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I would like to start this post by telling all of you that I LOVE coffee. I was immediately drawn to the TV show Gilmore Girls and I think that is partly due to how much they love coffee on that show. Friends is hands down my favorite show ever and its main set is in a coffee house! Okay, you get the idea. I love coffee. It all started for me at the age of four. My Grandaddy started letting me have coffee with him when I would spend the night with my grandparents. He started out with a tiny bit of coffee and a whole lot of milk. He would gradually add more coffee each time and I very quickly grew to appreciate the delicious aroma and taste. My Daddy has always loved coffee as well, so we always had it home, too. Oddly enough, my Mom hated coffee until the last couple of years and now she is just like me and drinks it every single day.
I don’t remember the first time I went to Starbucks, but I have been a Starbucks lover for many years. While their drinks are delicious, I also just love the atmosphere. It is the perfect place to meet a friend, have a date, or to go to study or work for a change of scenery. I especially love it around the holidays! After I graduated college, I had an hour commute to my new job. It was an exhausting drive and knowing that I would end that drive with a trip to Starbucks was a much-needed reward! However, my bank account started to take a major hit! I was spending SO much money during my work week and I was also hitting Starbucks on the weekends! When I finally added up how much I was spending on coffee, I wanted to cry!
I knew I had to make a change, but I couldn’t give coffee up. That was just out of the question. I had heard about the Keurig Coffee Maker , but I had never really considered purchasing one because they are so expensive. However, I decided it was something to look into now that I knew how much I was spending on coffee every day. However, I was worried that it would be about the same price after I had to purchase the individual K-Cup coffee pods and creamer each year. However, after I sat down and did the math and decided that purchasing the Keurig would be a wise investment and oh goodness was I right! I have owned a Keurig Coffee Maker for 4 years and I am still floored at how much I save each year. It is also so easy to use and requires very little maintenance each year!
How I Save Money
Here is a breakdown of how much I currently spend on coffee compared to what I was spending before purchasing the Keurig:
Before I purchased a Keurig, I was constantly going to Starbucks and I would, on average, spend $5 per visit. That is honestly rounding down. Most of the time I would also get something to eat. However, for the sake of this example, I’m going to round down to $5 a day. If I purchased coffee at Starbucks 365 days a year, I would spend a total of $1,825 for the year.
Let’s say I only went to Starbucks five times a week for an enter year and spent $5 on average.
Total Spent for the year: $1,300.00
Here were my expenses for the first year I purchased the Keurig:
K-Cup Coffe Pods for every day of the year: $300.00
*Rounded Up on Price
Coffee Creamer for the year: $80.00
*Rounded Up on Price
Keurig Coffee Maker: $150.00
Water filters for the Keurig: $4.41
Note: The Keurig Coffee Maker comes with 2, so you would need to purchase 4 in the first year. Keurig recommends replacing the filter every two months. This would provide 6 for the first year.
Total: $534.41
Savings: $1,290.59
*Drinking coffee every day of the year.
Expenses for every year after I purchased the Keurig:
K-Cup Coffe Pods for the year: $300.00
Coffee Creamer for the year: $80.00
6-Pack Replacement Water Filters for the Keurig: $4.41
Note: The Keurig Coffee Maker comes with 2, so you would need to purchase 4 in the first year. Keurig recommends replacing the filter every two months. This would provide 6 for the first year.
Total: $384.41
Savings: $1,440.59
*Drinking coffee every day of the year.
Now please don’t misunderstand. I still go to Starbucks and I fully acknowledge that I wasn’t going to Starbucks every single day. However, even with me going five days a week for an entire year, which I am saddened to say I was doing easily, and more, I was spending a crazy amount of money just on coffee. Like I mentioned before, Starbucks is way more than just the coffee. It is the entire experience that I love. And let’s be honest, you can’t beat their Peppermint Mocha or Salted Caramel Mocha during the holidays and I get so excited for their holiday cups each year. I still love to meet friends for a cup of coffee or grab a cup to enjoy while I’m shopping at Target, but I’m not going every single day and my bank account loves me for it! I absolutely love my Keurig and I love how much money it saves me every year! You can find great coupons on Target’s Cartwheel app for K-Cups and places like Kohls, Costco, and Sams sell value packs of multiple flavors for great savings! For me personally, this was a necessary and exciting change for my budget!
Are you a coffee lover and Keurig owner too? I’m always looking for new K-Cups to try out! What is your favorite blend?