Could this be why there’s a Starbucks in every Target.
Here's an easy way to save money: The next time you're shopping, don't drink coffee. A new study on Studyfinds.org found it makes you spend more. Researchers offered 300 people a free drink while they shopped. Each person got a cup, and could choose between coffee, decaf, or water. About half of them chose coffee. And by the end, the coffee-drinkers had spent 50% more money, and bought 30% more stuff. They think it's because caffeine makes us more energetic, and more impulsive. And this seems to back that up: The people who drank coffee tended to buy far more "non-essential" items that they didn't really need. In other words, impulse purchases.