At least here on BudgetsAreSexy ;) It's not *exactly* personal finance related but it does mean FREE coffee for some of you. And actually, YOU guys will be the frugal rock stars today since you'll have to drop your coffee-saving tips to win!

Everyone knows Starbucks so I'm not gonna pimp what they do, but I will say they expanded their packaged coffee portfolio they sell in grocery stores. So for people who want to try a new blend but don't want to commit to a larger size, they're now rockin' 5-ounce sizes for ya. And they've still got their 20 oz'ers around too (as you can see in that pic) which according to their stats means you're getting each cup for only 25 cents! Not bad if you're good at making it at home (I'm surprisingly getting better at this... although we did have that incident).

Okay, so what can you win? A Starbucks V.I.P. Package!

1. A coffee mug! Simple, yet sleek (I use mine all the time)
2. One 20 oz bag of coffee. Which would last 2 days in our household ;)
3. THREE 5 oz bags of coffee. Great for snacks! haha... j/k, you're set for 2+ months here.

To win all this coffee goodness:

1. Share a way YOU save on coffee (or tea? beer? water?) in the comments below.
2. Leave a way for me to holler at ya. Email, blog, twitter, cell # (just kidding)

TWO lucky winners will win their very own V.I.P. Starbucks package, drawn by none other than Random.org, and ending @ Midnight this Saturday - Feb, 27th. Now tell us all your secrets! (and when you're ready to hire me Starbucks, you just let me know)

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*GIVEAWAY OVER* The lucky winners are Kevin and Miss Information! Congrats guys :)

Labels: giveaways, starbucks

This is a guest post from my talented as hell brother, T. Penny - the guy who reminded us debt is like kissing your sister...and liking it.

I feel cheap - dollar-store cheap. I've been used and abused for far too long, and it's completely my fault. Confession: I, like millions of other people, am a Starbucks addict; a lemming to all things confection and caffeinated ... and my wallet hates me for it.

Funny thing about treating yourself to a cup of highly priced Joe is that while it tastes sublime in all of its sugary glory, it can eat away at your checking account like diabetic termites. I know because I'm a repeat victim of modern marketing (Keg-sized peppermint mochas? It's not the holiday season without it!). I naively buy into the belief that Starbucks is committed to my wellbeing; that if they were given the chance, they'd tuck me into my racecar bed at night, read me the ol' Green Eggs and check for closet monsters. Nope. They just want my money, and I'm forking it over to them like old people at bakeries.

Truth is, up until recently I've been spending about $25 a week consuming what Starbucks is peddling (I'm drinking one as I write this). Buy, sip, swallow - follow the routine until you get the yummy in your tummy and all is right with the world. Eventually, I became a creature of habit, and those casual walks to the corner coffee shop evolved into the staggered walk of a fiend in need of a fix. What do I get for these visits? My teeth hate me, my gums have given up, and, like Tiger Woods, I waste my hard-earned coin on something cheap and disposable.

How did I kick this fix? I had to put on my reflection pants and swim in the lake of me. I needed to change my line of thinking, and to do that, I had to first get to the bottom of my spending. Every month, after all of my bills have been paid, investments made and my check to the Scott Baio Fan Club has been cashed, I'm left with about $700 to my name. Considering I'm 28 years old, single, I have a two-year-old car, I own a condo, I have six large in an emergency fund and zippy in credit card debit, that's not half bad. What's not good, however, is that every month $75-100 of that left-over money goes to Captain Capitalism in the form of Starbucks and other caffeinated drinks. You know how much "Charles in Charge" swag I could get for that amount of bank?

Worst of all, like any addict worth his salt, I knew I was going to Starbucks far too often, but the feeling of "treating myself" was alluring. I couldn't stop. It is coffee, after all. For centuries, indigenous peoples warred, maimed and pillaged over this dark brown beauty ... what kind of son of history would I be if I ignored all of that? No, I simply had to commit to my coffee cravings. I had to give myself the occasional treat. After all, what's one cup a day? Nothing blush-worthy ... until that one cup turns into 20 a month, which at $4.50 per serving comes to $90 every four weeks ... or-gasp!-$1,080 a year (the cost of a mildly retarded alpaca).

And therein lies the financial rub: I'm wasting $90 each month that I could be investing, all because I fell into the insufferable mindset that treating myself daily is important, that I deserve a little treat here and there, which brings me to my point. It is healthy to treat yourself to something that will make you happy (like that sequined "Member's Only" jacket you've been eyeing), and it's certainly an important part of living and enjoying life. However, there needs to be a good dose of moderation in the mix. Otherwise, falling under the "I deserve" mind trap can quickly deplete your bank account and leave you with nothing but regrets, and in my case, a caseload of cavities.

What I try and tell myself now is that just because I can afford something, it doesn't mean I should buy it. Instead of going to Starbucks every day, I started going every other day, and then less frequently after that, until I ended up going only two times a week at best. I also switched things up a bit and started going to Dunkin' Donuts, where their delicious, low-maintenance coffee runs only a hair above $2- that's a two-dollar savings right there! Finally, I decided to start brewing more of my coffee and taking it with me. Sure, it tastes like the rainwater that drips off of clay huts, but it's a start. And I'm saving money. And I'm getting healthier. What's not to like?

This entire coffee experience has taught me the importance of temperance when it comes to enjoying life's goodies, as well as the need to step in and "check yo' self!" on occasion. Doing so can directly affect the way you live your life and how you handle your money. When it comes down to it, making the decision to address my "addiction" is one smart step that's made my wallet-and my waistline-much happier.

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T. Penny is the "real" journalist in our family, and my dear younger brother - who I both admire, and hate, for being incredibly funnier than me ;) If you like his style, check out his other guest posts: Doing what you love pays dividends, and Debt is like kissing your sister...and liking it.

Labels: guest post, life, saving, starbucks

I had an interesting encounter with a Starbucks barista this morning. I'm riding the metro doing my aloof thing when all of a sudden I hear this "Hey! Grande hazelnut coffee, right?". At first I was like "Awesome, someone else is a fan!" and went back to la-la land (aka playing Yahtzee on the iPhone. haha...) Then I realized the chick was staring directly at me!

It turns out she used to be one the baristas that hooked me up back near our old office. And since she's always been pretty friendly, I figured I'd tell her about my dreams of working there one day :) For all who don't know, I have this list of 5 places I'd like to work at someday, although I'm not sure I blogged about that before?

Anyways, I started picking her brain about what it's like to work there in hopes of getting the "inside scoop." I can't remember the entire convo (even after just 15 mins! aye..), but here's more or less what she told me below. And probably tweaked more to the pros considering she REALLY loves her job:

Working at Starbucks: The Pros

• You meet a lot of cool people! You're surrounded by energetic and entertaining co-workers, as well as mostly fun customers. People love their coffee and are generally in a good mood when they get to you - especially in the mornings before any craziness occurs that day.
• Starbucks has great health benefits. I didn't have enough time to ask specifics, but she said it was really good and she has no complaints.
• You can relocate without a problem! Want to move to California? Easy peasy! How about Texas? Fine by them! You've got Starbucks scattered across the entire world that are always looking to fill a position or two. In fact, this particular barista told me she's now at her 3rd state in 4 years @ Starbucks so far :) Although she did say that moving overseas isn't *as* easy as xfering in the States, but she's heard it's doable as they'd rather higher someone who already knows the ins and the outs over a noob. Either way, this is a job perk I could get used to.
• Job security is pretty good. Unless you do something stupid, you can spend quite a few years with Starbucks. Since there ARE so many shops around the world, you really don'teven have to worry about your particular shop being closed down - you just move right down to the next one or two. And in DC, it's like literally moving a block ;) A friend of mine has FOUR fo them within a 5 block radius. It's crazy. (crazy good!)
• There are stock benefits. Unfortunately my new friend doesn't participate in this program (and believe me I REALLY wanted to shake her good), but she did say most of her co-workers do. One of them recently cashed out all his stocks and used the money for a down payment on a house! I again didn't have too much time to pick her brain on it, but it definitely piqued my interest. I also wonder how long her friend worked at Starbucks, and how much, exactly, he invested in this plan.
• There is/was a great 401k plan. We didn't actually talk about this today, but I've heard that Starbucks has a great one - or at least used to before this economy went to crap. If any of you know what it's like, or works there, drop a note and let us know!
• Time goes by really fast - at least during rush hours. When you're helping one customer after another, time flies like a mother.

Working at Starbucks: The Cons

• A small % of the customers are dicks. They see you as low lifes working a job that pays pennies, and they treat you like you're their bitch. Most of the customers are pretty cool, but these are the people that ruin your day and make you wish you weren't doing what you do. Sometimes, however, it's satisfying to watch them get thrown out if they start getting abusive (all according to this chick, anyways). It's alot like retail in that regard, except at Starbucks they bitch about something that costs $4 instead of $40.
• You have to clean a lot. She doesn't hate this all the way as it keeps her busy and has to get done anyways, but it's not the funnest thing to do in the world. Apparently this is what goes on between the morning and afternoon rushes.

That's about all of it. I wish I had more time to pick her brain, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see what's it's like when I actually work there one day ;) Pretty interesting how much you can learn from a quick 7 minute metro ride though! Especially when it catches you off guard like that. Who knew I'd be pondering the ins and the outs of Starbucks all morning?

Labels: career, in the real world, starbucks

I just came back from Starbucks and I'm in a most joyous state. For one thing, I've got my grande hazelnut coffee sitting right next to me. But more importantly, I was just reminded of how far being NICE gets you.

When you're nice everyone around you is happier. That means better friendships, better karma, and most times better service ;) Plus, it's just a great way to live!

Being nice also saves you both time and money. Today it was Starbucks that rewarded us for this, but other days it's Potbellys, Best Buy, I could go on and on. When it comes down to it, all stores are run by people. You treat them right, and they'll return the favor. With that in mind, here are the 3 lessons Starbucks reminded me of today:

1. When you're nice, you get stuff FAST

Every morning I roll up to Starbucks w/ the same colleague of mine, and every morning we smile like crazy and gossip with the barista de jour. We're naturally pretty happy people to begin with, but when we realized we were getting our drinks handed to us before even hitting the registers, we made sure to keep it up ;) After all, time is money right?

2. When you're nice, you get stuff FREE.

Small talk costs you nothing, but you'd be amazed at the stuff you get for free in return. I'd say we get a free coffee or the "employee discount" at least once a month, all depending on the barista ringing us up. It's not like we're friendly for this reason in particular, but it's def. a nice way of saying "thanks for not being that asshole right behind you". (btw, if you rock the Starbucks Gold Card you also get mad discounts like 10% off your purchases...and no I'm not getting paid to say that. I'm just a happy customer passing on the good word!)

3. When you're nice, people are nice to you.

As if the first 2 points didn't convince you of this already, niceness is contagious. The more you spread it around, the better your surroundings get :) This applies to your work, your friendships, and especially your love life! While it's true girls usually fall for the bad boys at first (don't even try and convince me otherwise! haha...), nice guys DO work it out in the end. And in my final attempt to connect this lesson here to Starbucks, let's just say people have been known to collect quite a few phone numbers of romantic nature from that place ;)

When all is said and done, being nice rules the world - especially in the service industry. Being a manager of customer service myself, I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to have courteous people on the other end of the transaction. I always remind people that YOU are coming to THEM to get something (usually help), so the nicer you are the more help you're going to get. Go out of your way to treat employees fairly, and they'll be sure to reward you for it.

Labels: in the real world, life, starbucks

If there's one thing talked about more in the PF world than the Latte Factor, it's the "bring your own lunch every day to work" factor. Both can save you tons of money, and both are fairly easy to do (if you like that kinda thing).

With the Latte Factor, you cut out Starbucks every day and save yourself $1,000,002 a year (estimated), or you just brew it at home for $0.32 a pop. With the brown bagging idea, you bring your own lunch to work every day thereby saving you a $10 spot out at the fast food joints or local deli.

If you could pull off any of the two, I'm officially impressed. Personally, I just can't do it - at least the "all or nothing" part of it. I love my coffee too much, and I love eating out when I'm in the mood. The problem being, I just never know *when* I'm going to be in the mood to eat out. And if I take the time to make some sandwiches at home, then you bet your ass I'm gonna eat it no matter what I feel like doing that day ;) So what's a brotha to do?

Here's my 2-step plan to happiness:

1. I bring in a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and jelly. Sometimes I throw them in the company fridge, and others I just leave in my drawer. But either way it's there for the taking when necessary.
   
2. Then, I just do whatever I feel like doing come lunch time! If I can stomach another pb&j (I usually last 1-2 weeks straight until I bore myself), then I eat away! If, on the other hand, I feel like roaming the beautiful streets of DC and crave something in particular, then I go and do that. And like Obama, 5 guys is usually on that list ;)

Nice and easy. I get to save some money eating my yummy sandwiches a couple times a week, and I get to splurge a little on the rest. This keeps both my wallet AND me happy. There's nothing wrong with going cold turkey and saving a ton of money in the process, but just make sure it fits in with your lifestyle. Not everything has to be all or nothing with this sorta stuff.

Labels: money hacks, saving, starbucks

Right when you think you couldn't love them any more ;) Okay, so maybe this won't cure all the haters out there, but it's still sexy as hell! Especially if you drop as much as I do there - or our company really.

So this is the deal, Starbucks came out with a new V.I.P. card a while ago (i'm a bit slow) that saves you 10% off every time you swipe! Here are the deets:

Starbucks Gold, Starbucks new membership program, elevates the rewards experience for Starbucks most frequent customers - a $25 membership fee qualifies members for a 10 percent discount on most purchases at participating Starbucks - from espresso beverages to espresso machines.

Again, it won't help the average coffee drinker, but if you're as addicted as i am you can save some mad money over time. Our company goes through around $150-$200 of coffee/snacks a week there, so you can imagine my excitement :) That means we save what, $800ish a year? And all for a measly $25 bucks? Holla!

You can check out a flyer on it here (in .pdf), but here's the skinny:

• 10% off most purchases in participating stores*
• A free drink when purchasing the card in-store
• Options to pay for purchases (cash, credit card, Starbucks Card) while still receiving the membership discount

And if you register online, you also get the following goodies:

• Complimentary beverage on one’s birthday
• Free Wi-Fi access for 2 hours each day
• And other exclusive offers and discounts

So there you have it, yet another reason to fall in love with Starbucks ;) haha... nah, just some good savings if you're already spending boatloads over there. Now tell me, WHY don't i work for their marketing team again?

Labels: bargains, starbucks

So make sure to keep your "i voted" sticker! Ofcourse, they can't promise how long the lines will be once you get there, but it's still FREE coffee :) Also, Krispy Kreme is giving away free doughnuts...and Ben & Jerry's is giving away a free scoop of ice cream! There's also word on the street that McDonalds, Chick-fil-a, Dunkin' Donuts, and many many others are doing the same. Basically, just show your sticker anywhere and see what you can get :)

Labels: awesomely awesome, bargains, starbucks

I am also a liar. It tasted just the same, except this time my wallet hurt. For the first time in a long while, i actually paid for it with my own dollars today! Imagine that ;) It sounds silly, but it really sucked.

As many of you know, our company is pretty bad a$$ and pays for our addictions through a refillable Starbucks gift card that we can all use FOR FREE! (to help boost productivity and company morale...and it works!)

So every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we all get our specialty drinks on the company's dime. Not a bad perk, right?!

Well today's card was out of dollars, and so it was either wait for it be filled up, or continue along with our daily routine....i chose the latter, and am now $4 bucks lighter. And the suckiest part? Those f'ers didn't hook me up with those sexy discounts like they usually do!!! Sure i used a credit card instead of a gift card to pay, but still - they know me pretty freakin' well over there...but i digress.

All I can tell you is that shelling out my own hard earned money REALLY gets you to stop and think about a few things. Like the first being, Damn we're f'ing lucky! How on earth did we, or I should really say I, convince our CEO to allow this? All i know is, time to stop complaining about things like bounced pay checks...unless it becomes a habit ;) Paying for this addiction myself gives me a better appreciation of this perk.

And secondly, Damn Starbucks is expensive! haha...I could have sworn i used to pay like $2 bucks for it back in the day. Although, i have started getting a latte instead of just straight coffee w/ hazelnut syrup in it. $4 bucks though??? W-O-W, they are good.

So yeah, today's experience was a pretty good eye opener of a place where I could easily blow a good $100/month without even realizing it. Now if only i could convince my boss to start treating for lunch every day ;) Holler.

(For more info on the discounts and savings over at Starbucks, check out my declared love for them)

Labels: career, randomness 3000, starbucks

Hot dogs! (or coffees, in this case eh?)

This "discount" is a bit weirder than their permanent gift card ones, but it'll definitely help some people out.

Especially those hardcore double-visitor types...and for once, that doesn't include me ;)

It expires September 2nd, just keep that in mind as I'll forget to remind you. Here's what you have to do to get this half-off discount:

1. Buy something earlier in the day (before 2pm)
2. Come back to the same store (after 2pm)
3. Show your receipt from the first visit.
4. and save $2+ dollars!

Something tells me you'll have to actually explain this to the cashier at the time, but you may get lucky. Thanks BeCentsAble for the heads up!

Labels: bargains, coupons, starbucks

I just had a most joyous experience at Starbucks this morning. As we were checking out, our cashier goes:

"Hey, we were just given this button to push which clears off all syrups and extras for registered card holders!".

Now we're going places! Do you know what this means?
- no more manual corrections.
- no more charge backs and credits.
- and no more manager confusion!

It looks like they've finally gotten a tool to coincide with their marketing efforts. What a concept ;)
(you can check out their new sexy benefits here, if you don't know what i'm talking about)

Labels: starbucks

I have two gems to share with you this morning. I will bitch about both, but will then give some handy pointers after as a reward for listening :) Please to enjoy:

Rant #1: Starbucks is gonna get it! Remember all those sexy rewards they started marketing last week??? Well, apparently they forgot about the training of their staff, including the managers. Today marks the 3rd day IN A ROW that they have not credited off our syrups! Not a huge deal, but since we make a run for our co-workers, it's a good $2 each trip.

The best, though, are the looks on their faces when we ask for the credits. It's like fear strikes them and their eyes slowly glaze over in confusion. haha....so, for the 3rd time now, we had to get a manager or senior-level person to credit back the amounts - this, after explaining to them why we deserve the discounts.

Helpful hint: If you want the syrups, soy milks, and other benefits of the new Starbucks plan, make sure to tell the cashier BEFORE paying so they can adjust it for you. Unfortunately (and prob. well thought out by Starbucks) it's not automatic.

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Rant #2: Remember how our flowers budget for the wedding was around $600? Wellll, not anymore! Our flowers person dropped out at the last minute, forcing us to do some spectacularly fast research. I could probably go on and on about how sucky this was, but the circumstances are fair and our new results are even better. Our new price tag is set higher at $950, BUT we found a much better rose package and all is now good in the world! And thank goodness for Mrs. Budgetsaresexy or else we'd have hand picked daisies everywhere :)

Helpful hint: If you ever find yourself needing flower arrangements, be sure to check out proflowersweddings.com. They have some pretty killer packages lined up, and cater to both smaller and larger events.

That is all. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Labels: rant, starbucks, wedding

That's right, you heard it here first. Starbucks is my new best friend. Not that it wasn't top of the list before, but it's now been moved to BFF status. haha....

Why the sudden upgrade? Welllll, from now on you get MAD hook ups as long as you use your registered Starbucks card when ordering! All for being a good little customer.

Check it:
1) Syrup and milk options are now on the house.
2) Brewed coffee refills are F-R-E-E!
3) You get a FREE beverage when you buy whole beans.

SWEETness to the extreme :) now you may be saying to yourself, "Self, but i don't have a starbucks card, so what am i supposed to do?". that's a valid question, so let me propose a solution to that - walk to the nearest starbucks, and pick one up! Or, if you really wanna be creative, create your own online and order it at the same time. The card i have posted at the top is one my sister did for Mrs. Budgetsaresexy. It's fun!!!

if you go on a continual basis, you KNOW you'll be using it, and not only that I bet you'll realize REAL FAST how much you actually spend on coffee when you have to refill your giftcard every other week!

Sooo, by using your new starbucks gift card (which you'll use every visit), you could now:
a) Save up to 80¢ for a fancy pants drink (40¢ for syrup & 40¢ for milk).
b) Save up to $2.50 on a free refill of normal coffee. More if you're a thirsty little badger.
c) Save up to $5.00 on a fancy pants drink if you buy a bag of beans!

Plus, no more searching around your pockets for exact change, or just throwing it on your credit card. The latter adds up fast, and sometimes you don't even realize it! This is a Win-Win situation: Save money AND Budget better!

Now, if you'll excuse me, i'm gonna go put my money where my coffee beans are.
*for more info, check out their site.

Labels: bargains, money hacks, saving, starbucks