As ridiculous as the title of this article reads, it is indeed a sad fact that I have spent the last several years spending exorbitant amounts of money on my favorite morning commute beverage. Four years of intense undergraduate studies fueled my addiction to the perfect black brew, while turning me into nothing short of a coffee snob. So instead of a normal cup of joe from the local Wawa or Sunoco, I would opt for a venti 6 shot caramel latte from Star Bucks at $4.75...and that's without the additional shots at .55 cents apiece. Now if you are following along and doing the math that equals roughly $2536.5 a year for my morning pick me up, and will lead you to the ultimate question of how does that equal $7,000? Well, that was just my morning pick me up as I often found it "necessary" to have another one after my lunch break, to stave off an impending food coma enhanced by cubicle rot. Now to reach our final number I have to add my lovely co-addicted wife to the equation, and it is easy to see how quickly you can reach a ridiculous amount of money on a non-necessity such as coffee.

But those were great financial times for two working professionals with no children, and no diapers or happy meals to compete with our over the top coffee budget. But as gas began to climb closer and closer to the price of a venti specialty drink per gallon, and my family began to expand we had to examine our expenditures with serious scrutiny. And without rehashing the events that led to several government bailouts and their effect on... oh say a gallon of milk or loaf of bread, we found a definite need to begin trimming some of our little luxuries. So with a look of stern love and a gentle hand placed upon my forearm, my lovely wife broke the news that it was time to cut out the bi-daily trips to my favorite espresso bars. I did what any addict would do at such a brazen intervention...I cried, and when she put the actual yearly total for our cappuccino's on paper I cried even harder. Together we decided it'd be a good idea to invest in a descent coffee and cappuccino maker to help quell our incessant desire to buy on the run. After many hours of dry eyed research I settled on a Saeco Incanto Classic Espresso Machine super automatic coffee maker. With the touch of a button the Incanto brews an unbelievable shot of espresso in minutes and even grinds the Espresso all in one shot!

So after spending a little over $700 for a second hand Incanto, and buying a pound of espresso every two weeks at $11 per lb, we now have the ability to brew what is in my opinion a superior tasting drink with a consumer level cappuccino maker. We've freed up much needed cash in our family budget and I'm no longer limited to two measly drinks a day. Cheers and happy brewing!