Here’s How Much Money You’d Have If You Spent $5 a Day on Starbucks Stock Instead of Coffee
Written by
Gabrielle Olya
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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While financial experts have long preached that $5 lattes are a reason many people are struggling with their money, others have shunned this advice, stating that this small daily indulgence is not the problem. Of course, every person’s financial situation and preferences are unique to them, so there’s no clear-cut answer to whether or not you can sip on that daily $5 latte guilt-free. However, it is interesting to see how skipping that small indulgence could make a big difference over time.
In a recent Instagram Reel, financial commentator Jon Erlichman crunched the numbers to see how much money you would have if you put the $5 you were spending on a daily latte into Starbucks stock instead. Here’s a look at how much more money you’d have if you invested $5 in Starbucks stock every day for 30 years.
Spending $5 a Day on Starbucks Coffee vs. Investing $5 a Day in Starbucks Stock
According to Erlichman, if you spend $5 a day on Starbucks, after one year you’d be down $1,825. If you put that money into Starbucks stock, you’d have $1,820.
After two years, you’ll have spent $3,560, while if you invested $5 a day in Starbucks stock, you’d have $1,897. After three years, you’ll have spent $5,475, or you’ll have $5,346 in stocks. After four years, you’ll have spent $7,300, or you’d have $7,273 in stocks. After five years, you’ll have spent $9,125, or you’d have $9,257 in stocks.
Spending $5 on Starbucks every day translates to $10,950 over six years. If you invested that money instead, you’d have $12,326 at this point. After seven years, you’d have spent $12,775, or you’d have $15,592 in stocks. After eight years, you’d have spent $14,600, or you’d have $18,927 in stocks. After nine years, you’d have spent $16,425, or you’d have $21,944 in stocks.
At the 10-year mark, you’d have spent a whopping $18,250 on your daily coffee. Meanwhile, if you had invested that $5 a day in Starbucks stock, you’d now have $26,729 in your portfolio. After 15 years, you’d have spent $27,375, or you’d have $77,294 in stocks. After 20 years, you’d have spent $36,500 on coffee, or you’d have $172,438 in stocks. After 25 years, you’d have spent $45,625, or you’d have $352,956 in stocks. After 30 years, you’d have spent $54,750, or you’d have $955,580 in stocks.
When Should You Spend and When Should You Invest?
Building up a portfolio of over $950,000 over 30 years of disciplined investing is an amazing achievement, but only you can decide what’s worth sacrificing to achieve that. Commenters on Erlichman’s post were divided on whether indulging in coffee or investing that money is the better option.
“The coffee would bring me way more happiness than that money could,” one commenter shared.
Others found Erlichman’s point compelling.
“Love the way you show the power of a 30-year compound,” wrote another commenter. “So simple and so true.”
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