Lunch and daily coffee

Emmia

Longwalker said:

You could of course do what I did, buy a decent expresso machine and grinder - and make your own

Or an aeropress if a flat white is your preference, get some decent ground coffee and you wouldn't go back to a costa every again

We've recently got nespresso machines at work, but you need to provide your own pods. That has definitely cut down on the cafe visits. (I'm not sure how you make a flat white with an aeropress alone though? Surely you need a milk frother too??).

tiger135

one way i can save money is when my birthday comes round if anyone asks what i want i can say coffee gift cards 

strawb_shortcake

A lady I used to work with had a huge coffee habit. Each day she would visit the Costa coffee machine and buy around 3 coffees a day. Her other half then joined the same area, she said to meet her for a coffee.

He had no idea how to use the machine and as she talked him through it, he asked how often she uses it. She replied 3 times a day, in moments he worked out she was spending £200 a month on coffee! 

She never bought another coffee at work, she used to bring in these instant filter coffee things and stuck with them.

They were both relatively high earners, no children but had never stopped to consider just what her coffees were costing her.

HillStreetBlues

On my last MOT I hard time to kill and there is a Tesco with a cafe next door so thought I would get a drink.
I haven't been in a Tesco cafe since they done 7 breakfast items for a £1.
So walking in asked for a hot chocolate, was asked if I wanted marshmallows and cream.
I  thought why not, ether it's a cerebration or commiseration, so tapped my card and told me they would bring it over.
Did ask for lots of sugar but only brought about 6 sachets, not my idea of lots, but  after getting some more sat down to enjoy it.

I started to wonder how much it has cost, thinking it's only a Tesco cafe so I will be getting change from £2.
Well took a gulp of chocolate, while looking as the receipt.
Just under £5,  thankfully there was no one opposite me, as they would have been wearing a mouthful of hot chocolate.

I did ask what other tables I had bought drinks for, but just got a blank look.

Thankfully the car passed, and that did ease the pain a bit (but not totally). 

Longwalker

I work in a wee coffee shop which is on a family park. £1.50 for a tea and £3.00 for a coffee . and believe me thats flipping cheap but I can assure you, I wouldn't be buying it

I got my espresso machine and then the grinder in the prime sales. I pay a fortune ( to me ) for beans. Yet I paid my machine of in the first 8 months  and now it costs less then a £1 a day for the coffee

I love my coffee. The original outlay was a very very considered purchase but the coffee I make is far far superior  then what I can get locally, be it a local coffee shop or a chain

Nelliegrace

@Emmia As you say, we all have choices about how we spend our money, but with price rises it may be necessary to reconsider some spending habits and daily treats we feel we feel entitled to have. 

One member of the household spending over £200 a month on their daily fix of shop coffee and lunch deals can mess up the tight family budget.   

FlyingSquirrel2

I too love a shop-bought coffee, we have a v good machine at home which is fine when I'm here, but I understand  the treat of buying one on the go (though I've massively cut down now). One idea is to see if you or can get a card with linked cash back, either to buy the coffee in the first place or (as you suggested) coffee cards for yourself? The main way I have managed to cut down on lunch/coffee spend is by taking out a spree card via the discounts for teachers site (I learned about this on MSE - I am not a teacher, but can apply thanks to working in an educational setting). There are other things like it if you search for prepay debit cards on this site. Anyway I preload the card each month with the budget I decided I was allowed and then - bonus - get cash back if I spend it in certain shops (M&S, Boots, Tesco - crucially NOT Pret!). The funny thing is since I started doing it I hardly ever buy lunch and keep bringing my own, so then I'm saving the remaining budget each month (or really feeling like it's a treat when I use it for coffee+cake on a weekend!).

The spree card doesn't have cash back on coffee but there might be some cards/accounts where you get a linked discount - a quick search found this app - https://www.jamdoughnut.com which apparently gives 8% cash back at costa (though I've not used it myself).
The other thing of course is the costa club, bring your own cup and it doubles the amount of stamps you get so you get your free drink in half the time.

Rosa_Damascena

I can beat you all! I arrived in Miami a couple of hours ago and headed out locally for a coffee and a stroll. The latte itself was $6.41, including sales tax. It was half the size of a standard Costa, and half the size again once the foam subsided. Beautiful boutique cafe though: https://brigadeirosboutique.com/ and leaning a review apparently gets you a free coffee. 

At home a TGTG bag costs less and feeds me for ages!

Groovy_Chick_

OP, This sounds like me a while ago. 

I found since changing my supermarket shop to marks and spencer (not much more expensive) for essentials, I enjoyed packed lunch more. 

Buy an insulated bottle and an insulated coffee cup and insulated lunch bag with boxes to put things in and an insulted tumbler, and take a nice home made drink with ice and a sachet vanilla latte. 

This saved so much in the long run and I found taking my own meals and drinks were far nicer. 

For example the white bloomer at m and s is only around £1.10 for a huge lunch and deli/sandwich meat is 3 for £8 for decent portions, when worked out it is a lot cheaper, crisps for a bag around £1.50 but can be portioned into a tub and their own value biscuits at 35p are incredible, not the healthiest but if you would be eating at a bakery then calorie wise not much worse. 

To add, I even buy coffee syrups to add to make even tastier 


GC 

MrsStepford

I found a forum for truckers and there were loads of recommendations for a  Halfords 12v cooler so I bought one for other half. Keeps lunches and shopping cold even in hot weather.

 We keep eyes peeled for offers on canned fish, deli meats without nitrates, sandwich fillers, decaf coffee bags, decaf tea bags, organic milk and pickled food e.g. Sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled eggs, onions, beetroot, gherkins, cornichons. We buy cheeses from Iceland e.g. Babybels, Mexicana! Leerdammer, Halloumi, Feta. We don't eat bread but he has Ryvita or similar. Houmous, cottage cheese, little tubs of unsweetened apple sauce or pineapple pieces. Juice boxes and 70ml shots of juices, e.g. beetroot, apple, orange, pineapple. 

You can eat/drink much better stuff more cheaply by doing it yourself.