Elisha V.
It's a bit of an oxymoron I know. But before you start thinking I've discovered the life hack to end all life hacks, hear me out. I work at Starbucks, which means I'm tempted to buy coffee to fuel my caffeine addiction all the time, and that means a temptation to spend lots of money every day. Immediately I decided to get the Starbucks app since I would be rewarded with points for something I was buying anyway, and it worked for awhile. However as the months went by I started to noticed my savings account was not increasing the way I thought it would given my new riches in the work force. I even considered if I was being paid enough to live. It wasn't MY fault, it couldn't have been. Then it occurred to me to check my previous uses of my account; how much was being deposited each month and how much was being withdrawn.
Through that, I realized a quarter of my paychecks every month were going towards my coffee addiction. I couldn't understand it, I was getting points, being rewarded, so much free coffee! What was going on?? Well, in order to get a free drink from Starbucks, you need 150 "stars", or points, which you earn by spending money. You get 1 star for every dollar spent and 2 stars per dollar if you use a Starbucks card. It's pretty easy math that if I didn't have my gift card on me, I was forking up $150 just to get a free coffee. Not to mention the promos and "deals" they had frequently where all you had to do was buy a certain drink and they'd give you more points. Never mind that usually included paying double the price for their specialty drink anyway.
The point of all of this is that as good as it sounded to get an app with a rewards program, it only encouraged me to spend more to get a pathetic prize anyway. When I set up autopay with my Starbucks card, that was the end of my financial dreams. It took a huge drop in my savings for me to realize I was headed down a rabbit hole of broken promises as far as rewards programs were concerned. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a cynic towards rewards programs, I'm still subscribed to several places I frequent. What I did learn, however, was that it becomes all too easy to make spending a habit and become addicted to false savings. Now, before I let my mind wander to how much money I'll save if I give in to the deal of the day, I think just how much money I'll be saving if I don't buy it at all.