Comments on: Strategies for Coffee/Tea Addicts!

By: Accountability « Notes From The Frugal Trenches – A Downshifting Journey

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:53:03 +0000

[...] One of the good things about having a blog is accountability. For example, right now I want a hot chocolate, in fact I’d go as far as to say in my weaker moment’s you may have heard me mutter I [...]

By: Lily

Lily — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:43:15 +0000

I love hot tea (I have an entire drawer in my kitchen dedicated to it…) and enjoy coffee occasionally. My SO likes coffee and fruit teas. My goal is to make them both easy so we are not tempted to buy them.
For the coffee I buy our beans whole and store them in the freezer for freshness, but grind up enough at a time for a few days so when we are hurried it is easy to make. We also got a coffee pot with a timer, so when we have very early mornings we can make the coffee the night before and it will be ready when we are, no excuses.
For tea I have a water kettle that makes heating up water for very quick. My next goal is to use up the individual tea bags I have and make the switch to bulk instead (better quality, much less expensive, and less packaging).
I also keep all the tea and coffee supplies near each other (kettle, coffee pot, tea, ground coffee, filters, sweetener, mugs, and travel cups). Making it easy and quick to make your own helps remove the excuse to go to buy a cup. If you like the fancy drinks learn to make them at home. I made an eggnog latte the other day simply by replacing the usual milk in my coffee with warm eggnog. Easy and way less expensive than ****bucks. Plus, there are all sorts of knock-off recipes out there for making your own flavored syrups or mixes to use in your coffee or tea (mint, gingerbread, pumpkin spice, caramel, chai, etc.).
Figure out what your excuse is for not making it at home and then find a way to remove it

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:55:31 +0000

Love that last one! Now, that’s a reason to quit drinking even one latte each week! What a waste of money!!! I needed this, as my addiction to Starbucks has been building back up again. I am planning to quit cold turkey very soon!!! Great tips!

By: Amanda E

Amanda E — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:29:27 +0000

Here’s a little math scenario which may cause some of you latte lovers to start making your own at home:

1 latte ($4.40) per week = $228.80/year
2 lattes per week = $457.60/year
4 lattes per week = $915.20/year

however saying that I do not deprive myself should I have the craving for a grande skinny vanilla latte, extra hot with light foam

By: kathleen

kathleen — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:38:47 +0000

I don’t usually do hot drinks, except for the rare hot chocolate or herbal tea. But I love iced coffee, and now that I know it can be cold brewed, I make it overnight on the nights that I have to go to the office the next day. Yummy and more economical than stopping for a Coke (my other caffeine of choice).

By: Frugal Trenches

Frugal Trenches — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:43:07 +0000

That’s a great way to motivate yourself! Thanks for the suggestion!

By: Frugal Trenches

Frugal Trenches — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:42:40 +0000

I love green tea! You know, you’d think I’d like hot milk (both my parents love it) but I absolutely can’t stand it, unless it is used to make hot chocolate!

By: Frugal Trenches

Frugal Trenches — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:41:53 +0000

I know so many people who are switching! Because I don’t have it more than 2x a week, I’m not so inclined to switch….sadly!

By: Frugal Trenches

Frugal Trenches — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:41:22 +0000

OOh that sounds yummy CR! Thanks for the tip!

By: Frugal Trenches

Frugal Trenches — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:41:02 +0000

Me too Mo, I love it and it works 90% of the time for me, it’s the other 10% I worry about….!