Starbucks Savings and the Project Love CD

Picture: Starbucks’ Project LOVE CD, spend $15.00 at any Starbucks and you receive this CD as your gift.

With the holiday shopping in full flight, I am now spending more time in-store browsing and taking advantage of special shopping hours (like Kohl’s Power Hours). In order to keep pace with the savings and the deals, I need shopping fuel, i.e.: caffeine. I find myself stopping into my local Starbucks for regular Java boosts. I have the habit of dropping in on Sundays for my pairing: a tall house blend and the egg white/turkey bacon English muffin. On a recent trip, I discovered the Starbuck’s Project LOVE CD. Have you heard about this collection of great music that benefits the Global Fund to fight Aids in Africa? I love this because it allows me to buy my coffee for at home brewing and get this cool CD as a Christmas/Holiday gift for someone on my list. Here’s the deal. Customers who spend $15 at participating Starbucks throughout the US or Canada will receive a free copy of the four-track CD while supplies last. The album features special recordings by longtime (RED) evangelists U2, Dave Matthews Band, John Legend and Playing for Change, who give the Beatles’ ‘All You Need is Love‘ a reggae beat. And the CD is good! U2 makes the old Greg Lake “Father Christmas” soar, and of course, the Dave Matthews Bands’ “You and Me” is a perfect holiday anthem (You & ME together, we can do anything!)

I know Suzie Orman wrote about how expensive the Starbucks habit can be in her book “The Courage to Be Rich” but, I still need some coffee treats. A good cuppa coffee is one of the little pleasures that makes life worth living. I can’t give up everything. The Recessionista is not an austerity program 🙂 Especially when I can pick up a Holiday CD with U2 on it! So here are a few tips to help your exercise “The Courage to Be Frugal” when you pull into your local Starbucks. After careful consultation with my local Barrista, here are a few of mine and Starbuck’s tips for sipping & saving. Like everything else the savings are there, all you need to do is a little careful planning.

1. Recycle the Starbucks bag. If you brew Starbucks at home, bring in the empty bag to recycle it at your local Starbucks for a FREE TALL coffee. I have been doing this lately, its good for me, my wallet and the planet!

2. Bring your own cup into Starbucks. Save the planet by drinking green. Get 10 cents off your beverage when you bring your own reusable cup, mug or travel tumbler.

3. Order a cheap & cheerful Misto: Try my personal favorite and what I call the “Diet” special, the Misto instead of a Latte. It has less milk, less calories and is cheaper. Simply ask for the Misto. Its not on the menu, but they will make it for you. Its about $2.00 US. A Misto provides an average savings of 85 cents over a Latte, and its less calories that using half and half in your coffee. I ask for mine “skinny” with skim milk.

4. Enjoy refills for just 50 cents. Refills on brewed coffee are just 50 cents–any time throughout the day and on any size–during the same visit. Registered Starbucks Cardholders get brewed refills on the house.

5. Brew your own. If you brew at home, the Starbucks Barrista tell me its about 30 cents a cup.

6. Enjoy a coffee press for two–brewed especially for you. At approximately $3, a coffee press yields four 8-oz.cups and costs less than two Grande (16f l.oz.) drip coffees. Any coffee Starbucks sells can be served through a coffee press–just let the Barrista what you would like to try. Remember, the Barrista is your friend 🙂 They are there to serve you!

7. Breakfast at Starbucks starts the holiday shopping off right! Order a pairing for an affordable and delicious quick breakfast or snack. Starbucks pairings are served all day long for $3.95. With a pairing you can save of as much as 90 cents. So think about that before your order breakfast “a la carte.”

8. Get rewarded for customization. Register any Starbucks Card for additional benefits and rewards including complimentary beverage customization, like free syrups or soy.

9. Brew your own instant coffee. If you’re on the go, Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew is an instant and pretty good option for about $1 a cup. I carry the packets in my purse now so I always have a little caffeine pick me up when I’m on on the road.

Now, I’m off to recycle my coffee bags, get a free tall coffee, restock my home brew Starbucks and get my Project Love CD before hitting the shops! 🙂

Note: This post is a not sponsored/paid for by Starbucks. I’m just a helpless Java addict trying to help others save, and get a CD of great music that benefits a worthy cause.