You've probably figured out by now that I'm pretty cheap. If you called me that to my face, I'd take it as a compliment! It's a game to me -- a game that I dearly love to win.
Allow me here to give you further proof of this fact. Perhaps, in the end, it will benefit your wallet like it benefits mine. At the very least, it will make me feel all clever and proud of myself which is what any good self-indulgent blog is all about, right?
I'm not really a card-carrying coffee drinker. I don't ever drink it black and I don't have to have it to start my day or to function in the morning. In fact, I prefer decaf.
But I DO adore my "coffee-flavored milk and sugar" -- a vanilla latte or a raspberry mocha can definitely serve as comfort food or brighten my day. I could easily be a committed coffee shop loiterer. But, even if I WERE to have the time, it's just not in my budget.
A coffee confection from Starbucks costs $2.70-$3.00 for a tall/small. Plus tax. That adds up to about $100 a month for a once-daily habit. Ugh.
McDonald's has figured out the coffee thing pretty well too. But it still costs $2.39 (about $75 a month). There is also no decaf option here -- AND I find it tends to be OVER-caffeinated.
My solution comes with a Great Value label (from Walmart) that, conveniently, adheres to the appropriate aesthetic and matches all the other GV products in my cabinets. (I LOVE having matchy-matchy cabinets!)
The only drawback is I can't get it in decaf.
I might have to solve this problem by paying a little more for General Foods International coffee mix which, blessedly, comes in decaf as well as in a variety of flavors (and can also be bought in sugar-free if that's important to you) -- though, alas, it wouldn't match in the cabinet! It costs about $3.88 for 18 servings which comes to 21.6 cents a cup or about $7.50 a month.
Bye!
I looove the Pioneer Woman's Iced coffee http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee/ I made it last month and it lasted for a while. When I was at my old job I used to go to Starbucks everyday and I did the math and discovered I spent over $200 there a month! I got Grade sized stuff and sometimes went twice a day. I broke the habit for a while, but my new campus has TWO Starbucks ON CAMPUS! It is horrible! I only allow myself to go once a week but still it is a horrible expensive addiction. I need to make another batch of coffee for home.
ReplyDeleteI second the iced coffee. Great way to make coffee last a long time and perfect for summer! Also, you can use cheap coffee and get a decent cup. I'm a coffee snob, so that's saying something!
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