Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Saving Your Bucks at the 'Bucks

Can't live without your daily stop at The Mother of All Coffee Houses? You and me both! It's been a painful (and expensive) adjustment now that I'm no longer working at a coffee shop and getting my drinks for free. However, there are a few tricks I've learned over the years that will help you save some green while still getting your daily fix of caffeine.

1) Take advantage of refills! Did you know that you can get refills of coffee, iced coffee and iced tea for only fifty cents? While this technically is only supposed to apply to refills during a single visit, they will rarely question you if you show up with your cup from a previous visit and ask for a refill. So remember that saving your cup means saving money.

2) Bring your own cup. Okay, so bringing in your own travel mug only gives you a ten cent discount, but if you get coffee every day, this will eventually add up to big savings. And it helps save the environment, too.

3) Taking your kids to the 'Bucks for a blended ice cold treat? Order a Venti of their favorite Frappuccino and ask to have it split into two small cups. You'll save several dollars without sacrificing a single sip of sugary goodness.

4) Your little ones want hot chocolate but you're a little low on cash. No problem! Ask for child sized hot cocoas (or vanilla steamers) - they only cost a dollar and ten cents each and are the perfect size for tiny tummies.

5) Are you one of those people who always has to dump some of your coffee out in the trash so you can add just the right amount of cream? Next time, ask for them to put your coffee in the next cup size up (for example, "Can I have a grande drip in a venti cup please?") so you can add as much cream as you like without having to dump any coffee. You get a couple of extra sips that are your perfect blend of cream and coffee, and your favorite barista will be happy that they don't have to drag soggy trash bags across the store. Trust me, happy baristas = better coffee!

Okay, so now that you know all my tricks... go out there and get your daily fix for less!

1 comment:

Allison said...

I knew they refilled coffee and ice tea...but didn't know it applied to iced coffee... that made me excited!