If you are anything like me and enjoy your coffee fix then it is definitely worthwhile looking at some of the ways you can save money. Whilst buying the odd latte or cappuccino won’t make you poor it is money that could be spent or invested elsewhere so it is definitely worthwhile looking into the different ways you can save money buying coffee when out and about.
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Save money buying coffee using loyalty cards
Most coffee shops offer some sort of a loyalty card to encourage you to come back to them to buy your coffee rather than going elsewhere so it makes sense to take advantage of these.
Costa Coffee gives you 100 free points when you sign up to their Costa Coffee Club. After that, you earn 5 points for every £1 you spend on anything in the shop including muffins and bacon rolls. Costa also offers bonus points during the year to encourage you to drink more coffee and spend more money.
To earn rewards with the Starbucks rewards card you need to load money onto the card and then you earn stars for each drink you buy. Once you have earned enough stars you will be rewarded with a free drink once you have used your card 15 times.
Caffe Nero has a simple card where they stamp it every time you buy a coffee and reward you with a free drink once your loyalty card has been stamped 9 times.
Use reusable coffee cups to save money
Using reusable coffee cups can save you money or earn you extra rewards from different coffee chains. Using reusable cups is a great way to save you money and help save the amount of plastic being wasted. Reusable cups can be picked up relatively cheaply either from the coffee shops themselves or from any number of other shops either online or offline. It is quite common for re-useable coffee cups to be handed out by companies looking to promote their products and services so keep your eyes open for these freebies.
In Pret A Manger customers can save 50p on each coffee they purchase in a reusable cup. That means if you use your reusable cup 5 times you have saved yourself the equivalent of a cappuccino.
Caffe Nero rewards you by giving you two stamps instead of one if you use a reusable cup meaning you get a free coffee in half the time it normally takes.
Costa Coffee and Starbucks both offer a 25p discount when you use a re-useble cup. As well as saving money when you buy the drinks you also get to save money when you use your reward cards.
Saving money, saving the environment, and free coffee what more could you want?
Take advantage of second-hand gift cards
Whilst some of us can’t get enough lattes, flat whites, and americanos some people don’t appreciate coffee. When these people receive gift cards from friends and family for Starbucks, Costa, and other coffee shops they tend to either put them in a drawer or the more savvy ones sell them on sites such as eBay at a reduced price.
Keeping an eye out on eBay for second-hand gift cards is a great way for coffee drinkers like you and me to buy these gift cards at discounted rates allowing us to save money next time we are out and about and end up buying a coffee.
Save money by making coffee at home
The easiest way to save money by buying coffee is to avoid the coffee shops and to make your coffee at home. Sure a cup of instant coffee like Nescafe isn’t quite the same as a barista prepared cappuccino but it is a lot cheaper. Making coffee at home can taste better than some of the coffee shops if you can get your hands on a decent coffee machine.
These can be bought at Argos, Amazon, and other stores for less than £50. A lot of different types of coffee beans can be bought in Tesco and other supermarkets. If you want to stick to familiar names you can buy Starbucks and Costa Coffee beans but if you want to try different beans and experience new tastes feel free to try different varieties. Shopping around and brewing at home will allow you to save money on coffee and may even make your coffee more enjoyable knowing you made it yourself.
Look out for free coffee offers
Lots of companies offer free coffee or coffee samples so it is well worth searching online to see if you can bag yourself some coffee freebies or to find any other ways to save money when buying coffee.
If you take your reusable cup to Waitrose and buy anything in the store they will give you a free coffee from their self-service machine. Mmmm free coffee I think I need to nip out to Waitrose to buy some digestives and pick up my free coffee.
