消费 coupled with the MW: 个 I noticed that dictionaries cite 消费 as having the MW: 个 。  Is there a reason that this this particular noun has a measure word?  It doesn't seem as if it were to be a word that uses a measure word.  

Can any one help clarify this for me ?
'消费' as a verb means 'to consume' and the measure word for this verb is 次, as in '消费一次'
'消费' as a noun means 'consumption; expenditure; expense' and the typical measure word for this noun is 項(item of), as in 一項消费, 多項消费

花一元买一杯咖啡也是一項消费 - Spend a dollar to buy a cup of coffee is still a (item of) consumption
花一元买一杯咖啡也是一种消费 - Spend a dollar to buy a cup of coffee is still a (kind of) consumption

Using 个 as the measure word for 消费 is less common, but it is not incorrect:

花一元买一杯咖啡也是一个消费 - Spend a dollar to buy a cup of coffee is still a (item of) consumption

If a considerable amount of money is involved, you can use 笔 (sum of)

一大笔消费 -  a huge (sum of) expenditure