Badassity (for me at least)

[mrigney]

I at least feel badass about this, even though I don't necessarily think it is. Last year (2013), my wife and I (and 2 year old, although she doesn't really buy anything) averaged spending $85/month on coffee. We agreed this year to reduce that to $10/month. Now, I did get a couple of giftcards for Christmas, so this is a little misleading, but so far in January, a quarter of the way into the month, and we have spent $0 on coffee. Woohoo for us! This is all part of a quest to reduce our spending by 25% overall. I know for a lot of you this is nothing. But for us to look at our monthly expenses and see a big $0 in the coffee category at this point in the month is a huge deal!

[sc281]

I know how you feel, except my vice is Chipotle. There's one right by work and I'm always craving it.

[YK-Phil]

Coffee is one of my only vices and although I have my own espresso workhorse at home, I enjoy going to my local Italian coffee shop once in a while, for the coffee itself (they now know me enough to know that my coffee must be corrected, meaning I want special milk -grappa- in a little shot glass LOL) but mostly for the ambiance and meeting old Italian folks from the old country who are always happy to share their memories with a immigrant 'kid' like me who never lived in Italy. I cut my visits down to once a month (about $10 for the coffee and a biscotto), now that I spend three weeks out of five away for work in the Arctic.

[Thegoblinchief]

I went from spending ~$50/month on nice quality beans to giving up coffee altogether. First two weeks sucked (headaches) but I've been happier ever since!

If you feel like you must have coffee, find a quality local roaster. Yes it will cost more than standard coffee at home, but it's cheaper and better than the vast majority of brewed coffee joints.

[mrigney]

I don't need coffee per se. I have no problem giving up caffeine. My issue is really that I just need something besides water to break up the monotony of water only (trust me. I've done months of drinking only water and it drives me nuts). So grabbing a quick iced Americano became a habit. Sugary drinks disgust me these days (but boy did I have  Mountain Dew problem in college).

Anybody ever seen these? http://www.amazon.com/Aerobie-AeroPress-Coffee-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0047BIWSK A co-worker just got one. Supposedly a quick easy way to make espresso /coffee at home. Thinking about grabbing one for $20. Might be an easy way to make Americano's at home w/o the espresso machine. I'd just do a french press in the mornings, except most of the time I like my coffee/espresso iced (unless it's bitterly cold outside), and haven't found a good way to do that quickly with a French Press.

[Thegoblinchief]

Aeropresses are well-loved by a lot of people.

As for monotony of water only, I've come to really like plain seltzer water. Sometimes I'll add a small splash of citrus or sour cherry juice as well. Adds minimal calories but can really "break up" the flavor profile.

This month I've been challenging myself to drink only water. Haven't done great so far but I need to get my alcohol consumption down, and I've certainly done that!