Cutting the Starbucks habit -

[savinggirl]

A few months I gave up the daily (sometimes twice) starbucks habit. Now I bring coffee from home, or buy the $1 coffee at the deli down the road. I treat myself once a week to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts.

I'm saving about $30 a week....thats almost $400 in a little over 3 months. Holy crap! enough for a spring weekend getaway or a 3 months of phone bills.


Has anyone else done the Coffee budget diet?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

The Starbucks ilk tastes too burnt, strong, and sometimes acidic for me. So no, I have never had to address that habit.

It's great that you've found an easy way to save so much. I'm thinking that if you still want to save more, you could look at those phone bills next, as $400 for three months of phone calls sounds high to me.

[Frugal]

I pay $140 for one month with two cell phones, so it does not sound that high to me! we do have smart phones, though, so they cost more. Kudos to your for cutting the Starbucks habit.

I had to cut that habit when I got out of college a while back, by limiting how many times per week I went there. Kids spend a lot of time studying in coffee shops, so this was very hard for me at first. However, I easily saved about $60/month by cutting this out.

You might try frequenting local coffee shops, as these are often cheaper and can send you deals via text messages for MUCH better tasting and cheaper drinks than Starbucks. Sometimes, I get drinks for $1-2 at these places.

The important thing is, you have already saved money by cutting that habit down to once a week! Congratulations on that!

[khosta]

I'm addicted to coffee/caffeine as well. I did stop my daily spending habit on that... I also bring coffee tow ork now too - we conviently have a coffee maker in our little kitchentte - AND we get the Dunkin Donuts coffee beans!!!! Yummy!!!!

[tripods68]

In 2006 I spent $1,250 in Starbucks (work days)
In 2007 I spent $1,125 in Starbucks (work days)

$2,375 is rediculous!

2008 I spent $0
2009 I spent $0
2010 I spent $0
2011 I spent $3.95 Last week during (I was off last Friday)

I saved approx $3500 in the last 3.2 years

I made a concious effort to cut back on coffee intake and just brewed coffee from home.

[NolaP]

Good work! I recently gave up coffee all together and am only drinking green tea from tea bags, no sugar. It was rough at first but I feel soooo much better now, physically, and it's much easier on my wallet.

[jerrycates]

True that. It is not very necessary for us to keep going back to starbucks for the fancy coffee in those paper cups just because we can spend. But it will be better to save the money used to buy super expensive coffee that you can drink from home.

[canada94]

Originally Posted by savinggirl

A few months I gave up the daily (sometimes twice) starbucks habit. Now I bring coffee from home, or buy the $1 coffee at the deli down the road. I treat myself once a week to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts.

I'm saving about $30 a week....thats almost $400 in a little over 3 months. Holy crap! enough for a spring weekend getaway or a 3 months of phone bills.


Has anyone else done the Coffee budget diet?

I think sometimes we just need to step back and take alook at our 'habits', well done for saving that amount.

[elessar78]

Yeah, I was doing a similar thing too a few years back. I had to accept the fact that I didn't actually like their coffee and their espresso drinks were loaded with sugar.

There are a lot of habits like "Starbucks" that people have. When we have time we go to specialty coffee shops and we get a pound of coffee. It's a little pricey for a pound but our coffee cost is 33 cents per day!

[CCCFree]

I just figured out how much MONEY I've spent over the course of the past 10 years at Starbucks! It is completely pathetic!!

[Frugal]

I just found out yesterday if I buy a basic cup of Tazo Rooibos tea at Starbucks, I can make a much better and cheaper tea latte at home. I added my own sugar and milk, and saved about two bucks.

[Alan_MoneySanity]

Never even tried Starbucks - it's way too expensive for me. If I loved Starbucks coffee I would invest in a home brewing machine that can make it like they do....maybe source it from Ebay or craigslist or some coffee house that just went under.

[tripods68]

Originally Posted by CCCFree

I just figured out how much MONEY I've spent over the course of the past 10 years at Starbucks! It is completely pathetic!!

Curious to know how $$ pathetic?

[wifeytini]

Hey there! Starbucks is a fun place for me to stop and get a treat every once and a while, but thankfully I don't really like the taste of coffee and I don't go often. I definitely will splurge for one of their Chai Teas or their Carmel Frappaccinnos, however.

Anyway, instead of spending $3-5 a pop, I joined swagbucks and now I can redeem the points I used for Starbucks giftcards. I don't quite have an addiction, but it's definitely a way for me to get a FREE beverage every now and then.

[Homebody]

I really like Starbucks coffee. But I rarely buy it at the coffee shop. I get it at Costco and grind it myself. Occasionally there will be coupons and Safeway or CVS (this week actually) will run it on sale, 12 oz for 7.99 or 6.99, and I will buy it ground. Costco's latest coupon book has $4.50 off Starbucks coffee, I think it is 2 pounds. We usually buy 4-5 bags and that lasts until they have a coupon again. We are on our last bag now, but it was supplemented with a few ground bags. We have a food sealer so we put it in the cannisters and seal the coffee so it stays fresh.

[debtfreeme]

Good for you!

I only have coffee a couple times a month, and it is our of my weekly allowance I give myself for the "fun" things in my life. I get $50 a week for the fun things and that seems to be plenty. Coffee out is a fun thing because I am usually with a friend chatting for a couple of hours.

[crazyskunk82]

Someone gave me a Keurig, and that really helped curb spending. The Kcups aren't cheap, but they're cheaper than a Starbucks coffee, and of course a muffin or cookie, every day.

[florent]

Easy. I don't drink coffee.

Used to depend on it (starbucks, red bull, coffee, monster), switched to green tea, same amount of caffeine (if not, more). Then after a couple months I switched to de-caf green tea, tricked my own brain. Then I eventually stopped drinking green tea in the morning...

I drink mostly water. But tea is VERY cheap anyways. Very inexpensive. You can do anything you set your mind to.

I spend very little on beverages!

[dawnwes]

I love GOOD coffee. I found that most places like Starbucks tend to be hit or miss with the baristas. It seems the turnover rate brings on some good ones and some bad ones.

So, about 7 years ago I decided to bite the bullet and get myself a really good espresso/cappuccino machine. My husband about flipped when I told him how much I spent (I got it on a really good sale for $350, normally $900!) , but it has lasted almost 7 years and I use it EVERY SINGLE DAY! I make myself a really good double shot espresso latte and have it down to a science so it doesn't take long at all. I don't currently work, but even when I got up at 5:30am I used it and took it in my mug in the car on the way to work.

Anyway, I love it! And $350 for 7 years of daily use is a bargain compared to daily stops at the coffee store.

Dawn

[dancinmama]

DH and I or my sister and me will grab a Starbucks every once in a while. I'd never buy them on a regular basis cuz it's basically a rip-off, but it's a nice treat every once in a while.

I usually get flavored coffeemate at WAGs for free (after coupon and register reward) and add a splash of that to my coffee. It's not exactly Starbucks, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper.