How to give up costa / cafe Nero

[Notmorewashing]

I am obsessed, I go every day and sometimes twice.

I often buy cakes too because if I buy multi packs from the supermarket instead I eat too many in one sitting.

Anyone a reformed coffee shop addict ?! It’s about £5-£8 a day !!!

All you need is a cafetiere, some decent ground coffee and a travel mug. I make a pot every morning, have one at home and take one to work, costs me £2.50 per week. I even take it on holiday with me. Even a decent coffee machine that makes lattes etc will be much cheaper than take out. I chuck my grounds on my garden plants, I read on here once it was good for them, no idea if it's true but they're still alive .

What about the milk, tho? That is what I like best - anyone got a frother recommendation?

Someone on here said the Ikea frother is good. Buy it via Amazon I think, for cheaper delivery.

www.amazon.co.uk/Produkt-Cordless-Frother-Foamer-Latte/dp/B00Q4O5MY0?tag=mumsnetforum-21

It's not cheap, but a really good espresso machine will cure you. I'm not talking about a Nespresso either. Ours would probably be about GBP 500, although we were fortunate to be given it as a gift. While that's a lot of money, if you spend GBP 5 every weekday at Costa, that's about 4-5 months to cover the cost of the machine. Obviously you're buying beans and milk/cream, but well within a year you'll be saving money.

I buy maybe 3 coffees a month at coffee shops since we got a machine and that's usually because I'm meeting someone so have to buy something.

Would thinking about all the disposable cups you throw away help you cut back?

I loved coffee shops. Then I got pregnant and can't stand coffee and not very interested in teas either, that cured me fir now! However I'm guessing having a baby won't be cost saving long-term!

Thanks will try the machines and a portable mug and maybe try reduce to once a week.

The cup situation does make me feel sick but in Costa they recycle them for you.

Aeropress, coffee grinder and £2.50 pack of beans - the latter lasts a week in this house.

This ^^ and a kleen kanteen

Any recommendations on coffee grinders?

@TheBitchOfTheVicar this:
www.amazon.co.uk/JoyFork-Stainless-Handheld-Frothing-Cappuccions/dp/B01MCSTQOU

It truly froths milk just like in the proper coffee shop!

If you reduce to once a week or whatever and don’t deal with the actual issue as to why you’re going so much, then you’ll replace the coffee with something else. You need to work out why you’re going so much ie bored, lonely, needing routine, needing a break, like the recognition, like the identity etc

Thank you @messysurfaces

Swap to Americanos. Then soft drinks. And buy the crap biscuits by the till instead of nice cakes.

Then you can see if it’s the routine you like or the actual food and drink, and act accordingly.

Got a Waitrose coffee this morning but am missing my costa!

I think it’s the routine and something to look forward to after the depression of full time work.

Have you ever read Alvin halls books on avoiding debt? It really changes your outlook.

Coffees out, new karen millen top every week, magazines, meals out, I used to do the lot.

Greggs is a good alternative. For me, it is the cakes, not a coffee fan but do love tea and luckily its much of a muchness anywhere. Unfortunately its good old willpower, although everyone trips up sometimes. The other day I was at a station and desperate for a tea and there was a Starbucks stand. Nearly bought a marshmellow bar as well but that would have cost me £2.50 more so managed to stop myself.

I’m still calling into Costa each workday morning when I get off the tube. I like their coffee, quick chat with the staff who are lovely and then into work with a nice coffee to start my working day.

On the weekend DH and I often go for brunch. We live in central London so lots of choice for an independent with a good selection of coffees.

Would love to stop the habit too... but stress and habit cause me to buy some Coffee... even though I regret it and workplace offers coffee still feel the urge to use prett costa nero starbucks etc... choclate equally addictive

I went right off costa when I watched the man behind me in a traffic jam picking his nose then washing it down with a Costa.

They all make such awful over roasted, too hot coffee I can’t see how it’s a treat.

It’s like buying carob chocolate or those liquorice sticks. Or a tea in Starbucks.

I found it was largely habit. Went to the gym then went to Starbucks opposite. Same for going for a walk in a local park - coffee at the cafe.
So try to change habit - go cold turkey for a couple of weeks, have a bottle of water with you so if you get a craving, drink water and walk past the coffee shop.

Started a new job recently and have started to form a habit of getting a coffee at a cafe on the morning dog walk. Need to try to get out of that habit - maybe changing the dog walk route.

A reusable cup should at least save you a bit of cash. I’ve sucessfully broken the habit before and am trying to do it again. The only way I did it before was to benefit directly from the money I saved. Although we had a joint account, we had personal allowances for our lunches/coffees. It gave me a direct incentive to save the money because I could spend it. Now everything is in the joint account, I haven’t the same direct financial incentive.

It’s very easy for coffee shop coffee to become an ‘essential’. It really isn’t but it is a hard habit to break. I love my Nespresso at home but it really isn’t the same. Not is the coffee machine at work.

I must have saved a fortune by never drinking coffee in my life!

Sevendown, what do you drink instead? I need ideas on alternatives as I drink too much coffee.

Is there not anything else you would rather spend the money on instead? Maybe that could be an incentive.

Sevendown me too! I take my own teabags to work, I like rooibos tea, or earl grey. And Tescos do a really nice low fat hot Chocolate that is about 40 cals a cup, I have that instead of a chocolate bar when I need a sweet fix in the middle of the afternoon.