I’ve been grinding my own beans and making my own coffee since last September. This isn’t your conventional cheap coffee either. It’s luxurious, delicious, organic (and fair trade when I can get it) coffee.

Oh, did I mention that I’m on track to save $500 this year by drinking this liquid gold? Here’s how the process works:

1. Buy your coffee in bulk from your local grocery store, coop, or roaster (and bring your own jar!).
2. Every morning grind up and brew your preferred bean. Compost the grounds if you can.
3. Absolutely do not go to Starbucks because you are too lazy. It takes just as long to stand in line as it does to make your own.
4. Drink that delicious cocktail.
5. Feel good about saving money, and also reducing your footprint on the planet.

If you want to look at the raw numbers, I made a spreadsheet that reflects my current drinking habits and compares them against buying a drink at Starbucks. It’s view only, but you can tinker with it if you go to ‘File’ -> ‘Make a copy…’.

Too lazy to click that link? If you compare my yearly coffee drinking habit against a similar brew (Organic Yukon blend) from Starbucks, I will be saving over $500 this year. Even against the conventional, not organic, brew at Starbucks I will be saving $380 this year.

Just for kicks, lets assume my daily drink is a tall S’more Frappuccino (your body thanks you for not doing this). Over the next 25 years I would save a whopping $25,000!