Do you love your money....a latte?

I am a coffee queen. I love coffee. I am known among my friends as a serious caffeine addict and I don't plan on giving it up any time soon. I love mocha lattes as if they were a drink of water as I'm dying of thirst. I used to drink them every day.....but now I don't.

Why not? Simple reason.....I need the money.

Lattes are amazing yet have proven, time and time again, to be the silent killers of the pocket book. Unless you have your own espresso machine and limitless supply of espresso and milk, they are near impossible to just have on hand every day. Yet, going into a Starbucks or to your local Fair Trade, campus owned coffee shop is just too easy......After all, it's only $3.10 (sans tax), right?

Wrong. $3.10 comes out to $15.5 after five days are up, which leads to $62 by the time the month is over. By the time the year is up, that means you've spent $744! $744!! That can buy textbooks for a semester! For me, that's just $112.50 over my monthly rent! And remember, this is before sales tax calculations. It may not seem like a lot of money, but it really is if you're in college. Especially when you can take that money and put it toward something you really care about.

My solution? You don't have to get rid of the lattes but cut back on them. Have them once a week if you really have that craving. Get a coffee maker (or, better yet, a roommate who already has one) and start brewing your own French vanilla/hazelnut/whatever blend. If you want the latte feel, just steam up some milk and have an au lait instead. Mix hot cocoa in it, do whatever you want. It's OK (and as a full-time student working over 30 hours a week, necessary) to feed the beast that is your addiction. Just make sure you don't kill your pocketbook in the process.