The first step in treating any addiction is admitting it. I have a serious addiction to a little bean first discovered in Africa. This exquisite little red berry (yep, they’re red when ripe on the bush) is known the world over as…

COFFEE

You know it, you love it, you probably drink it. Some of us like to make all kinds of special coffee drinks and concoctions like half-caf soy lattes, mocha java mugs and you name it. I’ll take just a regular cup of Joe, with one creamer and two splendas as part of my morning wake up routine. With the rising costs of everything these days, there are some ways that you can save on your favorite breakfast beverage of choice. Here are some tips on saving money on everything from your next espresso. Good to the last drop!

Coupons: If you’re not already in the habit, raid a Sunday paper for coupon circulars like Red Plum and Proctor & Gamble. They often contain coupons for your favorite brands of coffee. Just save the coupons in a 3″ ring binder in a clear plastic pocket sleeve every Sunday and then check out the coupon databases at websites like www.hotcouponworld.com and others. You can go to the coupon databases and punch in keywords like “coffee” and it’ll tell you where your coupons are located in the flyers.

Sales: Coffee has a finite shelf life, and stores do put coffee on sale pretty often. They usually do this long before the coffee goes stale to make room for new shipments with longer shelf lives. There can be two for one sales, double coupon sales, stacked coupon sales (using a store coupon along with a manufacturers coupon) and other promotions. If the expiration date on the coffee container hasn’t already expired, it should be perfectly drinkable. If you do the shopping, search the bargain aisles near the rear of the store for coffee on sale when you go shopping. If you don’t do the shopping, have your S/O do the looking. The best time to find bargains on the bargain aisles is in the morning when the store first opens.

Generics: Compare the sales prices and coupon amounts vs. generic or store brands of coffee. Your basic coffee is 100% arabica beans. Most national brands of coffee are 100% arabica, so if all you want is a basic cup of coffee there’s no reason why you can’t go with a generic. Do a little math and I bet you’ll find the cost is a lot less on the generic version, sometimes even against the sale coffees. This is especially good to do when looking at the two for one sales on coffee as often the stores will jack up the prices on the coffee on sale, and the generic might be cheaper. If you want specialty beans or a different type of bean or roast, you might be out of luck when it comes to generic.

When you find a deal on coffee, stock up. Coffee is usually vaccum sealed and keeps very fresh on the shelf right up until the expiration date. Enjoy, and drink to your health!