BY MICHAEL NOLAN // OCT. 22, 2014 //

What is life like without coffee? Ask most college students and they couldn’t tell you.

We take advantage of how easy it is to get coffee, but we don’t realize the amount of money we spend. According to the National Coffee Association, people in the United States spend more than $40 billion a year on coffee. Yes, that number is right. Billions!

Sure, it gets us going for that 8 a.m. Monday class, and it keeps us up to study all night during finals week. Coffee also helps us stay focused by filling us with energy (ie, caffeine). But is it worth it…financially?

PHOTO BY ZACH INGLIS // creative commons

The average person spends about $1,100 a year on coffee, according to ABC News. Think about what else could you do with that money! Maybe you could save up for a car. Or, make a real dent in your student loans. Maybe you could afford to eat better, or dress better, or date better.

Those specialty lattes and fancy Frappuccino’s certainly taste delicious (fat and sugar will do that!). But they also cost about $2 more than a regular cup of coffee. I hate to break it to you, but those $2 drinks add up quickly.

To save, think about investing in a coffee maker—they cost anywhere from $20 to $200—or, if you want to go fancy, a Keurig machine. Both require some up-front money, but they pay for themselves within a month, depending on how much coffee you typically drink.

Share the costs with your roommate(s), and the savings won’t just drip along…they will be equal a steady steam.