Have you ever thought about why are there so many coffee shops opening up every year? Yes, you guessed it, there is high demand for it. There is just something about getting served that most of us crave so much. Nevertheless, it’s the ease of mind of not having to deal with it yourself. Funny thing is that when people look for other services such as cleaning services like ours, they freak out when they think about paying anything over $100 for a cleaning. Many people even find it absurd; however, have you ever done the math? How long does it take you to clean your entire home by yourself even if you were to clean a small area every day versus how long it takes to make your own homemade latte?
I learned this lesson, let’s say the hard way. During the time when I had recently finished school and started dedicating myself to the business full time, my partner and I were barely making ends meet. I always considered myself a frugal spender and never thought of myself as the type to be eating out a lot, but here and there, especially after a long day of hard work, we would like to treat ourselves with something tasty. One of our favorite morning treats was this little coffee shop in Santa Clarita called Coffee Kiosk. They just happen to make the best Frappuccino of all time, hands down. I must advise, it’s packed with sugar and calories but still very yummy. One day we decided to adjust our expenses and started revising how much money we were spending on what. Well, we were shocked, to say the least, when we realized how much money we were pouring on all these so called “little treats.” It was ridiculous, realizing we were spending about $400-$700 a month on dumb little things. I couldn’t believe my math, and it’s not like we would order a lot, most times we would share one latte, we would share a snack, we would share a sandwich or a burrito! How was this possible? This was one of my most expensive bills and I never even consciously agreed to this.
The reason why it’s a lot easier to spend hundreds of dollars a month on just coffee versus a good home cleaning is simple: it’s called the “Ant Spending.” It’s the little constant spending that adds up to be a lot more than what we would consider to be a big spending. The difference is that we are usually not aware of how much these little expenses add up to, but when we are faced with the fact of spending a big amount all at once, then we feel the hit. It’s like taking multiple little punches vs one big punch. Of course, you will feel the bigger punch a lot more, but the question really lies on which option is more beneficial for you. Are multiple coffees that are made with unknown ingredients, served in cups that only contaminate our beautiful planet, and that can be easily and satisfyingly done at home, a better deal than getting your entire home cleaned by a reputable cleaning service company that will not only take all the laborious hassle from you, but also clean your home better than if you were to do it yourself? If you asked me, I much rather have someone help me clean my entire home while I do my own lattes.
After that realization, I bought myself a $50 espresso maker and although it wasn’t the best quality it was definitely a start. Then I started researching about better quality espresso machines and found out that there are some really decent machines around $300. From there, I bought me one in that price range and it’s hands down (love saying that), the best investment ever made. It was so great that my sister wanted to copy my idea and checked for the same machine I had, finding it at a reduced price for less than $200.
Not only have my partner & I become really good latte makers (as you can see in our Instagram reels), https://www.instagram.com/reel/CaFfgPDJfSu/?utm_medium=copy_link
but I also noticed and have been told by others that my lattes taste far better than any latte they ever had… I don’t even put any sugar on my lattes. Nevertheless, I make them as healthy as I can. My favorite lattes are the ice lattes, and I started adding a little bit of egg whites and almond milk to them; regardless, I always put the best quality vanilla extract and stevia. These are the kinds of ingredients you will not find for cheap, if they even have them at most coffee shops. And let me tell you, I am obsessed with my homemade delicious lattes, served in Mason jars with my reusable glass or metal straws, which is so satisfying, as you can see in our videos. That experience versus cleaning after everyone in my home, it’s hands down far more worth it.
If you read any personal development books, they will often advise to always seek outsourcing anything that other people can do for you, so that you can focus on the things that you do best and matter most. Hopping on that train, we must say that cleaning your home (especially when multiple people live in it) should be the number one option on your list of outsourcing, even before eating out. Don’t even get me started on dining out. Unless your only reason is that you wanted to get out of your house, dining out for the sake of not having to deal with the hassle of cooking is the worse reason you can have. It takes an average of 6-8 man-hours to clean a home properly (depending on the skill level), especially when multiple people live in it. And it only takes 30-45 minutes to make a meal for a whole family and wash all the dirty dishes, so you tell me what option makes more sense and is more fun? I’m not saying, “Don’t ever eat out,” but I am saying that homemade dinners are a much better option most times, especially in the times we’re living in.
But for now, let’s just focus on coffee alone. If you are to buy a $6 latte (the average price in California as of 2022) 3-5 times a week, you are looking at spending between $18-$30 a week, that equates to $75-$120 a month, $950-$1,560 a year on just coffee. What about the $4 croissant to go with it? Or the $10 meal you buy every day because you don’t want to spend time preparing a lunch for work? Let’s not forget about a mid-week outing like Taco Tuesday & Thirsty Thursday. That’s an easy additional $20-$75 a week. That’s an additional $80-$300 a month of just a quick snack or meal, and about $1,000-$4,000 a year plus the coffees, totaling $2,000-$5,500! Wow.
Have you ever thought about what $1,500 could do for you? That’s a nice getaway trip for sure, but for $5,500, that’s a trip to Europe for 2! But even just cutting off the coffee spending would be a significant saving. This saving can pay for your monthly professional cleaning so that you don’t have to worry about the real hard work on your home. You can also give yourself an extra few minutes of rest and even have time to treat yourself with a homemade latte, and make it just the way you like it.
By:
Francesca Antoinette
https://linktr.ee/ExcellenceCleaningPro