from, you are probably thinking that I am sacrilegious. Perfect. I have offended everyone before I have even taken the first sip of Chai Tea. All in a day’s work.

I am sitting here writing at Starbucks and feeling so grown up. Only people who are incredibly creative and super important bring their writing to a coffee shop. If someone asks me what I do for a living, I may have to say, “I dabble in freelance writing.” Would that be bad?

One of the most difficult aspects of cutting back on a budget is taking a good hard look at all expenditures and deciding what stays and what goes; what is a necessity and what is extra. So, I headed up this investigation and Starbucks Tazo Chai Tea (Venti, non-fat, iced) rose to the top of the unnecessary items list. I was horrified! I made every excuse possible:

I am a stay at home mom; haven’t I sacrificed enough?

The baristas always have stimulating, intellectual conversations with me and I need that regularly

I’m sick of Kool-Aid and chocolate milk

It’s just $4.08 (including tax)

And there it was, staring me in the face. How much was that per drink? How many times do I like to go? I had single handedly plummeted our family into financial turmoil! Not really, but it was still pretty shocking. The so called “latte effect” had darkened our door. What were my options?

It was here that I gave pause and did some deep thinking. Is it possible to not give up this luxury in its entirety? Is there a cheaper alternative? And so my quest began.

Here’s what I discovered. Tazo Chai Tea mix is sold at the grocery store! The box is $4.95. I am sure that you are doing the math in your head already. Each box of Chai Tea mix can make several Chai Teas (depending on the size that you make). Skim milk is always in the fridge, so I was set.

My Starbucks experience is kept even more realistic by saving the cups from my actual Starbucks trips (like today) and rinsing them out and using them at home. For those of you who would scoff at this and you snobs who would never stoop to this level, I pull out this one from the old playbook, “I am just doing my part to be green; to protect our environment. Rinse and reuse so that I can reduce waste.”