Need to quit Starbucks!

frizzipunk

What used to be a “treat yo self” here and there kind of thing has turned into an addictive, expensive habit! I find myself telling myself why I’m NOT going to go to sbux this morning and before I know it I’m already in the drive thru line! I spent $180 in November at Starbucks. $25/mo at max is in my budget. But even then the sugar addiction is no match for the logic of a budget.

I read a blog post about the habit loop. Figure out what is triggering the habit, what is the desired outcome of doing this habit, and what can you do instead to get the same outcome?

For me it’s tricky, but I think it’s two fold. One is that I like to go because it makes me feel like I have money, money to spend on a $6 drink and a $5 breakfast. I’m salaried so I don’t have to punch in, so again it’s like “la dee daa I’m so important I’ll get to work when I get there right after I get my Starbucks *hairflip*”
Addiction wise- yes the sugar in the vanilla syrup and caramel sauce with lots of ice cubes and creamy whole milk- that’s what I love too.

I think a water bottle full of ice water and lemon would be just as refreshing for me. And maybe I’ll cut back to just the milk and not the syrups and espresso (I wish I could quit milk too but baby steps) I love organic whole milk.

Have you noticed that none of this is about the COFFEE?! I don’t drink coffee, I don’t even need plain espresso. I get plenty of sleep. I’m not tired, I don’t need coffee.

I need an ice cold refreshing beverage. And I like cold creamy delicious organic milk with breakfast.

Anyone else struggling???
Oh and I’m putting a note on my dashboard that says NO STARBUCKS

Alatariel75

Can't you take your Starbucks drive through time and spend it making a nice blended drink for yourself before you leave home? It would save money at least... $180 would buy a great blender.

frizzipunk

Yep absolutely!! I have a ninja!

Alatariel75

Then go forth, buy some nifty ingredients and Ninja on, my friend.

amusedmonkey

I agree with Alatariel's suggestion. Blend your own drinks, this should save money. Then you can gradually lighten up your ingredients until the calories are acceptable. I don't like anything but coffee in my coffee, but I have seen several "skinny starbucks" recipes on the internet. This website has plenty of them:
https://www.skinnykitchen.com/?s=Starbucks

You don't have to "skinnify" all the ingredients at once if it's too big of a shift.

If you have a coffee drink in hand while passing by Starbucks you might be less inclined to buy a second.

frizzipunk

This is not about being addicted to starbucks’ drinks specifically, it’s the ACT of “getting Starbucks” and also wanting an ice cold beverage, as well as creamy sweet milk.
If the drinks were $2 I still shouldn’t go there
If they were free I still shouldn’t go there

fitoverfortymom

I had to kick my expensive Starbucks trip, too. Now when I do go, it really is for a treat or the need for a grab-and-go kind of thing. I do a lot of DIY coffee and snacks (mmmm pastry). I rarely have the calories for that any more, so I just found myself going less and less. Plus, making brewed coffee at home is wayyyyyyy cheaper, and I can control what I put in it.

It takes time and it's tough to bid a fun habit farewell. Going for coffee is fun.

Nicci93

Buy a Starbucks tumblr to put your homemade creamy coffee drinks in. Trick your mind that you're still getting the brand treats

I would also put $5 into a savings jar every time you skip the Starbucks line. At the end of the month, use that money to buy yourself something that you've been wanting that gives you the same amount of pleasure.

alicebhsia

Starbucks drinks are premium. but you get what you pay for and they are also expensive! best thing i can offer is get a fancy to go cup type thing and fill it at home, maybe limit your starbucks to special days or occasions like make it a social thing rather than a daily indulgence or something.

conseni

I see that it’s not about the money but it’s about all this extra sugar. Find a drink that doesnt have much or tell them no syrup. I used to get the iced tea lemonade no syrup and it’s awesome. It only has the sugars from the lemonade nothing extra.

motivatedmartha

SB's reputation took such a hit in the UK in recent years that it is possibly easier to avoid them here by claiming a moral high ground I have never seen a drive thru Starbucks

amusedmonkey

frizzipunk wrote: »

This is not about being addicted to starbucks’ drinks specifically, it’s the ACT of “getting Starbucks” and also wanting an ice cold beverage, as well as creamy sweet milk.
If the drinks were I still shouldn’t go there
If they were free I still shouldn’t go there

I completely understand where you are coming from. It's just from experience, it's easier to talk yourself out of something if you give yourself something to make your "case" stronger when you argue with yourself. I used to buy nuts every time I passed by that section. The smell of freshly roasted nuts always lured me in. Then I started heading right to the snacks aisle for a single serving pack of chips or crackers before letting myself pass by the nuts (I've always been okay with single servings of these so it didn't feel like I was giving up too much). I couldn't avoid the nuts section completely because I had to pass right next to it on my way out, but with a snack in hand it was easier to convince myself that "you already have a snack, you don't need another one".

Even though for me it was about the food itself, this trick may still help you. If you can't change your route to work, at least have a similar homemade cold drink in hand (with creamy sweet milk) to give you some logical fighting power.

hesn92

Wow!!! That’s a lot of money lol. I budget one Starbucks a week, personally. I enjoy my Starbucks and don’t want to give it up.

hesn92

I understand. For some reason it is nice to carry around a Starbucks cup with my Starbucks drink. And when I see other people walking around with their Starbucks cups I get jealous lol.

amusedmonkey

Off topic, but believe it or not, I don't think I've ever been to a Starbucks. There isn't one nearby and I don't see a point since I only like my coffee black.

seltzermint555

Maybe start using a Starbucks card (on the app or actual card) and just reload it with enough to fit your budget, then don't go there when you don't have a balance remaining on the card. This is sort of what I do. I get Starbucks giftcards from doing online surveys and the ONLY time I'll go to Starbucks is when I have giftcard money (which is still - to me -quite a lot, but only like $15-30 in a typical month and as we all know that doesn't go too far with Starbucks).

I clicked on this because I also need to quit with the Starbucks. I am seriously happy with black coffee and that is what I drink at home...I get skinny vanilla lattes recently when I go to Starbucks and I know it's "less than 200 calories" but I don't NEED that at all...time to stop. I need to go back to getting their plastic cold cups and filling them with water even though I already have about 20 of those at home.

Fflpnari

I love blened ice coffee. I started making my own so that it wil fit with my macros.
Half of a premeir protein shake
20oz cold coffee
Torani syrups
I use a blender bottle put a bunch of ice and shake!
80 cals 15 grams of protein.
Buy a plastic reusable starbucks cup and make your own coffee!!!

tuolon

I want to go to Starbucks everyday too. But for me, the line in the drive thru is always too long. At least, that is my excuse for never going to Starbucks. one day, this excuse won't work for me, if there is no cars in line. Now, i have stopped looking at the drive thru line and just assume it is too busy.

lucerorojo

Starbucks coffee s not good. But the OP is not even drinking coffee it seems. I'm curious where you live that a Starbucks coffee cup is such big status. We have a Starbucks on every corner, and as someone who loves GOOD coffee, a Starbucks cup signals to me someone who likes milkshakes and wastes money. I do understand the convenience. I will only drink good coffee for $2.00 or more a cup so that eliminates Starbucks and all but three cafes and a French restaurant in my city. I was buying herb teas at local cafes but did not like paying $3.00 for a teabag so I now boil a pot of water each morning and brew my loose leaf tea, put it in a thermos and take it with me. That saves me considerably. And I'd rather use the money for something else.
$180 month for a milkshake is ridiculous. I guess if you make 6 figures and have no bills to pay... or are independently wealthy it doesn't matter. If I were a millionaire I wouldn't brew my own tea!

wizzybeth

I love Starbucks but I don't consider the calories for what I like to drink worth it except for a once in a while type of drink. Not even once a month. Like once in a great while. Maybe four times a year anymore. I do not like the skinny lattes. They make me go yuck LOL. It's all or nothing baby. And it just isn't very often that I have five or 600 calories floating around to waste on a 12 oz drink.

kazie1206

I completely understand where you are coming from. Mine isn't Starbucks, its 7 eleven coffee. I stop every single day on my way to and home from work. WHY? who knows. I get a extra large coffee... It is just a habit for me. I don't need a coffee on my way home, I don't need the extra expense of $2.50 X 2 per day... But there I am like a mindless robot, pumping that coffee. I bought a Kerig and started making my coffee at home, but even with that, I still find myself #1 still stopping and getting the coffee, #2 pulling in and then telling myself to leave before I walk in, or #3 yelling at myself as I pass it that "You Do Not Need to Stop and Get Coffee!". I think I just did it for so long that it was built into my daily routine and was a habit addiction. Hopefully you end up with more willpower then me my friend. I can usually only kick the stop 50% of the days... But that is still better than when I went EVERYDAY!

CrystalxDee

Been there too! If you like a cold refreshing drink and love milk - try making some sort of a smoothie? So if you ARE craving something sweet it can be a more natural sugar source.

KayHBE

To be important you need to be a leader not a follower.... Following all those others into the Drive Thru line.

wryone4

Maybe if you give yourself something to work toward instead of getting away from something it might be easier? So, Ninja yourself a cold coffee drink at home, and take the $$ you WOULD have spent at Starbucks and put it in a jar every day. If you really spend $180 a month on Starbucks, that's $2100 a YEAR. That could be a pretty sweet vacation. Maybe every time you crave that cup in your hand, picture that money going into a jar and you on a beach. Or, if you like the "status" that Starbucks brings, picture each refusal of the Starbucks siren call as a designer bag or clothing item.

Stephen801

Talk about first world problems....

wryone4

Stephen801 wrote: »

Talk about first world problems....

Sure. But so is trying to lose weight or get fit when plenty in the world don't have enough to eat. We ALL have first-world problems to complain about, but most are here to build toward a healthier lifestyle - being snarked at doesn't help.

hesn92

wryone4 wrote: »

Stephen801 wrote: »

Talk about first world problems....

Sure. But so is trying to lose weight or get fit when plenty in the world don't have enough to eat. We ALL have first-world problems to complain about, but most are here to build toward a healthier lifestyle - being snarked at doesn't help.

Lol that’s what I was thinking... so is losing weight.. the whole purpose behind this website! Lol

wizzybeth

Stephen801 wrote: »

Talk about first world problems....

So are we only supposed to discuss third world problems here? What a jerky response

tripitena

I am addicted to the unsweetened green tea.

spilledmilk

First of all, there is nothing wrong with Starbucks, some previous posters seem to have deep-rooted issues with coffee chains!!

I will chime in as someone who enjoys Starbucks and usually goes there 3-5 times per week. I walk right past it on the way from my car into work so it's easy to order on the app and just grab and go. I'm not a fan of lattes/frappes/etc. My go-to is a grande cold brew coffee with nonfat milk. It tops out at $3 and 25 calories. It's a non-issue and keeps me sane at work so why not?

Motorsheen

wizzybeth wrote: »

Stephen801 wrote: »

Talk about first world problems....

So are we only supposed to discuss third world problems here? What a jerky response

what if he's right?