I gave up Starbucks for Lent this year. I have never given up anything Lent in the past, and I wanted to try to give something up this year. I chose Starbucks, because I buy it way too much, and I wanted to challenge myself. I would buy a drink once or twice a week, and the cost of the drinks would add up. I knew that I would be at school for most of the Lent season, and I don’t like the Starbucks on campus that much, so I decided to try.
A few weeks after Lent began, I looked at the calendar. All I wanted to do was go to Starbucks and order a drink, but when I saw that there was still over a month left, I began to question my decision. There were several times that all I wanted to do was get a coffee or a refresher. However, one of the only things that got me through it was that I knew that I needed to save money. Whenever I go to Starbucks, I hate looking at the total because of how expensive it is. The two drinks that I normally order is a Grande Iced White Chocolate Mocha, and a Grande Strawberry Acai Lemonade Refresher. Both of these drinks cost more than $5 and getting them two to three times a week gets expensive.
When I arrived home for Easter break, even though I was excited to get a drink that I had not had in over a month, I was not as excited as I thought I would be. I felt a sense of accomplishment knowing that I had successfully given up something for Lent. On Monday morning, I sat in the Starbucks parking lot ready to order my drink. Looking at the total reminded me of why I gave it up, and how much money I saved over the last month.
I learned several things during this Lent season. However, one of the most valuable things that I learned was that I don’t need Starbucks every week. I also learned that saving money was one of the best things that I could do, because now I can take the money that I would have spent on Starbucks, and I can put it towards another purchase. I am allowing myself to get a drink once in a while, but I don’t want to see my hard-earned money go to waste on an expensive coffee or refresher.