The Kitchen Appliance Gen Z Can't Live Without Saves Money In The Long Run

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Brewing your own coffee to save money is such an overdone piece of financial advice that it almost makes us roll our eyes. It's especially irritating when people claim that $7 lattes are the reason younger generations can't afford to buy a house. But as annoying as this advice is, investing in a coffee machine can really help younger people save a pretty penny — especially considering that a 2025 Tastewise report found 47% of Gen Z consumers drink coffee every single day.

Even with coffee prices increasing across the board, using at-home coffee makers can add up to significant savings. Though Starbucks products aren't stellar, they are very popular, so let's use them as an example: A 12-ounce bag of the classic Pike Place Roast can make around 23 eight-ounce cups of coffee for a total of $6.38. Even if you drank a cup every single day of the year, that would come out to only $102.20. In comparison, buying a single eight-ounce cup of this same brew at a Starbucks would cost $3.65. If you get your daily dose all year long, that adds up to an astonishing $1,332.25. Basically, you could save $1,230.05 per year just by using your own coffee machine. 

Real savings could be even higher since Gen Z tends to turn away from simple black coffee in favor of more elaborate drinks that are usually more expensive. To counteract the cost, this generation is investing in coffee makers, syrups, creamers, and other additions to recreate the luxurious café experience right at home.

Given the amount of savings that making coffee at home represents, it's really no wonder that a 2025 report found that Gen Z sees coffee machines as essential kitchen items. But Gen Z also prioritizes convenience and simplicity, so they often prefer instant options like coffee pod machines. While this type of coffee maker sometimes doesn't yield as high-quality coffee as machines that brew fresh ground beans, it's fast, easy, and good enough for this generation.

Despite their subpar freshness, coffee pods can be more expensive than bags, so the savings they provide are not always as high as the ones calculated above. Even so, capsules are still better than visiting coffee shops regularly. Keurig offers 40 Pike Place Roast pods for $23.62. This comes out to $0.59 per cup, compared to $0.28 for the 12-ounce bag. Or, in other words, 23 cups will cost you $6.38 for ground coffee, $13.57 for capsules, and $83.95 in a coffee shop. 

This doesn't mean that you should go for the cheapest option when choosing your coffee maker, though. The best type of coffee machine is the one that best suits your lifestyle. If you need something quick and easy, go for coffee capsules (but try to use compostable ones so you reduce the amount of waste produced). If you'd rather spend a bit more time carefully brewing a fresh, high-quality cup of joe in a traditional-style coffee maker, that's also great. All things considered, even the occasional trip to the coffee shop is good for the soul. We'd just skip making it an everyday ritual.