Aaah…the latte factor…the amount of money you would be saving if you forgoed (gasp) your beloved latte at the local coffee shop each day. Okay, I agree that it could be financially beneficial, adding up at an average $1277.00 per year and this would probably put a significant dent into a high finance charge credit card or even pay for car gasoline for the year. But, is it possible for me to abstain from anything else instead? Really? Anything? I could easily live without cable (but, not Tivo!), my subscriptions to trashy mags or even my severe shoe fetish.
Since, in this case, abstinence is not a possibility I am redefining the term latte factor as to how much I will need to budget on my caffeine fix each day as I start my travels around the world.
Would I need to forgo a mosquito net in Thailand, croissants in France or touring the Ledreborg Palace in Denmark for the latte factor?
On my trip to Tamarindo in Costa Rica I paid a mere buck seventy-five (899 Colones) for a latte…maybe I should have taken residence there? This locale is just as cheap as having กาแฟ in Thailand at 53 Baht (that mosquito net will be affordable after all). Malaysia, Canada, Madrid and Mexico all fall into the low $2.00 range, totally doable.
In Italy, after being pegged as a tourist for not ordering a straight-up espresso, your beverage will run you $3.00 (1.75 Euros). I beg you, please don’t ask them for sugar-free vanilla, non-fat milk or caramel sauce. They may just have you banned from the country. Head over to France and get your java for an average of $4.50 (3 Euros)…I wonder if they will sell me just a 1/2 of a croissant? Leaving France, slightly hungry, Japan will offer no relief at $4.65 (531 Yen) though it will be slightly better than Switzerland at $4.65 for a fancy cup of Joe. When I am feeling a little heavy in the latte factor wallet I will head over to Denmark at a whopping $6.60…my dreams of being a princess at Ledreborg Castle will have to wait.
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I actually am not a coffee drinker, so I can't save money this way. But I do eat out for lunch a few times a week; I'd save much more money if I brought my lunch to work. And we do have satellite, but I need my ESPN! (I don't really need it and once upon a time, I only had rabbit ears). I live pretty frugally already; when I read those articles about how to save money, most of the time I'm already doing them!
I've gotten hooked on coffee later in life (and lattes even later) so I didn't get to experience the cost on my trips.
However, if the exchange rate would become a bit better for the Euro then your French dreams of croissants and coffee can be realized. Fingers crossed!
Sadly, I'm one of those who has given up my beloved Starbucks in an effort to save money. I have a Kuerig single serve that I keep in the closet of my classroom for "emergencies" but I usually start my morning off brewing a full put of coffee in my friends classroom that we share to help us get through the day. It is certainly more economical (even cheaper than my single serve).
Dang! I actually came to this conclusion about six months ago and stopped buying coffee at fancy places. I was amazed at how much money I'd spent buying a coffee for $1.89 five days a week, sometimes multiple times a day. That's $520 on coffee a year, and that totally doesn't count the multiple visits in one day, the accompanying pastries, or the venti nonfat nowhip tazo chai from starbucks that i'd buy "Just because".
Very interesting when you put it in terms of travel references. I could have flown somewhere domestic with the money I spent at coffee shops.
I'd love to know where you managed to find a 2$ latte in Canada though – I can't find one for under $4 in Montreal!