# Listen pig "Make you own coffee, save a $1,000 a year!" is kind of a stupid observation
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 17, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481 "2012-07-17T02:55:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/1 "2012-07-17T02:55:50Z")
Re this[commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry8pFklgwY0&feature=relmfu).
Yes that’s quite a revelation. I could brew my own coffee at home, put it in a mug and tote it around, or I could pay $ 3.00 for a fresh cup of Joe when the mood stuck me and dispose of the cup without carrying it around all day. I’m paying through the nose for for convenience. I get it.
Why did you feel the need to make a commercial costing many thousands of dollars to bring this amazing insight into economizing to my eyeballs.
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/2 "2012-07-17T05:11:49Z")
Cracked pretty much covered this [very recently](http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-useless-money-saving-tips-people-were-paid-to-write/). Number 6. The point is of course: yes we know Starbucks is expensive, but it’s more convenient, goddammit.
Why did they spend money to make the commercial? To sell you things.
Did you know that you can save dozens of dollars by getting rid of your internet? It’s true!
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/3 "2012-07-17T07:56:02Z")
I occasionally read women’s magazines when I’m stuck in the doctor’s office and the alternatives are sports or celebrity magazines. I’m always amused at the “20 ways to save money!” articles. Generally, not only do I know those 20 ways, I know 20 more ways to save even more…starting with “don’t wear makeup” and “don’t buy women’s magazines, read them at the library or doctor’s office”.
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### Author:  [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/4 "2012-07-17T10:44:19Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#):
>
> I occasionally read women’s magazines when I’m stuck in the doctor’s office and the alternatives are sports or celebrity magazines. I’m always amused at the “20 ways to save money!” articles. Generally, not only do I know those 20 ways, I know 20 more ways to save even more…starting with “don’t wear makeup” and “don’t buy women’s magazines, read them at the library or doctor’s office”.
This is my first thought when I see those headlines all over the covers of magazines at the checkout counter. “I’ll start by _not buying you_!”
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### Author:  [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/5 "2012-07-17T11:20:29Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#):
>
> I occasionally read women’s magazines when I’m stuck in the doctor’s office and the alternatives are sports or celebrity magazines. I’m always amused at the “20 ways to save money!” articles. Generally, not only do I know those 20 ways, I know 20 more ways to save even more…starting with “don’t wear makeup” and “don’t buy women’s magazines, read them at the library or doctor’s office”.
Aren’t those the same magazines which have the “Lose Ten Pounds over Weekend” articles on the page after the “Fifteen new Brownie Recipes!”
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### Author:  [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/6 "2012-07-17T11:41:43Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#):
>
> Aren’t those the same magazines which have the “Lose Ten Pounds over Weekend” articles on the page after the “Fifteen new Brownie Recipes!”
No, there’s three pages of ads and a horoscope between the brownies and the miracle diet.
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### Author:  [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/7 "2012-07-17T13:13:09Z")
> [@astro](#):
>
> Why did you feel the need to make a commercial costing many thousands of dollars to bring this amazing insight into economizing to my eyeballs.
[Feed the Pig](http://www.feedthepig.org/about) is a non-profit organization funded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and The Advertising Council. You may be perfectly aware of how much that cup of coffee is costing you, but there are plenty of other people out there who are financially illiterate and make terrible financial decisions. Creating awareness of things like that is probably money well spent in deterring future foreclosures, bankruptcies, etc.
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### Author:  [@Tad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tad)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/8 "2012-07-17T13:52:15Z")
> [@Munch](#):
>
> [Feed the Pig](http://www.feedthepig.org/about) is a non-profit organization funded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and The Advertising Council. You may be perfectly aware of how much that cup of coffee is costing you, but there are plenty of other people out there who are financially illiterate and make terrible financial decisions. Creating awareness of things like that is probably money well spent in deterring future foreclosures, bankruptcies, etc.
Yup. It’s a perfectly legitimate reasoning for making the commercial. Hell, even people who know it’s the price of convenience aren’t really giving a great answer. I make coffee just as well at home with fresh beans and it does cost less money. It’s easy to bring it around in a cup that keeps it hot for hours. “Freshness” isn’t always what you get at coffee shops anyway.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/9 "2012-07-17T16:20:25Z")
> [@Munch](#):
>
> terrible financial decisions.
Exactly, lots of people make terrible decisions and wind up financially stressed. They can serve to be reminded that their coffee habit costs them a lot of money. Money they can use for things they need a lot more than fresh coffee.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/10 "2012-07-17T16:28:20Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#):
>
> Money they can use for things they need a lot more than fresh coffee.
Danish? But without a cup of coffee it’s sooo dry.😕
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### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/11 "2012-07-17T16:31:57Z")
for people on the go, Fiat is coming out with a model having an in dash espresso machine.
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### Author:  [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/12 "2012-07-17T16:42:39Z")
> [@Tad](#):
>
> Yup. It’s a perfectly legitimate reasoning for making the commercial. Hell, even people who know it’s the price of convenience aren’t really giving a great answer. I make coffee just as well at home with fresh beans and it does cost less money. It’s easy to bring it around in a cup that keeps it hot for hours. “Freshness” isn’t always what you get at coffee shops anyway.
We have free coffee at work. I’ll admit that Starbucks is better, but it would be dumb to stuff off to buy a cup on the way in. If I needed coffee while driving to work I could bring it also, and not stop at the drive-through window.
I can see it if you are on the streets all day, but how many of us do that?
You can save in lots of ways. I bring lunch, which saves me over $1,000 a year, is healthier, and give me time at lunch to read the Dope.
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### Author:  [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/13 "2012-07-17T21:40:28Z")
> [@astro](#):
>
> Yes that’s quite a revelation. I could brew my own coffee at home, put it in a mug and tote it around, or I could pay $ 3.00 for a fresh cup of Joe when the mood stuck me and dispose of the cup without carrying it around all day. I’m paying through the nose for for convenience. I get it.
$3 for a cup of coffee!? Where do you buy your coffee that it’s $3 a cup? And don’t say Starbucks. In the interest of fighting ignorance and all, a regular cup of coffee at Starbucks is usually around $1.50-$2 depending on your location.
I used to just buy coffee for 50 cents from the coffee cart guys on the street, but now I just make my own from Trader Joe’s brand. $4 and it lasts a few weeks.
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### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/14 "2012-07-17T22:16:00Z")
> [@Tad](#):
>
> Yup. It’s a perfectly legitimate reasoning for making the commercial. Hell, even people who know it’s the price of convenience aren’t really giving a great answer. I make coffee just as well at home with fresh beans and it does cost less money. It’s easy to bring it around in a cup that keeps it hot for hours. “Freshness” isn’t always what you get at coffee shops anyway.
Fine, but more and more the only job expansion in the American economy is in the service industry, so more and more the American economy depends upon people being able to successfully convince themselves that there’s nothing extravagant or frivolous about this kind of consumption. (Let alone convincing themselves that a $4.00 cup of liquid candy is actually “coffee.”)
It’s hard to justify buying a big new TV when you’re unemployed, but Starbucks? It’s just a convenient cup of “coffee.”
So really, this ad is rather un-American.
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/15 "2012-07-17T22:20:03Z")
Are they trying to put all the coffee shops out of business? That might be worse for the economy than people wasting $4 per cup on coffee.
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### Author:  [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/16 "2012-07-17T22:44:14Z")
My ex-wife should have been forced to watch all the feed the pig commercials in a never-ending loop. Yes, there are people who could lead a much better life by heeding the piggy.
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### Author:  [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/17 "2012-07-17T22:44:20Z")
The commercials just bring things to the forefront that people forget about. We spend a LOT more on convenience now than we used to, in general. I was out washing the car the other day and the neighbor couldn’t figure out why I wouldn’t just spend 12 bucks at a car wash place. I’m of the opposite opinion; why WOULD I pay that much for something that’s going to last 2 days before it’s a mess again?
Coffee, for me, is more convenient at home, as well as cheaper, so that’s a whole other matter. Plus I make what I WANT, as opposed to whatever the place has, which often isn’t what I want.
I see the ads as akin to posting the calories on those same Starbucks drinks. Yeah, we know they’re calorie-laden, but when you actually LOOK at it and realize that one drink is 90 percent of the day’s calories, well…it reminds you. And that often is enough.
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### Author:  [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/18 "2012-07-17T22:59:38Z")
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand nagging people about their spending is kind of annoying. On the other hand I have to like an organization called Feed the Pig.
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/19 "2012-07-18T04:41:57Z")
> [@Taomist](#):
>
> I see the ads as akin to posting the calories on those same Starbucks drinks. Yeah, we know they’re calorie-laden, but when you actually LOOK at it and realize that one drink is 90 percent of the day’s calories, well…it reminds you. And that often is enough.
One drink is 90% of daily calories? What is that, a lard frappe’?
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### Author:  [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2012, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481/20 "2012-07-18T05:39:21Z")
> [@astro](#):
>
> One drink is 90% of daily calories? What is that, a lard frappe’?
I swear I was at a Starbucks and saw the calorie count on a drink as being 8 or 900 calories. Online, I find no such thing. Hrm.
But yeah, I was exaggerating slightly anyway. Even growing up, girls were told that 1300 calories a day is what you want to be at to lose weight, 1500 to stay the same. Not sure what a healthy calorie count is considered to be, these days.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-pig-make-you-own-coffee-save-a-1-000-a-year-is-kind-of-a-stupid-observation/628481.md?page=2)