Frugal Living - Breakfast

City girls like me need their latte's to get them going in the morning.... and if the night before has involved a glass or two of the old "vino blanco" then you'll be "el desperado" for a carb fix.

I used to regularly buy a Grande Skinny Mocha (no cream) and a Skinny Blueberry Muffin from a certain coffee shop with a green disk logo on the way to work EVERY morning. At the time, the coffee was £2.90 and the muffin £1.45... that's £4.35 per day on breakfast or £21.75 per week. During a five week month (don't you HATE those?) that's £108.75 per month on breakfast alone (not including weekends). ….

So, when I tightened my belt I considered the following:

The coffee in my office (I'm a pretty lucky girl) is from a machine that grinds the beans especially for each cup (coffee shops don't do that) and although the milk isn't steamed, there's no harm in it making the coffee colder so you can drink it right away. It doesn't come in a paper cup - so it's eco-friendly and it doesn't foam up through a lid and drip down your hand. I'm not certain - but I'm sure it's not nearly 300 calories either (Skinny eh?!). It's also....FREEEEEEEEE!!!!! as we all know FREE is totally frugalsential!!!

If the coffee in your office isn't free then resign - it's simply rude. If it's horrible - buy your own - if you're too good for Gold Blend then you're not a proper Frugal Girl! 300g jar - 30-60 cups of coffee depending on your idea of how strong a mug full should be - is £6.92 - which is the equivalent of less than 3 Grande Skinny Mochas. If your office has no milk - drink it black - it's much better for you! :)

Now... the carb kick..... I take my own cereal and I buy in bulk - a 500g box of Special K is £2.79 and should last you for 2 weeks (it’s also NOT the cheapest cereal in the supermarket). Again - no milk at work - just buy your own – 40p from Tesco – and you’ll need about 3 week

So, 2.5 boxes of Special K in a 5 week month = £6.97 + FREE coffee - that's a saving of..... wait for it...... £101.78!!!! in one month!!!! On breakfast!!!! Even if you buy a big jar of coffee and your own milk you're only spending £19.89 a month, including the - a saving of £88.86!!!!!!!

So what are you going to spend it on?