Saving on Starbucks
It’s ironic that the name “Starbucks” (as in top coffee seller,) has the word “bucks” (as in big bucks) in its name. The price of my favorite coffee drink just went up again, and a Starbucks iced venti latte now costs around $3.75. Here’s how I now save on Starbucks:
- Buy 3 shots of espresso to take home (or carry my cup of iced milk with me in the car). Then pour the 3 shots into the cup to enjoy exactly the same drink sold for $1-2 more. I have so many plastic, venti sized iced drink cups I washed out that I use over & over again. I am helping the environment, too!
- In addition to cutting back on in-store purchases, I continue to buy 2 pound bags of Starbucks beans in Costco for around $10. Though the beans aren’t the same roast as in the Starbucks store, I am getting the equivalent of 100 iced venti lattes for $10 in my Costco purchase, versus $375 in the Starbucks store. That’s a savings of $365 each time I consume a 2 pound bag of roasted coffee beans, which is ground fresh daily, and made in my espresso machine.
- You can save even more money if find a friend with a Costco membership and tail along with them into the store, using their membership card. That’s another $55 -60 savings per year. Some members on business accounts get points for purchases credited to their card, so you are helping your friends! It’s a win-win.
Starbucks coffee ground recycling:
When I started seeing the bags of coffee grounds in a bin in Starbucks stores, I wondered what the grounds were being given away free for. Isn’t that just a form of taking out someone’s trash for them for free? It turns out that coffee grounds are useful for many things, so people claim.
What to do with Starbucks Coffee Grounds:
- You can sprinkle them around the garden and lawn. I began trying this out half a year ago when my tomato plant needed some sweetness. While I saw no difference in the tomato quality, many say the coffee grounds are good for plants in your garden.
- Cellulite treatment
- Skin scrubs
- Art projects
- Ant deterrents
- Odor absorber in cupboards
- Odor remover when rubbed in your hands to remove fish and onion smells
- Scourer for pots & pans
- Wood stain
- Lawn fertilizer
- Some actually recycle their grounds into another cup of coffee. I accidentally tried it, but didn’t like it.
