If you’re here, then it means you also have a secret affair with caffeine. Or maybe not secret. Maybe everyone knows about it, and rightfully so. Even if your significant other might not have an issue with it, your wallet might. Even if you don’t buy coffee or tea on a daily basis, when you do, you indulge in all the pleasures of the world.
Of course, coffee is related. If you’re looking for efficient ways to save money before it completely gets out of control and consider moving to that Starbucks down your street, try these things:
Use cash instead of credit.
Even if you’ve probably heard about this trick over and over again, it’s still worth mentioning. According to the U.S. News, studies proved that customers spend less when they use cash instead of credit.
When you’re dealing with tangible money in your hand and you can physically feel it go away each time you get coffee, you are way more likely to notice what you’re spending everything on and maybe pay more attention, rather than simply having the ease of swiping a card.
Make your coffee at home.
Probably one of the most efficient ways to save money without actually giving up on your coffee habits is to brew your own at home (here’s a great one you might want to try). I mean, just think about it: if you get your coffee from a local coffee shop, stop doing so and brew your own at home.
The price difference is $3–$5 and $20–$35 a week, which can add up to $2,000 a year. That doesn’t even include the fact that you’re most likely going to buy additional items.
After all, who goes to a coffee shop and only buys coffee? Especially in the morning, when that banana bread is basically sneaking into your nostrils like a genie back in its lamp. So you might as well double that to $4,000 per year.
Get creative
If you miss having that large caramel frappé drink but know it’s costing you an arm and a leg, there’s another efficient way to get the same taste without blowing a hole in your wallet. For example, if you’re into Starbucks Frappucinos, you can opt for an iced latte.
It’s pretty much the same thing. The trick is that you need to ask for extra syrup. If you’re still feeling creative, you can also buy black coffee and add your own mix of milk, cream, sugar, and so on.
Or, you might ask for a double shot of espresso in a large cup, then make your own latte by adding milk. Who knows? You might even enjoy the process along the lines!
Be aware of your expenses.
Let’s be honest: every now and then, drinking coffee becomes a mundane thing, and you struggle to realize just how expensive it can get, especially if you make a daily habit out of it. Probably a big eye-opener is when you ask people how much coffee costs, and you have no idea how much they spent the last time they bought it.
Or, for that matter, how much it costs at any store! It truly reveals some interesting insights into our habits because it’s yet another example of how little people know about their expenses.
As coffee represents a small fraction of your daily expenses (meaning that you definitely have others as well), you’ll be shocked to see how much it eventually adds up in the end.
Find another alternative for maintaining your coffee habit.
Even if coffee provides a much-needed amount of caffeine, there are definitely other ways you could get the same jolt of energy without needing to go to the local shop.
I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out: exercising, eating healthy superfoods, drinking as much water as you can, and getting sun exposure are only a couple of alternatives that will instantly boost your energy without spending extra cash on coffee!
Try making coffee ice cubes.
If you’re anything like me and you have a tendency to make too much coffee at once, I have the perfect tip for you: fill ice cube trays with the rest of the brewed coffee so you don’t have to throw it away.
It will save you a ton of bucks, you won’t have to buy beans, and the cubes will be the chef’s kiss when you’re lusting for a cold iced coffee. Of course, homemade!
Create your own creamer.
Brewing your own coffee might open your appetite for learning more, and after all, why not? You could always complement your drink with a tasty homemade treat. For most of us, coffee is not really coffee with its beloved creamer on top.
Or inside it. Or everywhere. You get the point. Luckily, we live in an era where “DIY creamers” actually mean something. Moreover, they are cheaper than their counterparts and healthier.
Without all those harmful additives, you could sit back, relax, and sip your morning elixir without worrying about what is going into your body.
Download coffee apps.
If you don’t plan on making your own at home, but you still want to save a couple of bucks when visiting your local Starbucks, at least make sure you download a couple of apps that might save you a buck or two.
You can either try Level Up or Cups, which are both meant to help you save when buying your favorite cup of Joe. For example, Level Up helps you pay with your phone and also gives you plenty of rewards every time you get something.
Cups has prepaid plans for your favorite local go-to spots, and it also allows you to save as much as 40% off.
Buy whole beans instead of ground ones.
It’s true that you might be saving a lot of time with ground beans, but you will also waste a lot of money because they don’t stay as fresh as whole beans do. The reason behind that is that whole beans are definitely fresher and longer than ground coffee.
And since we’re at it, here’s what generally happens with the ground kind: you buy it, and it’s amazing for a couple of days. Then your coffee isn’t that good.
You might blame the grounds, thinking they’ve probably gone bad, and decide to toss them out. But by doing that, you’re actually throwing away money.
Order a cup of black coffee.
Instead of ordering a caramel frappe (which doesn’t even have that much caffeine and can cost a fortune), go ahead and buy a black coffee. It definitely has more caffeine and is less expensive because it doesn’t have all those fancy ingredients.
Believe it or not, Starbucks’ brewed black coffee has 415mg of caffeine (which is a venti), double that of Frappucino’s. You’ll be paying less for more caffeine, which doesn’t sound like a bad deal to me.
Stop drinking it altogether.
I saved it last because, if you’re a coffee lover, this might seem unlikely (and even a bit cruel to even suggest), but not impossible. If you feel that your coffee addiction has completely gotten out of control, then maybe it’s time to get rid of the habit altogether.
Not only will it save you a lot of money, but you’ll also save time. Think about all the things that go into making a cup of joe (milk, sugar, cream).
If you enjoyed reading this piece, we also recommend checking out: 7 Tips to Avoid Overspending During the Holiday Season
