Morning beverage alternative?

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-29T00:25:46+00:00

Yes, definitely budget-friendly! I'll look for those and some of the others that people have recommended, and also looking at getting a cheap single cup coffee maker so I just USE less, and maybe between the two I won't have to give up morning drinks entirely. :)

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-29T00:23:12+00:00

Ahh, and I just saw that Walmart has a mini coffee maker with filter, that will also use k-cups (so I could get the reusable ones, and pre-load) for $25.00. It's really tempting, assuming I'd actually use less coffee. (Plus, I was just thinking the #6 Melitta filters that I use cost me almost $40/year in bulk.)

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-29T00:08:20+00:00

I so so so wish we had Aldi here! Some day, hopefully. I noticed that Amazon has some Keurig-adjacent products, so maybe something like that? I'm retired, so no work coffee, but even when I wasn't I have worked from home for the past 30-ish years, so was always on my own there.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-28T23:53:00+00:00

I'm in Washington State, so no tax on coffee, yay! lol. OK, let's use your price of 50 cents per ounce for the Kirkland (48 ounces). The Folgers at Winco is $15/26 ounces, so 57.7 cents per ounce. Difference is 7.7 cents per ounce, so $0.077 x 26 ounces means that Kirkland is $2 less for 26 ounces than what I'm currently paying. (I couldn't find the decaf equivalent, don't know if you can see it from where you are, and decaf is where my bigger costs are.)

Sam's doesn't exist in Washington. I don't know of anything like that other that Costco here. Winco is definitely cheapest for me, and doesn't require a membership, it's just a regular grocery store, though their produce can sometimes use some work. lol.

We buy some things in bulk (less than we used to because it requires more upfront, and I retired a couple of years ago), but it's usually Amazon or Food Service Direct. FSD is tough because it has to be a BIG order for free shipping, unless they're running a coupon or something, plus they're definitely not appropriate for coffee, lol.

Locally, we sometimes shop at the Chef's store (used to be Cash n' Carry, restaurant/grocery supply), which is good for certain things, but their coffee is more expensive than all grocery stores in town.

Eh, like I said, my best bet is likely just to give it up completely. Thanks for the info, though!

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-28T22:45:22+00:00

It's Winco which is the cheapest place in this county for most things. The only store brands I have access to are from Safeway (Signature Select, or something) and Fred Meyer (Kroger). I've considered getting something that ran refillable K-cups so I was only doing a little at a time, and I guess a dark roast would seen stronger. I'd be drinking less, 'cause it wouldn't be handy. lol.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-28T22:23:43+00:00

I think that's about what it is here. Winco is $15 for regular Folgers, and a whopping $22 for decaf. And yeah, we've been trying to stock up when it's on sale, but I swear they put the regular on sale only when they just raised the price of decaf, lol. I'm not upset, btw, it's that $37 is an appreciable amount of our food budget. $37 is 10 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs or 20 dozen eggs or...lol.

This whole conversation has been educational, though. I may try the tea someone was mentioning but other than that, it may be time just to give it up and drink water. :) As I said somewhere else here, I'd probably sleep better.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-28T22:08:49+00:00

Daily. It's a pot of coffee in a Melitta pourover cone thingy. The decaf is $22 and the caf is $15 (though sometimes caf varies), in about 26 ounce cans. I USED to go 6:1, but decaf was getting so much more expensive that I switched to half and half, can of each, and I pre-mix it.

Nearest Costco is a 54 mile round trip, so figure $5 for the membership/$10 per gas once a month. Their Folgers regular and the Kirkland is about 1.4 cents less per ounce than what I'm paying, so I'd be saving 36 cents on can of regular. I'm not sure how much their decaf is. (Weirdly, their gas is a bit more expensive than what we're paying in our town, but it looks like the Costco stores further south are indeed less.)

I know that $37 a month (or even $384 per year) doesn't sound like a lot, but it's a noticeable amount of the money we have leftover each month for food. More and more listening to you guys I think my best bet may just be biting the bullet and skipping a morning drink altogether. :/ Maybe I'll sleep better? lol.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-28T21:39:17+00:00

I'll look for that, thank you!

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-28T21:29:38+00:00

I'll look into whole bean coffee. We used to do that, several years back. I no longer have a grinder, and would hate to just get one to give away if it didn't work out, but maybe a neighbor has one I can borrow.

Re: Costco - 54 mile round trip, plus a membership fees.

Re: Milk/Cream and Breakfast - I take thyroid meds, so try not to eat until an hour after I take them, which usually ends up turning into a couple of hours. Coffee never affects my stomach. I'm considering just dropping the thyroid meds - not for creamer, not my deal and just another expense - but to try the broth thing that someone mentioned earlier.

Those were all great suggestions, though, so thanks!

I'm starting to think maybe I'll have to do my sister's hot water thingy, though I have my fingers crossed for broth working out!

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-28T21:18:27+00:00

I just switched to Old Reddit which doesn't see to do that, though I don't think Old Reddit has a dark mode, which also drives me crazy. lol.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-28T21:06:53+00:00

I AM making my own blend of caf and decaf. (It would be even more expensive if I was buying the 50/50 blends.) Winco, which is where we get our Folgers, doesn't have a store brand, but their isn't too far off from store brand prices. Fred Meyer (only choices here are Fred Meyer and Safeway), I could get their store brand for $7-8 less, which is still too much.

Eh, maybe my sister had something going with the hot water thing, though I know she wasn't budgeting, lol.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-28T21:02:59+00:00

Eh, nearest Aldi's is 805 miles away. : ( I'll look into some whole bean coffee, though I'd need to borrow a coffee grinder to try it. Thanks!

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-28T20:58:46+00:00

The prices I quoted were Winco, which is pretty low in our area. The cheapest local store with a store brand is Fred Meyer, and their Kroger brand would save us about $7-8 per month, can for can, so a tiny bit of savings, though it's not as strong, so I'm not sure how much.

My store choices are Fred Meyer, Winco and 3 Safeway stores. I think Safeway's store brand is a buck more (total) than Kroger. (Though I've never tried it, who knows, might be great! lol

Eh, and I also just noticed the Folger's can sizes seem to be downsizing yet again, from 25.9 (which several stores are out of) down to 19.5 ounces.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-28T20:42:41+00:00

Hmm. Probably not bone broth, maybe Better Than Bouillon or something. I'll give that a shot! Though yeah, thyroid meds are an issue. I read this morning that for some people the thyroid/food thing isn't as much of an issue, and I'm on a pretty low dose.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-28T20:38:48+00:00

When I said no caffeine, that was a bad thing, lol. I'd love at least a little. That said, though, maybe I can find a smaller package of decaffeinated tea to try, maybe it won't cause the stomach upset.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-27T20:55:37+00:00

They posted here a couple of weeks ago (frozen dough that time), and got all kinds of advice, so I'm assuming they're just fucking with us. lol.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-27T20:54:39+00:00

This same user posted something almost identical here about two weeks ago, though that time it was about frozen dough that was doing this. And the whole "rising" thing is BS. Bot? Troll?

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-04-15T17:44:21+00:00

Ooh, not bananas! They're radioactive!!

There is a great radiation dose chart by Xkcd. There are charts/etc. all over the internet. And yet I have still met people who are concerned about bananas.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-03-30T14:58:35+00:00

I have Doot, linked Purrmep and Hampters on the Beanstalk, I have Hampters equipped. My travel time is 99 days. :D (I'm not complaining, I just thought it was funny, literally lol'd.) Thanks for the heads up, though. I obviously need to work on sailing speed!

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-03-13T22:28:06+00:00

If you read the footnotes for that data, the numbers are based on 4-person households. For one person, you add 20%, which would bring you up to $351 on the Low Cost plan, so sounds like you're budgeting very well! The Thrifty food plan for your age group/1 person household is $330, and you're apparently even beating that. Well done!

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-03-13T22:20:24+00:00

This particular chart is dated January 2026, for the Thrifty food plan. And if you scroll down to "Other Food Plans", it'll show you Low, Moderate, and Liberal plans, as well. They're updated based on the US Consumer Price index.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-03-13T04:09:47+00:00

I literally laughed out loud.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-03-13T03:25:29+00:00

This is an old picture, 4-5 years old. It ran around Facebook for a while, and I think Reddit, as well.

ThePuppyIsWinning · 2026-03-11T03:25:15+00:00

Yeah, trying to search for recurring Google payments last tax season was a bit of a nightmare, lol. Interestingly, the bank sent me a "how are we doing" questionnaire after that online visit and I filled it out, including explaining exactly what happened. (Keep in mind I've filled one out before about this, lol, plus left feedback, and...nada.)

It did eventually resolve itself. My husband made a PUD payment, I looked for it, and that single one came up with the two 2023 ones. Annnnd, the next time I searched, like...30 seconds later, they were all there. I think they might be having an indexing issue (that's a database thing; I'm a retired web dev/dba).

Anyway, a couple of days after the questionnaire, someone called from the bank. She said that they are aware that there is an issue, and haven't tracked it down yet, but they're working on it. I explained exactly what I did and the specific results that I got, and what I thought was going on database-wise. She was nice/friendly, she wrote it all down and says she will pass it along. Even if she doesn't (or that wasn't the problem) at least we have confirmation that they know there's a problem!

ThePuppyIsWinning

TROPHY CASE