If you’ve ever Googled how to save money, chances are you’ve been hit with the same tired advice: “Stop buying Starbucks.” It’s become a cliché at this point—a catchphrase that gets repeated in personal finance circles, TikTok rants, and viral budgeting videos. Supposedly, your $5 latte is the reason you can’t buy a house or retire early. Except it’s not.

Let’s be real: nobody is broke because of a cappuccino habit. And telling someone to cut out small comforts instead of addressing the much bigger, systemic issues behind financial stress isn’t just bad advice. It’s insulting. It blames the individual for an economic structure they didn’t create, all while ignoring wage stagnation, housing costs, medical debt, student loans, and generational inequality.

So, why is this “advice” so popular and so infuriating? Let’s break down the real problem behind the Starbucks-shaming narrative.

Is “Skip The Starbucks” Offensive Financial Advice?

The Origins of “Skip the Latte” Advice

This idea didn’t come out of nowhere. It was popularized by financial personalities trying to simplify money management. The goal was to illustrate how small, regular purchases add up over time. Spend $5 a day on coffee, and that’s $150 a month, aka money that could go toward savings or debt.

In theory, it sounds reasonable. But in practice, it grossly oversimplifies how financial decisions work for the average person. More importantly, it subtly suggests that the reason you’re struggling isn’t because of unfair wages or rising costs. It’s because you bought a drink that made you feel good for five minutes. It’s not just reductive. It’s condescending.

It’s Not About Coffee. It’s About Shame

When people say, “Stop buying Starbucks,” what they’re really doing is shaming people for seeking small pleasures in a system designed to wear them down. For many, a daily coffee isn’t a sign of irresponsibility. It’s a coping mechanism in a world where they’re constantly hustling just to stay afloat.

These kinds of comments also disproportionately affect working-class people, especially women and minorities, who are often judged more harshly for how they spend what little disposable income they have. The underlying message becomes: “You’re poor because you made bad choices,” not “You’re struggling because the system is broken.”

The Real Financial Killers Aren’t in Your Cup

Let’s put this in perspective. If you make $3,000 a month and spend $100 of it on coffee, you’re spending just over 3% of your income on something that brings you daily comfort. That’s hardly reckless.

Compare that to:

• Rent increases that jump $200 or more per year.

• Medical bills that wipe out savings overnight.

• Student loans with compound interest that double your original balance.

• Childcare costs that rival mortgage payments.

The math speaks for itself. Coffee isn’t the problem. The problem is an economy where even people working full-time can’t afford basic needs. Yet the blame is pushed onto consumers for not “budgeting better,” instead of pointing to policies and corporate practices that gut their wallets.

Class Privilege Disguised as Advice

“Stop buying Starbucks” sounds like advice from someone who has never had to choose between gas and groceries. It assumes the listener has money to redirect elsewhere when many people don’t have any disposable income left after paying for essentials.

In fact, many of the people repeating this advice are already financially comfortable. For them, giving up a luxury might be an effective strategy to boost savings. But when you’re scraping by, that latte might be the only luxury you allow yourself, and asking you to cut it is just another way to make you feel guilty for trying to find a sliver of joy in a stressful world.

The Emotional Cost of “Frivolous” Spending

The mental health toll of living in scarcity is often ignored in financial conversations. When every decision is filtered through a survival mindset, small comforts start to matter more, not less. That coffee might be the thing that helps someone face a job they hate or get through another 10-hour shift. And yet, those comforts are the first thing people are told to eliminate.

The truth is that emotional spending isn’t always irresponsible. It’s often a form of self-regulation, especially for those who don’t have access to mental healthcare or healthy coping mechanisms. Dismissing that as “wasteful” completely ignores the emotional realities of being broke and exhausted.

What Real Financial Advice Looks Like

If we want to give people meaningful tools to manage their money, we need to move beyond shaming lattes and start addressing the real root causes of financial stress. That means:

• Advocating for fair wages instead of criticizing spending habits.

• Calling out predatory lending and housing practices that trap people in cycles of poverty.

• Encouraging financial literacy that focuses on big-picture priorities like high-interest debt, saving for emergencies, and negotiating salaries.

• Helping people set realistic, personalized budgets based on their actual lives, not abstract calculations.

More importantly, it means acknowledging that sometimes, people need something to look forward to. Cutting that out of their lives doesn’t make them better with money. It just makes them miserable.

Coffee Isn’t the Problem. Ignorant Advice Is

The next time someone says, “If you just stopped buying Starbucks, you’d be rich,” you can tell them this: No amount of skipping coffee is going to close the wealth gap, cancel student debt, or lower the rent. What it will do is make someone feel ashamed for finding a moment of comfort in a life that’s already far too demanding.

We need to stop confusing austerity with wisdom. Real financial freedom isn’t built on guilt. It’s built on choice, access, and equity. And those start with acknowledging the truth: people deserve better than lectures about their coffee.

What’s one piece of financial advice you’ve been given that completely missed the mark?

Read More:

Scarcity Mindset Is Making You Broke—Here’s How to Escape It

8 Budgeting Tips That Don’t Work If You’re Actually Broke

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