Starbucks announced that they’re raising prices for the first time in two years, by 5 cents a drink. Doesn’t really sound like too much, but maybe it’s a good time to evaluate how much your Starbucks habit is really costing you.

The average price of a Starbucks Tall Latte is now $2.80, going to be $2.85. Plugging those numbers into the “Benefit of Spending Less” calculator at dinkytown.net (assuming you buy one every work day each month, you’ll spend about $63/month), the real cost of that habit is $11,725.00 over 10 years, assuming you had saved and invested the amount instead. Here’s the output cut-and-pasted from dinkytown.net:

You could save $11,725 in 10 years.

By spending $63 less per month and investing that amount at 8.50% you could save $11,725 before taxes in 10 years. If you pay taxes on your savings, this amount would be reduced to $9,997 with a combined state and federal marginal tax rate of 35.0%.

Results Summary
Monthly savings (from spending less) $63
Total savings before taxes (or tax deferred) $11,725
Total savings after taxes $9,997

Your input values

Input Summary
Monthly savings $63 Years to save 10
Rate of return 8.50% Total contributions over 10 years $7,560
Federal tax rate 25.0% State tax rate 10.0%