A viral report on USA Today is currently circulating online, echoing specialists who are sharing their insights that cutting down your DoorDash and Starbucks spending would save you big bucks.
On the surface, it is probably a no-brainer. DoorDash food orders are way more expensive than when you order directly from the restaurant, because of the delivery fees. Similarly, a cup of coffee from Starbucks is more expensive than making your own coffee at home. Think of paying for the Starbucks brand.
Now, influencers on TikTok are saying that you should cut down, not your Internet use or your Netflix, but your DoorDash use if you really want to save money.
Thirty-one-year-old grade school teacher Rachelle Biennestin told her TikTok followers, "You need to live incredibly below your means. I’m talking survival mode. This year to set yourself up for success, you are not going to spend frivolously. Press-on girlies, you might just have to use your regular nail polish on your bare nails. Acrylic Gel X queens, you might have to get some press-ons. “I’m not saying to stop, but I’m saying to cut back.”
Most netizens are not agreeing with her, saying that people couldn’t simply budget their way out of poverty. The solution, according to them, is to increase their income, and that’s it.
To which Biennestin responded, "I think everyone should have a goal,” she told ridesharing media in an interview.
Meanwhile, another influencer on social, Zofi Peacock, who lives in Utah, suggests that people follow her and her husband’s thing on cutting down on costs by lessening the Starbucks spending, stopping impulse-buying online, and even cutting back on gym membership.
Zofi Peacock, a 26-year-old social media influencer in Salt Lake City, shared a long list of ways she and her husband would be cutting back on their spending this year in her viral video.
That included cutting out her $8 daily coffee, stopping her impulse-buying on Amazon, spending money on quality items instead of dupes that don’t last, and cutting back on gym membership.
The netizens have had enough of these odd recommendations, so the media consulted with experts to really weigh in on the effectiveness of these habits.
Certified financial planner Josh Brooks would side with the netizens, instead of the influencers, saying that the criticism the former received over the “latter factor” recommendation is valid.
“Suggesting otherwise feels tone-deaf to those facing genuine economic hardship,” Brooks told Ridesharing Forum. “However, the influencers aren’t entirely wrong – they just apply the advice too broadly.”
Robert Wang, another certified financial planner, seconded that, saying that having a spending plan is like being on a meal plan.
“It will only work if it’s sustainable and reasonable. Many people want quick results and thus will be disappointed by the ‘small wins,’” he told Ridesharing Forum. “The most effective diets are moderate and by people who [are] motivated to continue no matter how difficult or uncomfortable it gets… That’s how I view ‘budgeting,’ it’s not primarily the $4 you save by not buying coffee but the ability and willingness to sacrifice something from Present You so Future You can benefit.”