How To Save Money At Starbucks

Starbucks and I have a love/hate relationship going on. I love the tasty lattes and delicious cake pops it supplies me with but I cringe every time I upload money to my Starbucks card (for their rewards program).

Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Starbucks is a luxury, not a necessity. The holiday season exempt since I’d like to think of holiday drinks & peppermint brownie cake pops as a necessity in my life. Anyone else?

Living in Los Angeles has been tough on my bank account so I’ve learned to budget quite well. There are always ways to save money, even at Starbucks. I’ve put together a short list of easy things you can do to save on your Starbucks run.

Order a regular cup of coffee

I know, I know, regular coffee is boring and you can probably make it at home in your Keurig. This is all true but this is the easiest way to save money at Sbux. A Grande (Starbucks’ lingo for medium) black coffee will cost you approx. $2.29. Add your preferred sugar and some cream and you’ve got a solid cup of joe to enjoy amongst fellow coffee lovers.

Don’t add extras

Extra pumps of flavoring costs 50 cents. I know it’s not a lot, but it is a way to save money. However, if you’re going to pay the extra 50 cents, then you might as well go crazy on the pumps of flavoring. It’s the same price if you get 1 pump or 10. You might as well get your money’s worth.

Skip the food

I know once that croissant has caught your eye it’s all you’re going to think about until you get to the register. TRY TO RESIST. I’m all about indulging in Starbucks treats once in awhile (did I mention I’m obsessed with cake pops?!) but I’ve realized I don’t need to buy one every-time I go and get coffee. My coffee will taste just fine without a side of biscotti.

Join their rewards program

The Starbucks’ rewards program is awesome. Well, it was. Up until now, you would get a star every time you made a purchase. Once you hit 12 stars, you’d get a free drink or food item.

Recent news broke that the ‘bucks is changing their program and it’s not good news for us small spenders. Customers will now have to earn 125 stars for a free item, with each dollar spent being worth two stars — meaning we have to spend $62.50 to get one free item (you can read more on this here).

I still included the rewards program on this list because a free item is a free item. It still will save you a little bit.

Only order the Tall size

I started doing this about two years ago and I think it significantly helped me spend less money at Starbucks. Once you get used to drinking the tall size, you won’t feel like you’re missing out. A Tall is 12 ounces of coffee. The most coffee you can make in a Keurig is 10 ounces, a whole 2 less than a Starbucks Tall. It’s more coffee than you think!

Go once a week

If you’re going to Starbucks every day before work, you’re probably spending close to $80 a month on fancy drinks. Even if you love your routine, you know that $80 could be put towards something a lot more useful. Try just going on Fridays. You’ll look forward to that weekly Starbucks trip even more and will be saving yourself lots of money.

Do you have any tips on saving money at Starbucks? Let me know in the comments below!

xo Carli