Many months ago, our coffeepot died. One foggy morning, I stumbled into the kitchen, pushed the start button, and headed to my favorite chair to wait. The usual beep came far sooner than I expected and when I walked over to happily get my coffee earlier than usual, I was greeted by an error button. It was finished. Kitchenaid wasn’t all that helpful. They’d be happy to offer me a new coffeepot at the low low price of $124. While I figured out what I wanted for replacement, we still needed our regular morning caffeine fix. Hubby dug the french press out of the back of the cupboard and every morning since, we’ve enjoyed freshly pressed hot coffee from it.
In this case, we discovered that we’d been using something convenient at the expense of value and quality. Sitting in our stash all along was something simpler, with no electric parts to break, that you can take anywhere, and provides a really good caffeine jolt whenever needed.
Coffee tends to get a bum rap when talking about frugal living. “The Latte Factor” is a term freely thrown around about the small amounts of money that we tend to spend here and there, not considering how much those small items add up and ultimately blow the budget. It is unfair and insulting to assume that if a person walks into a coffee shop and buys coffee once, twice or twelve times a week, they aren’t putting consideration into that. There is a place for all of the simple pleasures in life – hot coffee, books, home decor, cute clothes, haircuts, and good wine. To assume that enjoying those things means that there isn’t a level of consciousness in the spending for them is unfair.
It takes a whole lot of venti mocha lattes to equal the price of an iPhone or cable tv or a long list of other things that are becoming the way the truth and the light in this fast paced world. I’ll take sitting quietly drinking a latte with a friend over texting, tweeting and facebooking with an iPhone. The fact is, we all value different things. Some of us live without cars, riding bikes or walking everywhere. Others have mommymobiles for driving the kids from school to activities to Costco. There is no one size fits all way to live life. There are broader strokes that can apply to all of us. Be conscious. Consider expenses. Enjoy the simple things. Live, laugh, love. Appreciate. When all of those things are happening, it doesn’t matter if one person spends $40 a month on coffee or another spends that going out on a date night or another on a haircut.
There is one thing that I know is true. When it rains – even a light rain – puddles form. If it keeps raining, those puddles get bigger. Raindrops add up just like pennies do. Enjoy your latte. Save your pennies. As adults, many of us see puddles as obstacles. Either of my children would argue they are opportunities. To slow down while walking through that parking lot and enjoy a moment of sheer bliss as they lift those little feet up off the ground and come down as hard as they can to make as big of a splash as a 30 pound kid from 2 inches off the ground can. Just enough to soak the bottoms of their jeans and mom’s flip flopped feet. Enough to remind us that raindrops make something tangible to enjoy. So do pennies if we let them grow into something bigger. There is nothing quite like enjoying a warm cup of coffee while watching puddles form.
Amen!
…as I sit drinking my coffee having just emptied the pennies from my wallet into the jar by the desk.
I appreciate your sharing. Thanks!
Blessings on the journey~
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This is WONDERFUL. You put so clearly a frustration I’ve struggled with– the assumptions it is too easy for us to make about one another.
Those little things that add depth and happiness to life are different for each us– the common denominator can be mindfulness.
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LOVE this post! There IS no one-sized fits all solution to life and I enjoyed being reminded through your beautiful writing. : )
I was thinking yesterday about something I’d done and how I’d be judged if I tweeted or blogged about it…but then I remembered that I’m a single woman who pays her bills on time, saves 10% of her salary each month and tithes to my church and gives to charity. My boat is TOTALLY different than another’s and as long as I’m being responsible, I shouldn’t worry about how another person views my choices. Likewise, I need to be understanding and flexible when I’m visiting with friends who have different circumstances, and I like to think that I am! Spending time with friends is JUST that, and I too, would enjoy the cup of coffee (or chai or WINE!) with a friend versus spending money on something frivolous!
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I just want to say that this post is beautifully written. Thanks for sharing it with the world.
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I don’t drink coffee, so I *might* be guilty of droning on about the latte factor because it was an easy example that didn’t apply to me!
For the record, I don’t judge what others chose to spend their saved pennies on, I just enjoy talking about the What Ifs of those same pennies.
Beautifully written.
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this post is full of beautiful images AND great reminders!
pop on by for a visit if you get an opportunity – I’m celebrating my one year blogiversary this week with a fun giveaway!
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Beautiful! And I’ve always been curious about those french press coffee makers, my college roommate had one but I never quite figured it out. But I will resist the urge to run out and buy one until my current coffee pot dies.
I do agree about the no one-sized fits all solutions. There are no quick fixes, people just need to know themselves and use their own discernment. People will say “yes” to some things that scream extravagance to others, and “no” to other things that seem reasonable on the surface, and that’s OK. A quick example- garbage pick-up! I know two people who live in much larger/more expensive homes than mind who don’t think it is worth it to pay for garbage pick-up, so they drop off their own recyclables and trash. I’m in the city, so it’s no extra expense to me, but if I had to pay for it, maybe I’d agree with them, or maybe I’d think the service is worth $30/month.
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Well said! I recently started seeing a personal trainer because I wanted to start getting in better shape. I know a lot of people work out and get the same or better results on their own, a lot cheaper, but I need the person waiting for me, and the idea of losing out of money!, to get me to the gym in the first place. I kept thinking of it as a waste of money, and kicking myself for it, but the more I think of it, the more I think it’s the right choice for me. (And I gave up sodas to help pay for it….
)
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I love your way of crafting truths about yourselves.
And I am thankful every day for my simple little, completely un-technical, un-digital, unsophisticated French press that makes such exquisite coffee. It’s like me, not a lot of flash but a lot of splash! LOL
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I LOVE LOVE this post. I made me smile. An I couldn’t agree more. Have a terrific day today….
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you know I like my coffee!
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I don’t do coffee…but you are right, life is meant to be enjoyed and little things here and there are treasures if we appreciate them.
You are such a good writer.
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We had a similar experience earlier this year when the expensive Delonghi double machine we bought during Christmas (thankfully I work in retail and we got a good discount) died three months after we bought it!
I was so upset. But lo and behold my mother quickly produced an old Farberware percolator of my grandma’s that she thought to be twenty years old (or maybe even older) and it works beautifully!
I was hesitant to take it at first, but she assured me over and over that it worked, but for her it just wasn’t convenient.
But for us it was the perfect fit : )
Then and there we decided that newer and fancier is definitely not always better!
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So true, I love my coffee but try to make more at home. But the treat of having one out is still special. Great post x
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[...] Emily, at Remodeling This Life, has written some great posts lately. I especially enjoyed Coffee and Raindrops and her point that we all “value different things” — so important to remember. If [...]
[...] 3. The coffee pot at Remodeling This Life’s house gave up. Her husband pulled out the french press, and now they’re really looking at the question of convenience at the expense of value and quality. [...]
[...] Coffee and Raindrops [...]
[...] Criticized. Sometimes that is the way people are. The next morning came and coffee was made. We don’t have a coffee maker, but instead use a french press. Our coffee maker died, we chose not to replace it and we’ve [...]
I love this post. Thank you for writing exactly what I’ve been feeling.
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