Help me give up my expensive coffee shop habit

[Busybeingtired]

banking app showed me that I spent a shocking £900 on take away coffees last year, a habit that I want to vastly reduce.
Any recommendations for coffee flasks I can make a really coffee in at home to take out? I think there are some fancy options but I’m not sure where to start!

Sage impress machine and a thermos 24hr mug/flask.

The coffee machine is the most used piece of equipment in our house!

It is hardly difficult to find excellent flasks - £10-20 on Amazon. I prefer steel insulated, as will keep drinks hot for ages.

what kind of coffee are you buying? I personally prefer filter to espresso drinks, so no fancy machine required, just need the pour over cup and some filter papers. Everyone has different preferences, but for me having an americano from a coffee chain is usually a downgrade from what I make at home.

What brand of takeaway coffee are you buying? What do you enjoy? Are you buying on the way to work? Or out walking the dog etc?
All of these things affect the answer x

Get a Sage machine! Not cheap at first but impressive.

Where are you buying coffee? We had to sort this last year. Made a 3 point plan…

1. Get free coffees. So check all your perks. Banking, mobile, insurance, utilities. You would be surprised how many free coffees you can get.
2. If you love a specific brand then make sure you have the rewards apps and know the hacks. Ie. We pay half price now for Starbucks with top tier membership, coffee hacks, and redeeming free drink points.
3. Have a separate monzo pot for coffee. Set a budget and stick to it.

If it's filter type buy a V1 and papers and fill the flask but you will struggle with espresso.

Contigo cup is our best one (and we have a few!) - it’s the easiest to keep clean. We make gorgeous coffee in it using an Aeropress.

is it the coffee? I know it is but bear with me.

Many things we spend money on are meeting on underlying need. We address the surface need (coffee) with a solution (flask). But the actual need is deeper and remains unmet so we go back to it. Possible reasons; status, a break, a treat, social time, stress management.

Think about when you go and what thoughts precede it.

I bought a nespresso machine and Starbucks pods.
i take a coffee with me every morning.

Am I the only one who thinks £900 over the year isn’t that bad? I mean if it’s a treat and you don’t overspend elsewhere. If you’re in debt or struggling to make ends meet then sure it’s a problem.

I've got a Nespresso machine at home and I use a Yeti mug. Keeps the coffee hot for hours.

Hydroflask are really good.

I use a cafetière, decent ready ground coffee and a Thermos flask I got in Asda. Does the job fine.

Try an aeropress for great real coffee without spending £££ on a machine.

i use my and either top up with boiling water and a splash of milk, or microwave milk to make it more like a latte

This is a good point. I quite often get a takeaway hot drink from out local cafe but it’s not really about the drink, but about the whole sort of experience, the feeling it’s a bit of a treat, the routine of going there as a sort of signpost in my day, a bit of a social refill. Making one at home even if it tasted exactly the same wouldn’t fulfill the same desires.

Are you anywhere near a Waitrose? They offer free coffee with their MyWaitrose card. You have to take your own cup.

Or Pret? £5 per month subscription gives you half price coffee. Up to 5 a day.

You said it’s a habit that you want to reduce. Can you give us more background information? Do you think it’s an addiction to caffeine that you want to stop?

Completely agree with this - if I stop buying myself a semi-regular takeaway coffee I'll probably find myself buying a chocolate bar, cake or doughnut instead. An Americano with milk might not be much better for my bank balance but it's considerably better for my waistline... If I want to be really strict with myself I have to have another motivation and I will literally work out how many treats I have to not buy in order to afford a perfume, pair of shoes, piece of jewellery...

If a coffee is just a coffee, then Contigo cups are brilliant 😁

Another vote for contigo flasks.

or get a job where the good and coffees are heavily subsidies to encourage people to attend site. Single espresso shot 50p

If it’s iced coffee watch the tutorials on tik tok it’s so easy and a milk frother which is about £3 makes it so fast. I can make it better at home now.
same with chai lattes also v easy at home. Get some amazing keep cups xx

Any recommendations, I’ve bought about 5 and they all been wrong.

My son has one of those milk frother things and has saved himself a fortune making one to take on the train every day. He just has a thermal cup

I have a Bialetti moka pot (£45) and a Thermos from Sainsbury's (£10). I've had both for years.

I never get a better cup of coffee anywhere than my lovely little moka pot makes I can have my drink how I like it, when I like it and without queuing.

Every time I use it (every day) I know I'm saving money. If that's a £3 saving every working day that's £800 a year. That's a holiday for me.

Aeropress and a milk frother and an insulated mug. All in for under £100. Will last years.

Another vote for a Contigo and the Aeropress.