Espresso, Lattes and Coffee...Analyzing Coffee Costs

I was trying to think of what expenses I can cut out from my day to day just to ease up on our spending...because let's face it, Renae stays at home with Logan and doesn't spend a dime right now, so that means that I am the one putting the hurting on our budget. One of the things that I can't live without is coffee. I blogged a whiles back over the summer about how I came to enjoy a fine cup of coffee...but sometimes the habit can really bite you in the butt when it comes to spending. So here is the challenge for myself this month, for both healthy living and monetary reasons, I have chosen to limit myself to only 1 cup of coffee per day and that it had to be brewed myself (no coffee runs for this guy). 

Here is a little incentive or motivation for anyone out there who might think that I am crazy:

How Much Does it Cost a Month to Drink Coffee?

I have to start with Starbucks because we all know it as the overly priced coffee shop that everyone always seems to go to no matter how much trash people talk about it. Seriously though, I cannot tell you how many people hate on how expensive it is, but are all to quick to go to Starbucks for a fresh brew. Anyways, this is geared towards my spending to give you a little glimpse of how much I could potentially spend on coffee at Starbucks in a month (I caught myself after about two weeks of going every day, and realized I needed to put a stop to it).

Grande Coffee (medium) - $1.85

Grande Latte/ Specialty Seasonal Drink - $4.15

The reason I included both is because I am weak and give in to the lattes often at Starbucks. So in being realistic I have to include them. 

Now let's say I switch it up throughout the workweek and were to get a coffee 3 days a week and lattes 2 times a week. That would end up costing me over 4 work weeks:

$55.40

which would easily become $664.80 a year in coffee!!!!

Now, let's look at Dunkin Donuts. This honestly was my stop practically every morning when I was working at my old school because I passed by it on the way to work. The nice thing about Dunkin Donust is that their lattes are not that good so I never buy them...also their other "specialty" drinks are way way way too sweet for me to drink, so I literally stay with my medium coffee with cream and sugar. 

Medium Coffee w/ Cream and Sugar - $1.50

So over the course of 4 work weeks that would cost me:

$30.00 ($25.40 less than SB)

which ends up being $360.00 yearly (saving $304.80 from SB)

Now we move on to one of my favorite inventions ever, the Keurig. It took me forever to get one. For about 2 years I kept trying to justify the purchase to Renae and she kept rebutting with the same comment, "but you already have a coffee maker." I was blessed and cursed with Ryan, her brother, bought me a French Press for Christmas one year. Because in Renae's mind now I had two coffee makers and did not need Keurig. Lucky for me, last Christmas my sister-in-law found a killer deal on one and bought it for me (thank you Carol!!!!) and I became the happiest person ever. So, how much would coffee cost by just using the Keurig???

A pack of 24 k-cups (amazon) - $16.50

A pack of 16 on sale (walmarts) - $12.99...I'd need to buy two so really $25.98

So over the same time span as above it would cost me:

With the 24 pack from Amazon (I'd run short) - $16.50

Ends up being $198 a year in coffee.

That is almost a 70% savings from SB and about a 50% savings from DD

If I bought 2-16 packs at Walmart than the savings is not a significant only saving $4.00 from DD

Finally, there is the local grocery store, bag it and grind it yourself method. If I were to go to Wegman's (which has decent coffee, not great, but good enough) I could bag and weigh it myself and pay by the pound. Their cost for coffee is a little higher than places like Giant or Acme, but their coffee is also better quality. Luckily, with this method I can still use my Keurig because I bought a reusable mesh filter that you pack yourself, or I could go back to my drip method...or even better, just by the whole beans and grind them myself. Than I would be able to french press, drip, or K-cup it up!!!!! By the way 1 lb of coffee makes between 32-44 cups depending on how strong you like to make it. So it is plenty for the month.

Wegman's Premium Coffee - $9.99/lb

So that would still be $9.99 a month!

That would end up costing $120 a year in coffee...

It is $6.50 a month / $78.00 a year cheaper than the K-cups...

$20.00 a month/ $240.00 a year less than DD...

$45.40 a month/ $544.80 less than SB!

Price Per Cup

Starbucks

Avg the Grande Coffee and Grande Latte

$3/cup

Dunkin Donuts

$1.50/cup

Keurig

$0.69/cup

Wegmans/Local Grocer

$0.30/cup

Again, I know that the Keurig and the brew your own are going to be smaller cups, but again I am just being realistic with spending. I never go into Starbucks or Dunkin and get a small...do you?

So I am hoping to cut nearly $30 out of the spending this month on just coffee alone. Wish me luck as it will be very tough to resist the coffee runs to Starbucks at work and to not stop by Dunkin Donuts when I am out and about on errands.

Actually, scratch that....I got a free pound of coffee for Christmas so my expenses for coffee this month should be at $0.00