Free is relative.

Monday was one of the best days of my life. I went to Starbucks and they let me pick a free pound of coffee. One that I could take home. And consume on my own time.

Except really it wasn't free.

They had this promotion that if for eight weeks you tried their BOLD pick of the week then you get a sticker. And at the end, if you had all the stickers, you got a free pound of coffee.

Well, Monday I went in and bought my last grande drip bold coffee, (with room for cream) and they said go pick your coffee.

And then I started thinking about it. Because let's see for eight weeks I bought a grande coffee. And then I just love their Asiago bagels, so when I was looking not only for a wake up drink but also a snack, I would add on one of those tasty eatings. And then because I can't just show up to class with Star Star without asking some of my classmates if they either want to join me or if they want me to pick something up for them. So that adds another drink to the tab some of the time. And because some of the weeks, I really liked the bold coffee, I would come in multiple times.

So really after eight weeks, we're looking at a $70 dollar free pound of coffee.

Ok, $70 is a bit of an exaggeration. But you get the idea.

Marketing. Advertisements. Consumer Behavior. Gotta love it.

Here I am with my pound of coffee. It has made quite delicious mornings these past two days.