Love your daily latte run but stressed about cash? If you’re grabbing café coffee every day, you might be pouring away more than you think. Let’s break down exactly how cutting this small habit could put an extra $200 in your pocket this month—and offer easy swaps for instant savings.
1. Spot Where Your Coffee Dollars Go
It’s easy to ignore a $5 coffee here or there, but those café trips add up fast. The average coffee shop brew costs $4.90 per cup. If you’re buying just one every weekday, that’s nearly $25 a week—over $100 a month!
The average cost of a specialty coffee at a café ranges from $3 to $5, depending on the location and complexity of the drink. (Source: Elephas Coffee)
Just tracking your coffee spending for a week can open your eyes to easy savings.
- Write down what you spend on coffee each day.
- Add it up at the end of seven days—multiply that by four for your monthly total!
Once you know your ‘coffee number,’ you’ll spot instant areas to save. Ready to find an alternative?
2. Brew at Home—and Save BIG
Making coffee at home doesn’t just cost less—it can save you as much as $4.50 per cup. Switch to home brewing, and you could see an extra $60 to $120 in your account this month alone, even after buying supplies.
Home-brewed coffee generally costs anywhere from $0.16–$0.27 per cup, significantly less than the average $2.70–$4.90 from a coffee shop. (Source: Apartment List, Absopure)
A basic coffee maker or even a small espresso machine pays for itself in just a few months.
- Try a French press or drip coffeemaker—less than $25 at most stores.
- Buy a bag of coffee beans (about $10) and make 30+ cups at home.
- Bonus: You get to control the ingredients and skip added sugars or fats.
Swap two café visits a week for home brews and put the difference aside—you’ll be surprised how fast it adds up!
3. Automate Your Savings
Don’t let those little saved dollars disappear. When you skip a café coffee, immediately transfer $4–$5 into a savings account. Even better: set up your banking app to do this for you!
Setting up an automatic transfer of money saved from skipping daily coffee purchases into a high-yield savings account can help build your savings effortlessly. (Source: Apartment List)
Avoid temptation—move your saved “coffee money” before you spend it on something else.
- Check if your bank supports automatic transfers each day or week.
- Pick a high-yield savings account to make your dollars grow faster. [our guide]
- Watch your balance increase every week—no extra effort required!
Even if you’re only skipping a few lattes a week, automating this extra money makes saving feel effortless.
Conclusion: Your First Step to a $200 Win
Little choices like skipping a daily latte can make a surprisingly big dent in your budget—in a good way! If you want to see immediate results, track your coffee spending this week, experiment with brewing at home, and set up those automatic savings transfers. Try the home brew challenge for one month—you could free up $200 or more with barely any hassle. Your next step: Brew your coffee at home tomorrow and send $5 straight to your savings! Repeat daily for big results.