COFFEE + ME + ALWAYS + PLEASE.

When I was thinking about this post I was thinking “Yeah, I totally mentioned that already”. Then I couldn’t find it when I searched my site for it and I since I couldn’t find it I guess I didn’t mention it like I thought I did. So if I did already mention it and just couldn’t find it, well, my apologies.

And on with the story. 

This Spending Fast Tip maaaayyy be a little ghetto/oh my/no she didn’t/yes she did/I hadn’t thought about that.

Those are the best tips (and best things in general) though- when they are on just this side of crazy.

Can I get an Amen.

this image is on just on this side of crazy… there are no words… image via tumblr

When I started the Spending Fast proper all the fancy coffee at coffee shops immediately left my days. If I wanted coffee I was brewing it up myself. I used up the old frozen coffee grounds that had been in my freezer for years and I started to notice the places that offered free coffee (the YMCA and meetings are great places to find free coffee). 

With all this coffee I was brewing up and finding around town I needed a way to transport it. I needed a way to keep it with me.

COFFEE + ME + ALWAYS + PLEASE. 

At the time I didn’t own one of those cool travel coffee mugs and thought carrying around an open ceramic mug from my house might get a little messy on the bumpy bus rides and walks around town. Normally at this point pre-Spending Fast I would’ve just BOUGHT a travel coffee mug.

I mean, I needed one. It was obvious. BUT. Things were different now. Things ARE different now. 

So. What did I do? I searched for the closest Lost and Found box that I could find and dug in.

I never knew until that day but my “day job” just so happens to have a gravitational pull to travel mugs. I had reached the end of the rainbow and it was pure gold.

If I didn’t know better I would think they were breeding in that box while people looked away. There were THAT many in there.

After rummaging around for a bit I found the perfect travel mug. It was burgundy, had a handle, had a lid and only vaguely smelled. I asked if I had been there long. I wondered if the rightful owner was on there way. I asked if maybe I could have it? “Yes, you can.” So, I took it. I figured with a little sanitation it would be as good as new. And. It was. 

Some mornings as I sip up my coffee I feel a little rough using my “pre-loved” coffee mug but then my thoughts drift back to that lovely Lost and Found box, all the the lost stuff in it and all those mugs just waiting for a new lease on life and a little sanitation.

Shameless frugality wins again!

 

6 comments

in Make Do and Mend, Practical Solutions, Shamelessy Frugal, Spending Fast, Staying Out of Debt, Things To Do

6 Comments

  1. HighHeeledTraders // April 8, 2011

    true, coffee takes up a lot of money… "take out" coffee bill for the year $3 (once per day) x 5 days a week x 52 weeks = $780 …. I'm not really a coffee drinker before (social coffee-drinker?) … I instead went for green tea… good for the body and weight loss too. Not to mention it's really cheap – you can reuse tea bags! Strong tea, then weak tea, then beauty treatment (for eyebags), then finally out into the soil as organic fertilizer …LOL

  2. Anna Newell Jones // April 9, 2011

    ahhh! good tip!

  3. Maryl // April 10, 2011

    I've got to admit, I'm thrown a little by the pics. I'm not a coffee drinker, so is that the problem?!

  4. Anna Newell Jones // April 11, 2011

    hi maryl,

    the pics were to illustrate that "the best tips (and best things in general) – are on just this side of crazy". the pics are just a little crazy;)

    coffee's not the problem. coffee is amazing! the post is about rummaging through a lost and found box and giving new life to items that you might otherwise buy. it's about not just going out and automatically buying something.

    hope that helps! :)

  5. Sara Mc // April 11, 2011

    I'm addicted to coffee as well… and I wish I had a lost & found box with travel mugs in them! I definitely need a cup w/ a lid, lol. lost two phones in one year to a coffee cup full of yummy caffienated goodness.

  6. Anna Newell Jones // April 11, 2011

    sara mc! you need a lid asap! ;)

  • Anna

    Hi, I'm Anna! I paid off close to 24k in debt in only 15 months & it completely changed my life! I want you to have a debt-free life too so here you'll be able to read all about: How to do a Spending Fast®, saving & making more money, DIY's, & a lot about living awesomely with less. Let's do this!

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