The Great Coffee Embargo

I figure you are all sick of me by now, so today I have a guest blogger! My friend Lisa started chronicling her Coffee Embargo on Facebook and I thought it would be an issue my handful of readers could appreciate, so please enjoy Lisa's post.

The Great Coffee Embargo

by Lisa Brown

In August I went on two mini- vacations which pinched my budget more than I would’ve liked. I started to take inventory of my expenses. One of those expenses was my weekly coffee budget. I got really annoyed with myself once I did the math. Now, I’d done the math before but usually in line at Dunkin Donuts and by that time you are doomed and your giant iced coffee erases any logical thoughts you might have had about cutting back on your coffee expenses.

So I bit the bullet and promised myself to try and live one work week, Monday-Friday, making coffee at home. This experiment was not without its problems. First, the coffee I had available in my house was leftover from a trip I took to Thailand in 2005, which though vacuum sealed and still fresh was actually super strong. So it took a few days to get the mix right. I also LOVED iced coffee, and drinking hot coffee just wasn’t doing it for me- so I tried to make my own iced coffee and REALLY didn’t get the recipe right.

I was pretty cranky about the coffee embargo for the first few days. However, by the end of the week, it was getting easier to deal and I went back to drinking hot coffee. I also got a great referral to a blog about how to cold brew iced coffee- I haven’t tried it yet- I’m going to invest in a French press and an air tight container to put my coffee in before I attempt the iced coffee again.

The bottom line is I saved $26.00 by not having coffee and a bagel at Dunkin Donuts each morning on my way to work. I also started having much healthier and earlier breakfasts at home with my coffee, and that is a habit I’m really happy about. I have been saying for about a year and a half (since I started my most recent job) that I couldn’t join a gym because they were all too expensive- I’m happy to announce that today I traded my $100 a month coffee habit for an $85 a month gym membership. I still came out on top money wise and going to the gym is a much better investment. I’m into my second week in the great embargo and proud to say I’ve only had one weekend Dunkin Donuts- a girl’s gotta live a little right?

Note: Spurred by Lisa's embargo I bought a coffee pot (finally!) and I too am saving a lot of cash on coffee, thanks so much Lisa for sharing your efforts!