I just wanted to share a few recent wins that show how much you can save just by doing a little math and making a small change.
We recently switched from Keurig coffee to brewing in a drip maker. We were buying k-cups when we could find them on sale for around 50 per cup. We would each drink one every morning about 6 times per week. Total cost (conservatively) was about $312 a year for our morning coffee. When we switched, I started buying Folgers Columbian in the 1.5 lb can for $8 each. Using the suggested strength and brewing 8 6-oz cups each morning comes to around 30 cents per day. Notice we each get more coffee each morning this way (4 6-oz cups each vs only 1 with Keurig). Total cost is only $92 per year for a cost savings of $220. We’ve actually spent some of that savings on much nicer coffee. At $8 for 12oz, specialty coffee is still $128 per year cheaper. Better coffee, more coffee, and cheaper.
The other grocery store win: For years, we have eaten muffins for breakfast on Sunday mornings. Last week, we didn’t have a box of mix, so I pulled out The Joy of Cooking and made them from scratch. Super easy! I did a little math and realized that it was a lot cheaper. Here’s the gist of it: a box of muffin mix is $3 at my local store (there’s no store/generic brand of what we buy). You just need to add an egg and oil. The ingredients to make them from scratch (minus the egg and oil for fairness) is about $1.33. That includes any mix ins, fruit, etc. Often, this would be cheaper if using something we already have (overripe bananas, for example). Total savings over 50 weeks in a year is over $80. Just like the coffee, the net result is better product with minimal extra effort.
Two very simple changes in our life netted us $200-300 in savings each year. Plenty to help offset diapers and a lot of other costs that we’ve started incurring over the last few years.
October 29, 2017 at 01:20PM
