Is This One Purchase The Reason You’re Always Flat Broke Before Payday?

It’s one week until payday and your bank account is virtually empty. At this rate, you’ll be eating breakfast cereal for dinner and vowing not to leave the house.

With rising rent and static wages, it’s a common scenario for most millennials, but it’s not necessarily the big spends, like rent, bills and groceries that leave you struggling to stretch out your pay cheque.

In fact, a recent report found that 18-34 year olds direct the majority of their pay towards retail and eating out, with one purchase in particular dominating their non-essential spend.

The item we can’t seem to get enough of? Coffee.

Despite dining out an average of 13 times a month, the American report found that we spend more on coffee each month than we do on food, dropping a total of $80 on our regular hits of joe.

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The cost in Ireland is likely around the same.

Think about it: If you spend €3 on one barista-bought coffee a day, that adds up to €21 a week. Over a month you’ll shell out roughly €85 and in a year? Well, you’ll spend nearly €1,100, enough to buy a second-hand car or fund a killer holiday.

And that’s not including those of us who are guilty of buying more than one cup a day.

Thankfully though it’s not all bad news. The report also found that millennials typically spend around $6000 less than the average consumer to cover things like groceries, bills, entertainment, clothes and travel, and we’re also more savvy when it comes to sussing out deals.

The takeaway? If you’re struggling to make ends meet, it might be time to consider whether that morning cup of coffee really is such an necessity.

• Finance
• money
• Spending