Anyone that knows me will attest that I drink a whole lot of coffee. Between studying to get into nursing school and working crazy hours in the emergency room, what’s a girl supposed to do?! It didn’t take me very long to realize that my coffee addiction was hindering my goal of building my savings. I knew something had to give, and it was not about to be my coffee! Here are the top four things that help to keep me caffeinated and on a budget!
Invest in a Coffee Pot
Wake up five minutes earlier and start a pot of coffee. Going through the drive-through for your morning mocha really is not that much more convenient! Most coffee pots even have a setting that will automatically brew you a cup at a designated time! It doesn’t get easier than that.
The average pound of coffee beans from Starbucks is $12 and will make you FORTY cups of coffee. That’s only 30 cents a cup! If you buy those same 40 cups from a Starbucks, you would be spending over $80! That’s assuming you’re buying a drip coffee and not a custom drink (which I’ll get into later.) The money you save by making your own coffee at home will be worth waking up a couple minutes early for!
Some of my favorite coffee beans are Dunkin’ Donuts Classic and Full Circle Exchange Mexican Roast (which tastes amazing and helps economic stability around the world through Fair Trade!)
Plus, making coffee at home gives you a good excuse for super cute coffee mugs!
Coffee Dates
Like many busy college students, catching up with friends typically revolves around coffee. I have spent many mornings sitting at small tables in coffee shops, and talking with some of my closest friends. Knowing that this is something I enjoy, I make small changes that allow me to go out and still stay on budget!
Try and get in the habit of making your own coffee at home throughout the week. Then, when you go out with a friend, you are not just spending money on a drink but quality time with a person.
Drink COFFEE
If you are insistent on buying coffee, skip the caramel macchiato and get a drip coffee! If you need coffee to get out of bed in the morning, that will still do the trick while keeping your wallet padded rather than your backside.
Shops charge, on average, twice as much for a barista drink than a drip coffee. Those couple of dollars add up!
If you are the type of person that prefers sweet coffee drinks, have the barista add flavored syrup or get creative with cream and sugar. You can customize it for you preference and it will still save you money!
Join Rewards Programs
Whether it’s a Dutch Bros stamp card, or the Starbucks Rewards program, take advantage of them! When you do splurge and buy coffee out, you can be working towards another free drink. Don’t buy 10 drinks just to get the free one, but enjoy the perks if you’re going to be buying coffee anyway!
Plus, being a Starbucks member gets you a free drink on your birthday. 🙂
Don’t let small habits continue to burden your budgeting endeavors! A few simple changes can save you hundreds of dollars in coffee alone! It’s not about depriving yourself of what you enjoy, but finding moderation on your path to financial freedom.
May your burdens be light and your coffee strong. ♡
-Kaelyn
Ps. Please help me welcome Ms. Kaelyn Moody to the WHC team. Kaelyn will be sharing her insights through various entertaining blog posts.
Good advice.
Thanks Elaine! I appreciate your comment and having you stop by whitneyhansen.com.
Hope you are having a good week!
I like the kick that coffee gives me but don’t actually like the taste of coffee, so I tend to get the expensive stuff that’s filled with syrup. Because I like expensive drinks, getting a Keurig actually helped me reduce my Starbucks trips. It’s not the cheapest option, but it’s a good one for me. I can replicate a lot of Starbucks drinks in my own kitchen. I like to sit at the coffee shop and write, but I don’t go unless I have a gift card, and I earn gift cards through programs like Bing Rewards. And yes, yes, yes to the rewards programs!
Heather,
That’s a great suggestion! K-Cups are still much cheaper than Starbucks. You should post your favorite at home “coffe-shop” drink recipe. 🙂
PS. Love your blog!Thanks for sharing your insights with the world.