Saving Money on Keurig K-Cups

Okay so realizing I was going through a ridiculous amount of K-cups and having my wife call me addicted when I had a 2 day event where there where no K-cups left in the house and I had to run out to the store to purchase more I decided to share some of the tips I use to conserve K-cups and try to stretch them out because let’s face it.  K-cups can cost you an average of .60 – .80 cents per K-cup which though much cheaper than Starbucks can still be $3.00 or more per day if you drink 3-4 cups of K-cups per day.  Multiply this by 7 days a week and it is $21 per week in K-cups and again times 4 and you are spending $84 per month in K-cups.  It adds up fast and there are some ways to cut the cost down even more.

Buy Dark Brew Light

Depending on your Keurig machine this tip could work for you better, if you have a Keurig that can do small, medium and large cup sizes you can buy a bolder coffee then just brew a small cup and add a little bit of water.  Then brew a 2nd cup after reusing the same filter.  This works particularly well if you like light coffee, you buy medium and get 2 brews out of a medium blend from the same K-cup.  I also do this for some of the stronger K-cup teas and there is no reason you can’t get 2 K-cup brews from a Twinnings Earl Gray K-cup for example.

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I also liked Iced Coffee, and you can brew this lighter by adding ice and water as well.  Finding ways to re-use a K-cup even 2x will double the distance and half the overall cost bringing an average .60 cents cost per K-cup price down to .30 cents per coffee cup.

Bulk K-Cups and Cheaper Blends

I recently found that Safeway, Kroger and other stores carry their “store brand” equivalent K-cups and they have paper like bottoms and are often $3-$4 cheaper per box.  If you just want the coffee and it doesn’t have to be a specific flavor then Safeway Costa Rica blend for example is quite a bit cheaper than the Van Houtte Costa Rica blend.  It doesn’t taste quite as good to me as the Van Houtte Costa Rica Coffee but it isn’t half band and at about .40 cents per K-cup it is 33% cheaper.

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K-Cup Discounts Discontinued and Coupons

I looked on Amazon but this isn’t the cheapest place to get K-cups, I found that Bed Bath and Beyond is.  Even cheaper than Walmart if you take those 20% off coupons you get in the mail and just use them to get about $2-2.50 off your K-cup packs.  That is what I use them for and they also have some great deals sometimes on discontinued K-cup brands or discounted brands.  I once got 3 18 K-cup of the Donut House Chocolate Donut coffee for $7 a box on sale, when they normally are like $11 a box.  This makes it .38 cents per K-cup if you can get an 18 K-cup pack for $7.  With the 20% off you can get K-cup boxes for about $9 which lowers to .50 cents per K-cup.

Don’t underestimate getting K-cups at Bed Bath & Beyond and combine this tip with the doubling up on cups and you may be drinking K-cup coffee for .18-.20 cents per cup which is 70% cheaper than buying it at a local grocery store or Amazon.com.

Refillable K-Cups

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Refillable K-Cup Products allow you to just buy regular ground coffee and just put them into the empty K-cup container and brew it.  You can buy 40 cups of coffee for less than an 18 K-cup pack and this is a great way to stretch your money as well as open up coffee flavors that haven’t come to the Keurig yet or your favorite brand.  You can even buy whole bean coffee, ground it up and put them in the k-cup filters.

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I have personally tried all three of these brands and they all work about the same, though cleaning the Solofill may be slightly easier than some of the other brands.  It is a little inconvenient having to clean out and re-fill the K-cup for every coffee cup and feels a little inconvenient if you are used to just popping in a K-cup but it can save time.  If you buy 3-4 of them and pre-fill them you can pretty much have quick easy access to your day’s worth, then have to clean them at night and set them for the next day but it is easier to clean them right away after you brew coffee, the grinds stick to the cup and take longer to clean out if you let it sit for hours before cleaning them.

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This is probably one of the best ways to save money on K-Cups and I often have a package of Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla grinds to just make a quick iced coffee with my reusable K-cup.

Summary

Clearly I put a lot of thought and time into buying and drinking Keurig K-cups, my favorite brewer is the B145 at this time, you can just fill the side tank and brew coffee cups in less than a minute.

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