Author Topic: Buying k-cups cheaply  (Read 26914 times)

CommonCents

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Buying k-cups cheaply
« on: January 08, 2014, 09:26:59 AM »
DH won't give up his coffee habit.  His (small) office doesn't have a coffee machine and he won't bring one in to make his own (or take the time to make at home in the AM).  So we got him a keurig at Christmas to avoid bleeding $2.56/day to Dunkin Donuts.  What's your best source for cheap k-cups?  Note, reusable is off the table (because DH won't do it, and will revert back to the aforementioned Dunkin Donuts habit).

Note: I am not the coffee drinker, so no need to preach to me about quiting the habit (I'd love it if he quit - coffee-breath is not sexy in the least).  Just like you can't make a smoker quit, I can't make him quit coffee, I can only try to minimize the damage.
« Last Edit: January 08, 2014, 10:01:07 AM by CommonCents »

Will

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2014, 09:44:56 AM »
  Note, reusable is off the table.

Why?

Anyhow, Costco has some varieties that are rather inexpensive (although I am not a coffee-drinker, so spending ANY money on coffee seems silly to me).

CommonCents

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2014, 09:59:00 AM »
  Note, reusable is off the table.

Why?

Anyhow, Costco has some varieties that are rather inexpensive (although I am not a coffee-drinker, so spending ANY money on coffee seems silly to me).

I am not a coffee drinker either.  I quite dislike the taste actually.  I would happily do it to save the money, however, because DH is anti it and will refuse to do it, going back to his Dunkin Donuts habit and thus negating any hoped for savings by going k-cup route.

jdoolin

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2014, 10:14:12 AM »
Note, reusable is off the table (because DH won't do it, and will revert back to the aforementioned Dunkin Donuts habit).
So what if *YOU* did it?  A reusable k-cup is just another k-cup.  Every morning or night before, prepare the k-cup for him to use in the morning.  Have it sitting right there ready to go.  It only takes about 15 seconds to put coffee in one.

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2014, 10:19:28 AM »
jdoolin is right. If his office has a hot water dispenser (most do) then I recommend bringing a french press. Nothing is easier to clean than a french press and if he is truly an addict he can drink several cups from 15 seconds of effort.

lentilman

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2014, 11:07:54 AM »
Curious as to why you got a Keurig... the coffee works out to around $50/lb, plus all the landfill waste from the cups.  It seems reusable k-cups is the only way to go.  If hubby doesn't want to use them it might just be cheaper to get a traditional drip maker- the big bonus is the timer so he can wake up to fresh coffee each morning.

One warning (speaking as a coffee drinker) - getting cheap but bad-tasting coffee k-cups won't do any good.  Your DH won't drink it and will go back to DD.  You want to save money but your DH is looking for flavor.  It has to be win-win for a solution to work.


MandyM

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2014, 11:15:51 AM »
I agree with jdoolin. If this is important to you, I think you should consider taking the few moments it takes to prep a re-usable k-cup. We use this at my house, it barely takes any time. Do it the night before and you don't even have to beat him to the kitchen. If the time it takes bothers you, think about all the time you will save trying to hunt down deals on disposable k-cups that still cost more.

CommonCents

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2014, 11:18:52 AM »
Note, reusable is off the table (because DH won't do it, and will revert back to the aforementioned Dunkin Donuts habit).
So what if *YOU* did it?  A reusable k-cup is just another k-cup.  Every morning or night before, prepare the k-cup for him to use in the morning.  Have it sitting right there ready to go.  It only takes about 15 seconds to put coffee in one.

He won't bring the cup home from his office.  :(  He won't bring in lunch often, except for really favorite leftovers.  When he takes them in, he leaves them there for weeks, until they grow mold and become incredibly nasty. 

I understand you are trying to save me a few more pennies, the problem is this effort will result in not saving the dollars.  I'm just really not sure how I'm failing to communicate that if the hurdle is even half an inch higher than the k-cups arriving at his office and he has to put them in the machine, he will NOT do it, and will revert back to Dunkin Donuts.  I'm trying to avoid that by doing all of the work for the cups (finding the keurig machine on deal, buying the k-cups and shipping to his office, etc). 

jdoolin is right. If his office has a hot water dispenser (most do) then I recommend bringing a french press. Nothing is easier to clean than a french press and if he is truly an addict he can drink several cups from 15 seconds of effort.

He had one there for a while, but didn't like cleaning it.

If it's not clear from the above posts, while my husband has many wonderful and admirable traits, he has several terrible ones, including procrastination, laziness and refusal to clean.  I'm chief maid and cook around our house.   Yes, this pisses me off, but I have not been successful in effecting any change in his behavior, so I have to adapt mustachian principles to just what I can do entirely by myself, such as cooking all of the meals and cleaning up all of them rather than ordering takeout, bringing in lunches for just me, or getting k-cups delivered to the office rather than have expect him to clean a coffee machine or k-cup.  You can lead a horse to water, but...

So just to refocus the conversation back on what advice would be really helpful for me, and away from things that won't work, please let me know if you have ideas for where to get k-cups.  Thanks 4alpacas, I'll check that out.

CommonCents

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #8 on: January 08, 2014, 11:21:01 AM »
Curious as to why you got a Keurig... the coffee works out to around $50/lb, plus all the landfill waste from the cups. 

$2.56 day < $.65 day

YK-Phil

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2014, 11:24:04 AM »
Those machines really do not make coffee. There is one at my office and although it is free and I am a coffee addict, I stay away from whatever liquid comes out of it.

CommonCents

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #10 on: January 08, 2014, 11:26:59 AM »
One warning (speaking as a coffee drinker) - getting cheap but bad-tasting coffee k-cups won't do any good.  Your DH won't drink it and will go back to DD.  You want to save money but your DH is looking for flavor.  It has to be win-win for a solution to work.

Agreed, which is why I'm getting his ok on flavors before bulk buying, and would only buy "good" brands (e.g. Green Mountain, Starbucks, DD, etc) or ones I had him try a sample/small box first. 

tariskat

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #11 on: January 08, 2014, 11:34:49 AM »
We got a set of Keurig coffee thingies for Christmas, and most of it seems to be instant coffee (of a fun variety of flavors, though). 

Does he hate instant coffee?  Can you just ship him a reasonable tasting instant coffee mix and some tasty creamer for it?  Or get those single-use (like tea-bags) for coffee?  Then he can toss a biodegradable item and still get his coffee fix and not have to clean anything.

Lil_Bit

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #12 on: January 08, 2014, 11:46:20 AM »
To answer your question you may want to try Cross Country Cafe (online retailer), today's deal includes the following:

Green Mountain French Roast, 24 ct, $11.99 (49¢ ea) - free shipping for orders over $59

I found the deal here:
http://www.southernsavers.com/2014/01/k-cup-deals-green-mountain-french-roast/


Another online retailer is Coffee for Less (go through Ebates for 2.5% cash back), plus there are several online coupon codes to use with this one as well and use your cash rewards credit card for additional cash back.  Hope that helps.

jba302

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #13 on: January 08, 2014, 11:53:48 AM »
he has several terrible ones, including procrastination, laziness and refusal to clean. 

The answer you are looking for is -

There is nothing you can do besides finding K-cups on sale, because you refuse to acknowledge every other available path. You should find yourself lucky you don't have to feed him by hand or dress him yourself with the amount of shit this person seems to refuse to do.

Lil_Bit

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #14 on: January 08, 2014, 12:04:12 PM »
he has several terrible ones, including procrastination, laziness and refusal to clean. 

The answer you are looking for is -

There is nothing you can do besides finding K-cups on sale, because you refuse to acknowledge every other available path. You should find yourself lucky you don't have to feed him by hand or dress him yourself with the amount of shit this person seems to refuse to do.

That was kind of harsh.  There are several people on here that invest and save the best that they can and not everyone has a partner willing to give up on some of the things they enjoy, such as travel, heat, or even coffee to name a few.  The OP is just trying to save money on something her spouse actually enjoys, nothing wrong with that.

jenstill

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #15 on: January 08, 2014, 12:23:40 PM »
The place I've found the K-cups to be consistently cheapest is at Wal-Mart.

CommonCents

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #16 on: January 08, 2014, 12:23:52 PM »
he has several terrible ones, including procrastination, laziness and refusal to clean. 

The answer you are looking for is -

There is nothing you can do besides finding K-cups on sale, because you refuse to acknowledge every other available path. You should find yourself lucky you don't have to feed him by hand or dress him yourself with the amount of shit this person seems to refuse to do.

I'm equally lucky to receive so many off point answers, suggesting things I have already tried.  (Did you read above where I acknowledged each suggested option, explaining what I've already tried?  Continuing to beat my head against a brick wall doesn't seem so brillant.)  For a quick and dirty summary of the above, here is what I've tried:
  • Encouraging no coffee.  He wants the caffeine, taste, whatever.  Like many on the boards, this is an absolute no go.
  • Making coffee at home and bringing it in with a reusable thermos.  I've gotten him to make it at home on weekends.  Score, we have progress.  However, he doesn't like to get up earlier (or carry stuff on the subway), so he won't do it on weekdays.  On the rare times I've gotten him to bring one in, he's left the thermos at the office (or in the car on weekends, etc) so we run out of thermos until I can round them all up for washing. 
  • Making coffee in a french press at work.  He did this a little and quit due to the effort, including cleaning the machine.
  • Buying a keurig machine and finding cheaper cups, hence the question

Here is what I say is not worth trying:
  • Using reusable k-cups (experience tells me he will not clean them and leave them at the office to pile up.  I also know this for fact that he won't do it because I actually already suggested it to him when we bought the machine and he refused at that time)

Clearly coffee is his must-have.  I am trying to work within his constraints to get something that will work.  Maybe you have a fully mustachian spouse, but I do not, and if you haven't already read MMM's blogs on the subject or other forum poster's posts, you should, because it can be quite a challenge.

I understand telling me to cut out the coffee habit (although the "how" part is challenging given it's not MY habit) if I posted a case study and was in debt up to my eyeballs with high interest rates.  We make $200k a year, however, and are not in debt (with six figures in savings) so the coffee habit is not going to make or break us, but I'd like to improve the outflow, optimizing as best as I can.  This is probably a $600 expenditure ($2.56*234).  Getting under $150 would be a significant improvement, and is sufficient for me.  Folks posting here seem to think unless I make it zero or choose the absolute least expenditure I can, I'm not doing enough.  A non-mustachian spouse (in certain areas) is not fun, but I'm not going to divorce him, and we all have our flaws/blind spots in spending (unless you are Jacob at ERE).  He refuses to clean shit and carry stuff on the uber crowded subway, so ok, I need to work around that (insulting him/me beyond this re feeding/dressing comments is rather uncalled for).

Normally this forum is quite helpful on a wide variety of topics, which is why I posted here today.  I'm finding the posters atm to be not helpful at all, by attacking me for not trying things (when I have) rather than answering the specific question I asked. 

Guizmo

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #17 on: January 08, 2014, 12:24:03 PM »
I don't understand why he is so anti-reusable. What's the issue with that? He just hates Reuse/Reduce/Recycle?

Guizmo

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #18 on: January 08, 2014, 12:26:54 PM »
Whoops, posted before seeing your reply.

Well, maybe you can get good deals on Amazon, especially if you use the Amazon gift card.. Hope the dude changes his mind on reusable one day.

tariskat

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #19 on: January 08, 2014, 12:36:07 PM »
Sounds like my earlier question about instant coffee is going to get a 'no' after rereading some of your comments, OP.  Just a thought to a cheaper alternative for the actual machine, I have a Black and Decker single coffee maker, this,

http://www.casa.com/p/black-decker-dcm18s-brew-n-go-personal-coffeemaker-w-travel-mug-240361?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_C&utm_term=HYV-2842&utm_campaign=GoogleAW&CAWELAID=1309086164&utm_content=pla&adtype=pla&cagpspn=pla

(Or Google "Black & Decker DCM18S Brew 'n Go Personal Coffeemaker w/ Travel Mug")

and it's awesome.  I grind beans and make good coffee, which of course means washing the filter and whatnot every few days, but the unit heats and pours water just as well as coffee.  We've been using up our gifted Kuerig cups with this machine and it works just as well for 50$ less than it looks like the K machines run for.  I've had it for a couple years, too.

If you haven't already pulled the trigger on the K machine you might consider that little dude.

4alpacas

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #20 on: January 08, 2014, 12:43:09 PM »
he has several terrible ones, including procrastination, laziness and refusal to clean. 

The answer you are looking for is -

There is nothing you can do besides finding K-cups on sale, because you refuse to acknowledge every other available path. You should find yourself lucky you don't have to feed him by hand or dress him yourself with the amount of shit this person seems to refuse to do.

I'm equally lucky to receive so many off point answers, suggesting things I have already tried.  (Did you read above where I acknowledged each suggested option, explaining what I've already tried?  Continuing to beat my head against a brick wall doesn't seem so brillant.)  For a quick and dirty summary of the above, here is what I've tried:
  • Encouraging no coffee.  He wants the caffeine, taste, whatever.  Like many on the boards, this is an absolute no go.
  • Making coffee at home and bringing it in with a reusable thermos.  I've gotten him to make it at home on weekends.  Score, we have progress.  However, he doesn't like to get up earlier (or carry stuff on the subway), so he won't do it on weekdays.  On the rare times I've gotten him to bring one in, he's left the thermos at the office (or in the car on weekends, etc) so we run out of thermos until I can round them all up for washing. 
  • Making coffee in a french press at work.  He did this a little and quit due to the effort, including cleaning the machine.
  • Buying a keurig machine and finding cheaper cups, hence the question

Here is what I say is not worth trying:
  • Using reusable k-cups (experience tells me he will not clean them and leave them at the office to pile up.  I also know this for fact that he won't do it because I actually already suggested it to him when we bought the machine and he refused at that time)

Clearly coffee is his must-have.  I am trying to work within his constraints to get something that will work.  Maybe you have a fully mustachian spouse, but I do not, and if you haven't already read MMM's blogs on the subject or other forum poster's posts, you should, because it can be quite a challenge.

I understand telling me to cut out the coffee habit (although the "how" part is challenging given it's not MY habit) if I posted a case study and was in debt up to my eyeballs with high interest rates.  We make $200k a year, however, and are not in debt (with six figures in savings) so the coffee habit is not going to make or break us, but I'd like to improve the outflow, optimizing as best as I can.  This is probably a $600 expenditure ($2.56*234).  Getting under $150 would be a significant improvement, and is sufficient for me.  Folks posting here seem to think unless I make it zero or choose the absolute least expenditure I can, I'm not doing enough.  A non-mustachian spouse (in certain areas) is not fun, but I'm not going to divorce him, and we all have our flaws/blind spots in spending (unless you are Jacob at ERE).  He refuses to clean shit and carry stuff on the uber crowded subway, so ok, I need to work around that (insulting him/me beyond this re feeding/dressing comments is rather uncalled for).

Normally this forum is quite helpful on a wide variety of topics, which is why I posted here today.  I'm finding the posters atm to be not helpful at all, by attacking me for not trying things (when I have) rather than answering the specific question I asked.

What flavors of the k-cups does he like? 

My sister is a big fan of the Dunkin Donuts type (with Almond Joy creamer), which broke her Starbucks habit.  She buys her k-cups through Amazon, BBB (with 20% coupon) or directly through Keurig (free samples or something). 

Here are a few internet resources that might be more helpful:
http://www.freebie-depot.com/10-ways-to-get-cheap-k-cups-from-31%C2%A2/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/forum/cd/discussion.html/ref=cm_cd_fp_ef_tft_tp?ie=UTF8&cdForum=Fx20DX5GEB7TUX8&cdThread=TxG6HU6YP9EZ7E

Will

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #21 on: January 08, 2014, 12:55:37 PM »
The place I've found the K-cups to be consistently cheapest is at Wal-Mart.

+ the price of your soul.


Here is what I say is not worth trying:
  • Using reusable k-cups (experience tells me he will not clean them and leave them at the office to pile up.  I also know this for fact that he won't do it because I actually already suggested it to him when we bought the machine and he refused at that time)

Clearly coffee is his must-have.  I am trying to work within his constraints to get something that will work.  Maybe you have a fully mustachian spouse, but I do not, and if you haven't already read MMM's blogs on the subject or other forum poster's posts, you should, because it can be quite a challenge.

I understand telling me to cut out the coffee habit (although the "how" part is challenging given it's not MY habit) if I posted a case study and was in debt up to my eyeballs with high interest rates.  We make $200k a year, however, and are not in debt (with six figures in savings) so the coffee habit is not going to make or break us, but I'd like to improve the outflow, optimizing as best as I can.  This is probably a $600 expenditure ($2.56*234).  Getting under $150 would be a significant improvement, and is sufficient for me.  Folks posting here seem to think unless I make it zero or choose the absolute least expenditure I can, I'm not doing enough.  A non-mustachian spouse (in certain areas) is not fun, but I'm not going to divorce him, and we all have our flaws/blind spots in spending (unless you are Jacob at ERE).  He refuses to clean shit and carry stuff on the uber crowded subway, so ok, I need to work around that (insulting him/me beyond this re feeding/dressing comments is rather uncalled for).

Normally this forum is quite helpful on a wide variety of topics, which is why I posted here today.  I'm finding the posters atm to be not helpful at all, by attacking me for not trying things (when I have) rather than answering the specific question I asked. 

Well, I merely asked why is all.  And I did offer a suggestion.  However, to me, I think you really need to choose your battles.  If you make $200k/year and are debt-free etc., then why even knock your head on the brick wall in the first place?  $600/$200,000 is .3%.  $150/$200,000 is .075%.  Seems like the frustration isn't worth it. 

gdborton

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #22 on: January 08, 2014, 01:08:22 PM »
I'm surprised that so many people scoffed at your husband's "unwillingness" to use reusable cups.  I'm guessing he would either forget them at work or doesn't thinks the inconvenience would outweigh the benefit.

There are a lot of things I won't do because I know I'd forget.  Packing lunch for instance is completely out of the question. I'll forget to make it/bring it/eat it/bring it home, and I refuse to been seen as a slob for having moldy containers or by having them pile up.  What I could do is bring in 20+ cans of soup one morning, and be set for the month, which is what it sounds like you're trying to do with coffee.

IMO you should have forgone to kuerig and picked up a regular coffee maker.  The price per cup would be lower even if you went with some fancy blend.

For the sake of actually answering your question :)
.54 a cup - http://www.coffeeforless.com/keurig-k-cups/discount-k-cup-clearance.html#

10 ideas for getting them as low as .31 - http://www.freebie-depot.com/10-ways-to-get-cheap-k-cups-from-31%C2%A2/

CommonCents

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #23 on: January 08, 2014, 01:30:26 PM »
Well, I merely asked why is all.  And I did offer a suggestion.  However, to me, I think you really need to choose your battles.  If you make $200k/year and are debt-free etc., then why even knock your head on the brick wall in the first place?  $600/$200,000 is .3%.  $150/$200,000 is .075%.  Seems like the frustration isn't worth it.

My small rant wasn't directed at you.  You were the first asker, not the nth, and asked politely.  Just got tired of contantly reexplaining & defending to everyone, particularly when starting to get rude posts such as by jba302.

0.225% here and 0.225% there adds up.  DH has agreed and is willing to do kcups.  Taking the time to find a cheaper source for them I can use year after year thus makes sense to me.  20 minutes research saving me, say, $50 (at 0.20 savings a cup for one year).  But defending the whys I've choosen to go this route, yes, has taken up way more time than it's worth, so I will stop doing that.  Also not worth it to me to expend the energy trying get to husband on board with other changes.

MicroRN

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #24 on: January 08, 2014, 01:48:58 PM »
I get it.  My husband is the same way about coffee, but his stop of choice was Starbucks for a venti latte = 3.75 a day.  The Keurig has been an adequate compromise.  Fortunately he does his coffee at home, so I prep reusable cups and bought him a high quality travel mug, but I also keep some commercial ones around just in case.  If you sign up at Keurig.com, they'll email you deals.  Also, Bed, Bath, and Beyond sends out constant 20% off coupons.  I usually buy and stock up when I can get cups for less than 0.50 apiece.  I'll also buy them at the Navy Exchange and Commissary, but most people don't have that access.     

CommonCents

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #25 on: January 08, 2014, 02:06:12 PM »
I'll also buy them at the Navy Exchange and Commissary, but most people don't have that access.     

Didn't even think of that, but I can ask my parents to look into it/buy it for me next time they go on their 3-4 month stock up (it's near me, 2 hrs from them so it's not worth it to them to go every week, but I think it's been about 3 mos since the last one).  We do have tons of BBY coupons around, as they take expired ones.

radcrast

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #26 on: January 08, 2014, 03:01:48 PM »
If you are in an area with a Menards, I found some off brand type cups there for way less than $.50 a piece. I think the brand was Brooklyn Beans?

Trader Joe's carries K-Cup compatible cups - 7 for $2.99. They are decent and seem to have less plastic to them (although they are individually wrapped).

Target sells 18 packs of their own brand for about $10.  Sometimes they go on sale for $8-9 and that is when I buy them.


Will

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #27 on: January 08, 2014, 03:25:43 PM »
There have been numerous demos of the San Francisco Bay k-cups at Costco.  People seem to enjoy it, the cups are 97% biodegradable, and while I can't remember what they cost at Costco, Amazon has boxes of 80 for under $30.

http://www.amazon.com/s?rh=n%3A16310101%2Cp_4%3ASan+Francisco+Bay+Coffee

forward

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #28 on: January 08, 2014, 03:36:16 PM »
There have been numerous demos of the San Francisco Bay k-cups at Costco.  People seem to enjoy it, the cups are 97% biodegradable, and while I can't remember what they cost at Costco, Amazon has boxes of 80 for under $30.

http://www.amazon.com/s?rh=n%3A16310101%2Cp_4%3ASan+Francisco+Bay+Coffee

Yes, what Will said.  I use these and they are pretty good.  Gets me to 37 cents a day, which is still a lot, I drink water the rest of the time. 

gmp029

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #29 on: January 08, 2014, 03:41:36 PM »
 I have tried two different reusable k cups, but both seem to leave quite a bit of coffee ground "sludge" at the bottom of my cup. I have the official keurig brand reusable k cup and the "solofil" brand from BBB / Walmart etc. Does anyone have any advice on how to get a better cup of coffee out of the reusable k cups?

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #30 on: January 08, 2014, 04:25:19 PM »
I am with the OP and her husbands reasons sound perfectly valid except the absolute no go on cleaning or bringing them home. If he is going to use k-cups at work I presume he has to clean his coffee mug at least occasionally. Btw, I totally understand not wanting to carry a coffee cup on the subway, pain in the butt spilling it, the coffee is cold by the time you get to work, etc.

But why not just do both? I would think he carries a bag to work if he commutes on the subway. Get a few of the reusable ones and find a small tupperware that they fit in neatly so it doesn't take up too much space. He can have the regular k-cups and the reusable ones. If he forgets to bring them home, don't sweat it, no big deal, he'll remember some day and then you can refill them.

MicroRN

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #31 on: January 08, 2014, 04:48:40 PM »
I have tried two different reusable k cups, but both seem to leave quite a bit of coffee ground "sludge" at the bottom of my cup. I have the official keurig brand reusable k cup and the "solofil" brand from BBB / Walmart etc. Does anyone have any advice on how to get a better cup of coffee out of the reusable k cups?

We have the Vue with Solofill reusable cups, so I'm not sure what brew options you have on the K-cup brewer.  We buy whole beans and have a burr grinder, and I use a grind setting that's just on the coarse side of medium.  However, then you have to brew on strong, so it extracts longer.  The finer grounds slow down the water to get better extraction.  I played around a bit with how many scoops of coffee to the cup and how to brew until I hit the sweet spot.

burly

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #32 on: January 08, 2014, 06:24:36 PM »
There have been numerous demos of the San Francisco Bay k-cups at Costco.  People seem to enjoy it, the cups are 97% biodegradable, and while I can't remember what they cost at Costco, Amazon has boxes of 80 for under $30.

http://www.amazon.com/s?rh=n%3A16310101%2Cp_4%3ASan+Francisco+Bay+Coffee

Yes, what Will said.  I use these and they are pretty good.  Gets me to 37 cents a day, which is still a lot, I drink water the rest of the time.

+1 for San francisco Bay... They're much cheaper since they don't have to pay to use the patent!

chasesfish

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #33 on: January 08, 2014, 07:19:03 PM »
Costco K cups or Newmans own.  Coffee is a 4-5 out of 10

wtjbatman

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #34 on: January 08, 2014, 09:42:30 PM »
It was already mentioned, but I just want to reiterate SlickDeals. Yes you have to keep checking it and wait for deals to pop up, but the wait can be worth it. And don't rely on just the front page deals, take advantage of the search feature at the top of the page.


Fireman

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #35 on: January 09, 2014, 05:55:36 AM »
Just picked up buy two get two for registering the brewer at Keurig.com and they included a free sample (of a random coffee).

Obviously not something you can capitalize on today, but Target had boxes of 18 for $8 (44.4 a cup) on black weekend.  Speaking of Target, using their store card (RED card) will allot you 5% off your purchase.

I agree that it's also possible to get fairly good deals on Amazon.  Costco and Costco.com are a worth checking out (better selection online) but you have to factor in the membership cost (if you don't have one already).

Good luck!

GuitarStv

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #36 on: January 09, 2014, 07:50:19 AM »
DH won't give up his coffee habit.  His (small) office doesn't have a coffee machine and he won't bring one in to make his own (or take the time to make at home in the AM).  So we got him a keurig at Christmas to avoid bleeding $2.56/day to Dunkin Donuts.  What's your best source for cheap k-cups?  Note, reusable is off the table (because DH won't do it, and will revert back to the aforementioned Dunkin Donuts habit).

Note: I am not the coffee drinker, so no need to preach to me about quiting the habit (I'd love it if he quit - coffee-breath is not sexy in the least).  Just like you can't make a smoker quit, I can't make him quit coffee, I can only try to minimize the damage.

Sorry if anyone has already mentioned this . . .

Most cheap drip coffee makers will start on a timer.  My wife has one like this.  You put the stuff in the night before, set the timer, put your thermos under the spout, and in the morning there's hot coffee waiting for you.  Your husband would just have to pick up his mug and leave.  When he comes back home after work he could clean out the machine at his leisure (or you could) and set it up for the next day.  This only takes a few seconds.  Long term I think this would be a lot cheaper, better for the environment, and probably easier than searching for a source of these k-cup thingies.

CommonCents

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #37 on: January 09, 2014, 08:15:20 AM »
I am with the OP and her husbands reasons sound perfectly valid except the absolute no go on cleaning or bringing them home. If he is going to use k-cups at work I presume he has to clean his coffee mug at least occasionally. Btw, I totally understand not wanting to carry a coffee cup on the subway, pain in the butt spilling it, the coffee is cold by the time you get to work, etc.

But why not just do both? I would think he carries a bag to work if he commutes on the subway. Get a few of the reusable ones and find a small tupperware that they fit in neatly so it doesn't take up too much space. He can have the regular k-cups and the reusable ones. If he forgets to bring them home, don't sweat it, no big deal, he'll remember some day and then you can refill them.

Actually no, he doesn't carry a bag in.  He also leaves the tupperware he's taken in to the office for months, no joke.  Not days, and not even weeks, unless I nag him (which requires me remembering he brought one in, which I can do initially, but don't remember 2 weeks later) reminding him to bring it home.  No fun for either of us for me to nag.

Most cheap drip coffee makers will start on a timer.  My wife has one like this.  You put the stuff in the night before, set the timer, put your thermos under the spout, and in the morning there's hot coffee waiting for you.  Your husband would just have to pick up his mug and leave. 

I think he doesn't want to do this not just for the cleaning hassle, but also because he doesn't like carrying things on the crowded subway.  (Our usual train has gotten REALLY bad, such that even my fairly small self literally cannot squeeze onto the trains.  We'll watch a few go by at times before we can squeeze on one.  We joke - not entirely - about them hiring pushers like in Beijing.  The Boston T system got saddled with debt service for the big dig, and raised prices, cut service while ridership increased due to the economic downtown.) 

He drinks standard brew (no flavored ones) - e.g. something like Green Mountain breakfast blend.

Thanks for all of the great ideas guys, I'll check them out.  We don't have a costco membership, but my sister and a friend do.

gotaholen1

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #38 on: January 09, 2014, 01:19:38 PM »
I used to use the keurig machine at work a lot.  The best way to get a good price is via slickdeals.  I setup slickdeals deal alerts.  You can have it send you an email when there is a k-cup deal (when someone posts a deal with k-cups or kcups in the title).  When you find a good price, buy a ton. 

I eventually switched to a small coffee maker that I used for myself, as I have had about 3 of those machines break on me.  I have since graduated to a Saeco automatic espresso machine.  I like it so far and lattes with unsweatened almond milk are amazing. 

nsarwark

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #39 on: January 09, 2014, 05:51:18 PM »
The reusable K-cups suck and make horrible coffee.  We have one, I've used it about three times (every few months I try again and remember why I don't use it).

The San Francisco Bay k-cups from Costco are the best value we've found.  They also don't have as much packaging, with a mesh bottom instead of a hard plastic cup.

-Nick

Mrs.FamilyFinances

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #40 on: January 09, 2014, 06:25:59 PM »
We have a Keurig and LOVE IT. I purchase our k-cups at Costco, Costco online,  www.coffeecow.com and www.greenmountaincoffee.com . Both websites offer rewards type programs, free shipping with minimum purchase, that type of thing.

The San Francisco Bay k-cups are the cheapest, but we could hardly choke it down.


Sorry you had such backlash over a simple question.

CaptainPit

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #41 on: January 18, 2014, 02:10:07 PM »
I too am a Keurig addict. Here's how I do it:

1. I wait for an advertisement from Kohl's that there will be an overall discount, 20% purchases + Kohl's cash, etc.
2. I go Giant Eagle and purchase $200 of Kohl's gift cards. Giant Eagle gives extra credit towards their gas discount program when purchasing gift cards, but they don't charge any surcharge on the gift cards itself. So, for a $200 purchase, next time I fill up my tank, I'll get around .25 - .30 off per gallon.
3. Go to Kohl's with coupon. Buy a mess of kcups. (They very often have additional sales on these - last time I went, it was buy 1, get the 2nd 50% off, limit). So, $200 purchase of kcups, half of them were half off, additional 20% off overall purchase.
4. Lastly, got a coupon for $10 of Kohl's cash that I can use next week - Bam! One more box of k-cups.

Workinghard

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #42 on: January 19, 2014, 04:07:07 AM »
I haven't read all the replies, so this may have been covered. First off, we never pay more than 0.37 per cup.  They come on sale frequently and different coupon websites will post deals.  Also, my dh uses each cup twice. I don't like my coffee as strong, so I'll get another 1-2 uses per cup depending on the blend. When you reuse them, open the lid, take the cup out, and then reinsert and close lid. You can check the number of holes on the bottom to see how often it's been used before tossing. 😏

lentilman

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #43 on: March 05, 2014, 02:15:02 PM »
I have no idea if this is a good price, but Ollie's outlet is promoting that they made a $3,000,000 buyout of fresh Victor Allen overrun and have dedicated the whole front page of their flyer for it.  80pk/$26 - starts Thurs March 6

OldDogNewTrick

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #44 on: March 05, 2014, 02:48:51 PM »
I haven't read all the replies, so this may have been covered. First off, we never pay more than 0.37 per cup.  They come on sale frequently and different coupon websites will post deals.  Also, my dh uses each cup twice. I don't like my coffee as strong, so I'll get another 1-2 uses per cup depending on the blend. When you reuse them, open the lid, take the cup out, and then reinsert and close lid. You can check the number of holes on the bottom to see how often it's been used before tossing. 😏

I had NO idea they could be reused! Never thought to try. OMG game changer.

PMG

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #45 on: March 05, 2014, 06:05:38 PM »
I don't have the machine and have no experience, but I see the k-cups regularly at Big Lots.  My grocery store often has the seasonal ones half price as well.


Milspecstache

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #46 on: March 05, 2014, 06:46:24 PM »
I love coffee.  It makes me much less introverted at my job as it always makes me more talkative.  Also helps keep me awake.  Based on that I justify the expense.

I did k-cups for a year or so but they were expensive.  Then my k-cup machine failed.  I disassembled it to find a computer and crazy hoses and other junk that made it un-repairable by my skill-level.

So I transitioned to this thing:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EI7DPPI/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For $80 and it will do single serve or pots of coffee.

I used up my k-cups by opening the cup and dumping the grinds into the small, provided basket.  Once that was gone I shifted to some beans that someone had given me.  After that I'll find another cheap/free coffee source.  But much cheaper by the cup and I'm convinced that this machine will last longer as it is simpler.

twbird18

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #47 on: March 06, 2014, 04:37:26 AM »
My husband is not a coffee drinker, but uses our (gifted)Keurig to drink Hot Apple Cider & Hot Chocolate nearly every evening. Target has the different brands on sale several times a month. You just have to watch for the ad. Sometimes there is also a target cartwheel coupon that you can use in conjunction with the sale to get boxes for under $10. The other thing we do is shop at a local store that just sells K-cups. It is slightly more than sale prices, but it also means we are supporting a small business owner & by purchasing in bulk sometimes she's able to cut us a pretty good deal. You just have to ask around.

Rural

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #48 on: March 06, 2014, 05:25:17 AM »
A regular coffee pot will make a single cup of coffee. You put in less coffee and less water. Push the button, done.

Milspecstache

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Re: Buying k-cups cheaply
« Reply #49 on: March 06, 2014, 07:43:37 PM »
A regular coffee pot will make a single cup of coffee. You put in less coffee and less water. Push the button, done.

I'm embarassed to admit that you are correct!!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!