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I love coffee. Not just floofy sugary Starbucks-esque drinks, but dark, rich black coffee. I like the notes of fruits and florals, and appreciate the difference between a light roast and a dark roast. In short, I am a coffee snob. Managing coffee love (snobbery) on a budget was kind of tricky at  first, but we’ve found a way to make it work!

Real quick, I attribute this love/obsession with coffee to my upbringing 1. I was born and raised in Anchorage, AK. In Anchorage, there are fabulous coffee “shacks” on nearly every corner. There are few places in the city where you cannot see two coffee places at once. I’d put Anchorage at just under Seattle in terms of coffee obsession. and 2. My dad. He was an insane coffee drinker with a love for a 12 oz quad shot breve (or latte when he was trying to be slightly more healthy). In my childhood, 9 out of 10 daddy-daughter outings involved a coffee shop.

Anyways, heres how we go about managing coffee love on a budget…

1. We only drink nice coffee on weekends. In the past, we drank fancy coffee every morning. We were always proud to say that we “didn’t buy coffee” at a coffee shop, but quality beans get expensive. Frankly, our coffee consumption during the week is more means-to-an-end to get to work and through the day than it is about enjoyment. So now, we grind up our beans only on our weekends. Doing this has made us really appreciate every delicious cup, and has pretty dramatically lowered the $ we spend on coffee.
2. We don’t drink coffee out – I won’t say never, because occasionally when I’m behind on MBA homework I’ll go work on it at a coffee shop in the city nearby. Our home is in an area where the only nearby coffee is Starbucks, so there isn’t much temptation otherwise. People who know me in my current town/college town think I love Starbucks, but it’s only because they don’t understand what Anchorage offered and unfortunately Starbucks is as good as it gets here. Meh.
3. Buying “good coffee” on sale – I know I just said I don’t really like Starbucks, but I DO really like their Christmas Blend/Holiday Blend coffee beans. They have the perfect amount of spices without adding too much “flavor” past the beans. Anyways, this year I was able to score some after the holiday season for 50% off. I really wish I would’ve checked more stores to stock up because this roast is delicious and the price was unbeatable. I also check TJ Maxx ( I know it sounds weird but sometimes they have good blends!), and other coffee shops.
4. Buying Whole Bean Coffee – this is another thing I learned from my dad. Whole bean coffee is a better value, because there was less processing involved. Not to mention it is WAY more fresh tasting. Instad of the grounds drying out the entire time they were shipped and in your cabiniet, only the outside of the beans touch the air. There really is a taste difference, I promise. Now, when you drink whole bean coffee this means you need a coffee grinder. We use {this} one (FYI there are quite a few negative reviews, so be aware of that. But we’ve had ours for two years, used daily for about a year, and used weekly for a year with no issues)

   

5. Drinking Coffee Black – Adding anything into your coffee simply adds in additional cost per cup. Not to mention it may also add in unnecessary sugar/chemicals into your drink too. You aren’t managing coffee love if you drink super doctored up drinks. At that point you are enjoying the cream/extras and should just drink the cheap stuff.

I hope this helps any other coffee lovers out there! Or if you don’t care, that you just amused by my high horse about coffee. Either works for me. I’ll just be here drinking my delicious weekend coffee.

With Motivation,

Rachel

Do you feel like you are already doing everything right as far as budgeting and pinching but still need to somehow save even more money?

Me too. Even though our debt payoff had been in a good place, we yesterday were given the news that our car needs to be replaced. SO, now we’re tightening up again. 

If you are ALREADY doing the following

• Tracking your Spending
• Meal Prepping/Cooking at Home
• Limiting recreation/fun
• Don’t use cable
• Drink coffee at home only
• Work lots of hours

And don’t want to hear about surveys and sketchy sounding ways to make $5 in a month, then keep reading! If you aren’t doing those above items, I’d recommend starting there.

If you still need to pinch a bit more, then this list is for you. I always got frustrated reading article that tell me the “obvious” things and then tell you to “download this app!” New flash: You might save a little more this way but it’s a headache. So what are other options? This is what we’re doing to save even more money from here on.

• Slash your grocery bill – be HONEST with what you actually need to eat. Make healthy, whole food choices to nourish yourself, but cut the “grass fed organic cage free” etc out. Make sure you will eat everything you buy. Throwing away food is throwing away money.
• Drink ONLY water – seriously, cut out the extra drinks and see your bank account fuller and your body become healthier. My husband and I have a love for craft beer and kombucha. Both of these drinks happen to be expensive. We would put it into our “groceries” but really these are luxuries. I have made kombucha before, so I plan to do that this month.
• Use up your cabinets – We try to buy only what we need for that week’s recipes, yet currently our cupboard is almost to max capacity. SO, in the month of April, I will be trying to use up almost everything in our cupboard to keep our grocery bill to a minimum. We also bought a quarter cow so we are pretty set on meat (although I don’t like eating that much red meat so I’ll still be buying some other proteins)
• Cheap Cleaners – Use my recipe for a household cleaner that will cost you pennies per bottle. Best part? It’s also natural and safe for the family.
• Cut subscriptions – the time has come for us to chop Spotify out of our lives. We already have Amazon Prime Student and this includes a music service, so we’re basically paying for the same service twice by having Spotify.  Including beauty subscriptions – ladies DO NOT GET ONE OF THESE. They are a way for companies to make money off of deluxe samples and rope you into buying more from them. Unless these products are the ONLY product you ever use and you fully use up every sample, it is NOT WORTH IT. Subscription boxes in general are a thing because it is SUCH an easy way to make a huge profit margin. Don’t get sucked in!

• Wear ALL of your clothes – Wear every single item of clothing you own. If you really hate something so much that you keep finding excuses not to wear it, then sell it immediately. Do this at a local consignment shop or {online}. This doesn’t count for formal wear or very seasonal-specific items, but if it’s casual or business casual be honest with yourself.
• Be careful – simply appreciating what you have and taking care of what you own will save you money in the long run. I accidentally knocked over a lamp two weeks ago. I may as well have just thrown away $20. Be extremely careful with expensive electronics.

In any news, we’ll be taking on a tight month, and I’m taking it as a challenge. If you want to join me and save even MORE money this month, let me know something else to do!

With Motivation,

Rachel

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