It was very noticeable yesterday morning - the one, independent, outdoor kiosk style coffee shop that's been permitted to reopen in Hereford.

I just walked on by, without buying what would have been my usual Cappuccino, sometimes occasional muffin or pastry.

I shit you not when I say 'usual'... here's a snap shot of my transactions before lockdown. That one in red is the last take-out before the coffee shops finally closed on 25th March 2020.

The rest in yellow are all of my coffee/ cake purchases from one account, and that's excluding a few others bought with my credit card (paid off promptly each month) and cash, to kid myself into thinking I'm spending less than I actually am!

I've blogged before about how my estimated coffee expenditure per month is in the £150-200 a month range, most definitely sub-optimal.

But easily done.... £3 per coffee * 30 days = £90 as a based amount, and sometimes 2 a day, sometimes combining one of those coffee with a £2-3 cake, very easy to get yer coffee shop expenditure up to > £150/ month.

But my take-out coffee expenditure since 25th of March has been.....

£0!

All thanks to the wonderful world of lockdown meaning I couldn't buy any take-outs. Instead I've bought more decent coffee and made my own at home. I've been relying on this little fella more....

On the sub-optimality of business as usual

Coffee shops are scheduled to re-open en-masse very soon the in the UK, but I don't really want to go back to buying take-out coffee - it's just so sub-optimal for me, I mean just look at what a drain on my expenditure it is!

£150-£200 a month, that is 10% of my 'income as usual', and probably nearer 20-30% (possibly even more) of my future income when I transition to a more fiat-free life.

Compared to the £20 a month it costs me to make decent coffee at home, it really is not rational behaviour to buy take-out coffee.

So it might be back to business as usual in the next couple of weeks, but for me, it's sticking with coffee on the stove and keeping my money in the bank!