Coffee
How much is that cup of coffee costing you? Do you order a drink at the corner coffee shop several times each day? Did you realize that if you made coffee at home or the office instead of spending $3.50 a day at the corner coffee shop you would save over $1000 in just one year. If your excuse is that you are too busy in the morning to make coffee why not try using a coffee maker with a timer. You can set it up to brew just before you get out of bed. I am one of those people who cannot leave the house without first enjoying two cups of coffee, so I cannot live without a coffee maker with a timer.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy going for a cup of coffee as much as the next person. However, when I sat down and figured out how much cash my two latte’s per day were costing me and the number of calories I was consuming with each drink, it did not take me long to do two things:
1. I cut back to going to the coffee shop. I now only go one time per day (I like to meet friends for coffee)
2. I stopped drinking latte’s most days…I allow myself one non-fat latte per week. I have managed to save over $1200 this last year just by switching from latte’s to regular drip coffee and eliminating one trip to the coffee shop per day. It also helped me to lose a few pounds. There are surprisingly a lot of calories in lattes.
I just discoverd that Gevalia coffee has a program where they will give you a coffee maker just for trying their coffee…no further committments all you have to do is try threir coffee. If you like it great and if not that is fine too, you still get to keep the coffee maker. I wish that I had known about this deal before I bought a new coffee maker.
Since giving up on lattes I have been trying out various coffee blends…it has been fun trying differnent blends. I still like dark French roast coffee but one of my new favorite special treats in the morning is Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee… I probably would never have tried it if I hadn’t switched my coffee habits. Note: If you want to try Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee you might trying looking online…it can be difficult to find locally.
Another great money saving idea for your coffee maker is to use a gold filter instead of the disposal paper filters. The gold filters cost about $10 and last for years (my gold filter out lived my old coffee maker). Using a gold filter in lieu of paper filter is better for the environment too.
If you are wondering what you can do with your coffee grounds other than throwing them in the trash, try putting them in your garden (or potted plants if you do not have a yard) for extra fertilizer.