Skeptical about coworking memberships until I did the math on my actual costs

I spent 3 years bouncing between cafes and my Airbnb in Medellin, thinking coworking spaces were a ripoff at $150 a month. Then I added up what I was spending on coffee, tips, and overpriced sandwiches just to justify taking up a table for 5 hours. It came to nearly $400 a month and I still had to pack up for meetings. A proper coworking desk costs me $180 in Chiang Mai now and includes free water, way faster wifi, and I never lose a seat when it gets busy. The kicker was realizing I also stopped buying snacks out of boredom. Has anyone else found the real cost of "free" workspaces was way higher than they thought?

2 comments

2 Comments

robinson.paul14d ago

That $400 number is honestly more than I expected, but were you including things like laundry or a proper lunch that you wouldve paid for anyway? Ive been looking at the same math for myself and wondering if people actually cut out those extra costs or just move them somewhere else in their budget. Like, did you notice a real change in your total monthly spending or did the savings get eaten up by something else you didnt account for?

grayjohnson14d ago

Your mileage may vary, but I found the cafe costs are just swapped for rent or other stuff.