A few days ago I was talking to some people at a luncheon about Starbucks. I said I can go into Starbucks and order something that isn’t really expensive – black coffee. They all looked at me shocked. One even said “Starbucks sells regular coffee?” Yes.

Amazing but true that people just think of fancy coffee drinks when it comes to Starbucks. What’s wrong worth regular coffee? Just plain, coffee, no frothed milk, no added pimps of flavor, just the coffee flavor? Granted most of the time when I get just regular coffee from Starbucks or another coffee place for that matter it is because I am out and do not have the luxury of making my own.

Getting into the habit of making your own coffee at home is more than a notion but can save you a great deal of money. Even when you buy high quality coffee you can save a lot of money. For a week’s worth of coffee, you can buy a pound of beans and make your own at home. Many people who enjoy coffee, do not make their own at home even though they already have a coffeemaker. Its’s the convenience of buying it. A coffeemaker with a timer on it, is great because then the coffee can be brewing while you are getting dressed in the morning. It saves money and can save time if you don’t have to stop in the morning to buy coffee.

For those who like a coffee beverage in the morning with some foam, and heated milk there are options for you to make your own at home as well, but will require more of a time commitment and some cleaning of machinery. I cannot vouch for those actual items (such as Bialetti’s stovetop cappuccino maker) but I have a milk frother and a stovetop espresso pot. Neither of these are as easy to operate as a regular drip coffeemaker and require attention. Coffee beverage drinkers may be out of luck when it comes to trying to duplicate their favorite beverage for less at home.

In that case, try saving your coins and putting money onto a gift card via Coinstar, buy a smaller size which will save you a little money, or complete online surveys and trade in your points for gift cards. If this doesn’t work, then cut back on the coffee beverages (which you can make at home) and alternate between regular drip coffee and a coffee beverage, every other day or so.