The published version can be read here on The Eastern Echo’s website or Monday’s issue can be picked up on campus.

Are you the type of caffeinated machine that thinks a Red Bull is an alternative to Ambien?  Have you ever attempted to attach a baby bottle nipple to a can of Monster for easy bedtime accessibility?  Or are you a milder latte-a-day kind of person?

A latte is a coffee drink made with espresso and steamed milk; an inexpensive pick-me-up for those who have a complicated relationship with mornings.

For those that live on the mild side, let’s say the average latte runs around the $4 mark; tax, title, and licensing fees included, along with whatever else you toss in…one shot, two, shot, three shot, four –  of espresso. 

This kind of latte dedication (addiction?) does add up.

One latte a day at the predetermined $4 price for 365 days equates to $1,460.  Is this figure realistic? No, no one gets a latte every single day of the year, but there is somebody currently sifting through receipts trying to add up how close they come to the high-end watermark – don’t forget to carry that seven.

A more realistic number would be a latte five days a week, right?

A latte a day sans the weekends should be what a normal person needs to shake the morning cobwebs off by noon, ringing up at a milder $1,040 a year in spending.

$1,040 a year, you’re thinking, but it’s just a latte?

Yeah, well, lattes are Italian, and Italian things are fancy, and fancy things are expensive, like a Ferrari or a Fiat.

So, what else can $1,000 and some change net you over the course of a year?

Actually, a decent amount.

$1,000 can buy a year’s worth of Sprint’s Everything Data plan with 450 anytime minutes, which retails for $69.99 (plus tax and fees), and you would have money left over.

$1,000 can buy a Sharp Quattron 40-inch 1080p 120 hertz LED-LCD HDTV for $649.98 new on Amazon with some change left over for the cable sports package and some brewskies if you want. 

You can never forget the brewskies.

For the more adventurous type, a vacation on the cheap can be had if you stay in the states, but you may need to bring an exterminator, too.

But where does this fit in for a college student who needs a double shot of espresso intravenously to wake up from a study-induced coma before a 1pm class and their idea of spring break is working?

For the espresso fiend it means having enough money to pay for a three credit hour class in cash, if you are a paying tuition as a Michigan resident, which runs $246.95 according to Eastern Michigan’s website.  This includes the usual technology, $11.55, student union, $3.45, and general fees, $24.40, with enough left over for the class’s books – usually.

“I’d probably pay for tuition or put it in a savings account,” Ricky Hurston, a freshman at Eastern Michigan University said.

If you are a non-Michigan resident student you will have to give up more than lattes to cover a three credits class.  This would put you back $727.35 a credit hour plus fees.

Cutting $1,000 out of your financial need for college will help you avoid those nasty student loans that rack up like, well, your latte spending.            

With the cost college being anything but latte-esque in price, a smart move would be to spend it on tuition or books.

“I’d save some of it for school because I have to start paying myself next year,” Taurie Davis, an Eastern Michigan University sophomore said.

Yes, giving up a latte a day sounds wonderful and easy, but can a caffeine addicted Starbuk-aholic really give in?               

“I’d probably not give it up,” Darnell Bostic, a freshman at Eastern Michigan University, said , even with the proposition of an extra $1,000.