3 On Your Side: Ways To Trim Coffee Costs
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- If you resolved to spend less and save more in the new year, you may want to look at your morning routine. As we told you earlier this week coffee prices are expected to rise in 2015, but 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan offers some ways to trim costs without killing the caffeine buzz.
Thanks to a Brazilian drought last year that hurt the supply of one of the world's biggest coffee exporters, plus an increase in demand around the globe, coffee prices will climb in 2015. If the goal is to trim a coffee budget, there are ways to do it without cutting a caffeine buzz.
The most obvious, is to brew at home. Whole beans tend to run cheaper than pre-ground coffee, meaning an inexpensive coffee grinder can pay for itself fairly quickly. Also buy that coffee, in bulk for bigger savings.
For those who can't give up the daily coffee shop ritual, Bankrate suggests scouring resale sites to buy gift cards to your favorite coffee chains at a discount.
Signing up for a loyalty program can help too. Signing up for a simple punch card, or downloading a Smartphone app, can mean a daily coffee stop adds up to a free drink every couple of weeks or so. Also many shops offer a small discount for bringing your own mug.