Coffee, tea, or a mocha latte frappucino thingy with too many words. Hot, delicious beverages get us through our day (especially Mondays like today), and I certainly wouldn’t want to deny you that pleasure for the sake of a budget. Pssh.
But! I do have some ideas to share on how I personally cut my coffee/tea/fancy drink spending.
How I save money on my coffee….
*Get a resusable to-go mug that you ACTUALLY like and USE.
Be realistic: is it dishwasher safe? Does it fit in your car cup holder? Will it get knocked over on your desk? Does it hold enough to get you through the morning? Is it visually striking? I have had many to-go cups and only liked a handful of them. The rest languished in the back of the cupboard, missing tops or warped or having ruined too many of my white shirts to ever be taken seriously again. Ask friends, read online reviews, and be picky. Spending $25 on a coffee mug is worth it in the long run. Or, you can just use canning jars with an awesome Cuppow top! I LOVE my Cuppow top and canning jars. Caveat: they do not keep your beverage warm for very long. I made a quick cozy for mine (see the post here)
*Buy dollar store disposable coffee cups with lids.
Sometimes, your coffee mugs are all dirty or nowhere to be found and you just want to get out of the house without too much fuss. Or you want to send a good friend home with a warm beverage, but don’t want to run the risk of losing your favorite mug to her cabinets forever. Or if we’re being honest, sometimes you just want to walk into a meeting with a to-go cup instead of your standard reusable commuter mug. Sigh.
*Go to 7/11 for Free Coffee Fridays.
7/11 gas stations have free coffee EVERY Friday morning between 7 and 11am. I admit I am not a coffee snob, and I am also more than willing to partake in a bananas foster gas station cappuccino. They are delicious, so don’t hate. Also, their regular coffee ain’t half-bad, and for us New Englanders, I’ve heard that it’s even better thank Dunkin’ Donuts (gasp!).
*If you live in New England, go to McDonald’s for coffee.
In New England, all of McDonald’s coffee is Newman’s Own organic coffee, and it’s only $1! I actually love this coffee.
*Go INTO the bank, instead of driving through.
Does your bank have a Keurig machine like I’ve seen several around here? I just love to pop into the bank for free coffee and my bank errands. It makes the whole morning feel like a real treat, and I’m not out a dime for coffee.
*If you are going to Starbucks or your favorite local coffee place, get a GOOD drink.
Go for the five-word order. But just don’t go there often! That’s the trick! I personally don’t like to go to Starbucks for a plain old cup o’ joe when there are so many other places to get good coffee on the cheap! If I walk into a Starbucks, it is for a treat. Also, my mom just told me the CEO of Starbucks made like, $65 million dollars last year or something. So I don’t feel too bad about my curmudgeonly coffee ways.
I hope you’ll find these tips useful for saving a few dollars here and there towards one of your GOALS!
I disagree with paying $25 for a coffee/tea mug… Try the Bubba Keg, HERO bottle $11-15. Many color choices, keeps your drink scalding hot for ~2 hrs and perfectly drinkable for 6hr after that.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bubba+hero
http://www.fireflybuys.com/p-1104-bubba-brands-bubba-keg-16-oz-hero-bottle-fresh-lilac-purple.aspx
Amazon is cheaper with the prime shipping (yay student prime!) fireflybuys has $5 shipping.
The classic style is the stainless with the color band painted on and the matching color lid. The new and (IMO more fun) style is the stainless painted white with a rubber grippy in the center and the matching lid.
Hubby found this bottle on campus one day (it had been sitting in the same spot for weeks before he brought it home) He tried it out and was raving about it. I decided I wanted one, found it on amazon, got the purple one. It was AMAZING, until it fell out of the cupboard and the lid flap was kind of open, it broke. I super glued it on such that you have to unscrew it to drink out of it, which is annoying for daily use. So I bought another one, this time amazon had the white and blue one (which is the one I wanted originally…) Its just as amazing as the others. Im keeping the purple one for road trips, to act like a canteen for refilling the blue one. I love this mug so much I want to buy one for every family member! I can not see why anyone would not love and use this, its easy to clean, no straws or anything for gunk to build up in and grow bacteria, all stainless inside and out, only plastic is the lid (and I guess the part the lid screws on to). DW safe. How does it keep so hot? vacuum insulated!
Thanks for the recommendation/review, Emily! I will have to keep that in mind for my next one! They changed the design on my favorite, so it's time to look for a new brand anyway…when this one dies!