I have been thinking a lot about coffee lately.  Maybe it’s the Monday Blues that has me considering a second cup but it had me evaluating the price of a cup of coffee.

First off we are very lucky to have a Krups Espresseria Automatic Machine in our house.  It takes real coffee beans grinds them internally to make espresso or coffee.  It is great because we can use fresh coffee beans and there is minimal mess.  Now I will be honest this machine is around $1000 but I was very lucky to work on a campaign through work and scored a machine.

Let’s break it down!

3lbs Coffee Beans – $12 on sale at Costco

This bag will last about 9 weeks making approximately 3 coffees per day.  This works out to 6 cents per coffee.

Now we really liked Café Con Leche when we were in Spain so  we add some hot Almond Milk to the coffee.

3 pack of Almond Milk – $8.99 at Costco

A 2L carton lasts about 8 days.  Per carton the cost is $2.99.  It works out to 19 cents per drink.

Each day we are making homemade lattes for 25 cents!!!  This is no joke, I’ve done the math (see above).

Now here is the fun part, lets compare!

Frugalista – 1 Homemade Latte per day is 25 cents or $1.75 per week

Big Spender – 1 Grande Starbucks Latte per day is $3.95 or $27.65 per week

Frugalista is saving $25.90 per week by taking a few minutes at home or office to make a cup of java!  If we work that out over the course of the year it’s a difference of $1346.

An extra $1346 per year is a trip or a great investment or a new couch or the options are endless!

HERE IS THE CHALLENGE: For one full week every time you want to buy a coffee, make one at home or at the office instead.  Subtract 25 cents from what you would have spent at a coffee shop and put it in a jar.  At the end of the week count your savings!  **Note: Not all of us have cash on hand, you can always write down the amount on a piece of paper.

I can’t wait to see how much you save!  Post you savings next week in the comments below.

budget Coffee Coffee Love Costco Frugal Frugal Foods Frugalista Homemade Latte Money Saving Tips