Hello, and welcome to the sixth “Minus Month Challenge” here at NMI!
Here I take one of my many indulgences and strip it from my budget for an entire month.
The goal isn’t specifically to save a bunch of money, but rather, to save a little while also learning the importance of delaying gratification for the future good of myself.
A minus month can also come with some pleasant side effects such as weight loss, more energy, better mood, a fatter wallet and spontaneous bursts of joy (OK, not really).
Last minus month I tried to give up pop, and I did pretty well. I only purchased it three times out of the month.
This month I decided to give up another frequent love of mine: Starbucks!
For the longest time I’ve been kind of addicted to the iced caramel macchiato.
Creamy and slightly sweet milk combined with that deep, slightly bitter espresso and rich, buttery caramel is so darn good. When they’re made well, they taste unbelievable. They’re especially good when they’re ice cold.
Unfortunately, many of the Starbucks in my area don’t seem to be able to make it to my liking (they never add enough ice).
They’re never nearly as good as I want them to be, and they’re definitely not worth $5. (I really need to do a “Frugal Foodie” for this!)
Lately, in order to cut costs and calories, I’ve been just getting an iced coffee. With half and half and a little cinnamon sprinkled on top, it’s just as good as a macchiato, even though they’re very different drinks.
Even though they’re cheaper, I still find myself going three or four times a week, meaning I’m spending almost $50 a month and over $600 a year. Just on coffee.
This will be a good exercise to see if I can stick with making coffee myself. It’s way cheaper.
I bought a can of coffee and am making my own cold brew concentrate, and bought a little half and half to add to it.
It only cost $2.89 for an 11 ounce can of coffee and $1.59 for the half and half, which should last me more than a week.
THE MINUS MONTH CALENDAR
I’ll be indicating a successful minus day with the hashtag #DB, which stands for ‘didn’t break’, and a fail day with the hashtag #B, which stands for ‘break’.
WEEK 1
Day 1 – #B – OK, so I made some cold brew coffee the night before, but it wasn’t ready the next morning, so I went to Starbucks. Not a great way to start the month.
Day 2 – #DB
Day 3 – #B – And I wanted one today because I was so tired.
Day 4 – #DB
Day 5 – #B – And today. DON’T LOOK AT ME!
Day 6 – #DB
Day 7 – #DB
WEEK 2
Day 8 – #DB
Day 9 – #DB
Day 10 – #B
Day 11 – #DB
Day 12 – #B
Day 13 – #DB
Day 14 – #DB
WEEK 3
Day 15 – #DB
Day 16 – #DB
Day 17 – #DB
Day 18 – #DB
Day 19 -#B
Day 20 – #DB
Day 21 – #DB
WEEK 4 +
Day 22 – #B
Day 23 – #DB
Day 24 – #DB
Day 25 – #DB
Day 26 – #DB
Day 27 – #B
Day 28 – #DB
Day 29 – #B
Day 30 – #DB
Day 31 – #B
WANNA JOIN ME?
Got something you wanna do without for a month? Got a bad habit you wanna break?
Join me as I track my progress with the sixth minus month challenge!
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