"Cheapuccino" Make your own blended ice coffee drink.

Frappuccino? Why are you so expensive?!

Do you love drinking those blended iced coffee drinks from Starbucks and other trendy coffee shops? Do you hate that they cost a little more than a gallon of gas?

Well why not make your own using your own coffee, and you can also make as much as you want!


Here's what you need:

• Coffee grounds 
• Coffee maker
• Blender
• Ice Cube trays
• Plastic freezer bags
• Freezer
• Coffee condiments (sugar, milk, sweetener, etc.)
• If you have it peppermint extract, vanilla extract, cinnamon sticks, or other flavorings that you can get
• Whipped Cream (if you want to be fancy)

Here's what you need to do:

1. Make a very strong pot of coffee by using twice the grinds that you would for a regular brew.
2. Pour the brewed coffee into ice cube trays and freeze (DO NOT pour scalding hot coffee into ice cube trays, you wait  until it cools down so you're not melting stuff.)
3. Put the frozen ice cubes into a bag for storage.

EXTRA PROTIP: Break up a cinnamon stick into the coffee grounds before brewing for a cinnamon flavored coffee. This beats paying $10 on a bag of premium handpicked roasted 1st class priority imported genuine gourmet cinnamon coffee grounds. 

How to make your own blended iced coffee drink:

Time to get your blender ready.

1. Place about 7-8 cubes, 1 cup of milk, teaspoon or two of flavoring, and sugar/sweetener to taste in a blender.
2. Blend it, puree until smooth.
3. Throw some whipped cream on it, garnish it with a cinnamon stick or something.
4. Feel good that you can make this when you want, how you want, and as much as you want.

How to make your own gourmet coffee:

1. Just add peppermint extract or vanilla extract (or you can buy your favorite flavors) stirred into your regular cup of coffee.
2. Doing this isn't any different than what they do at coffee shops.

EXTRA PROTIP: If you do crave coffee but not a lot of it, there is a "secret size" called a "short" at Starbucks coffee shops. It is smaller than the Tall, but a lot cheaper! Just ask for a "short" size of whatever coffee you want!

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3 Things you can take advantage of when grocery shopping.

Do you like bakery goods but don't want to spend too much? (this includes cookies)


Do you want to buy cheap meat, fish, and poultry to fill in that void that ramen and coffee can't fill?


Do those roasted rotisserie style chickens you see in the stores tantalize your taste buds every time you breathe in their seasoned and spiced goodness wafting in the air?


Well here are a few ways to get them, and eat them. 

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"Why is grocery shopping so expensive? How can I save money?!"

Grocery shopping doesn't have to be stressful and it doesn't have to be as expensive as it may seem sometimes.

The number one thing to keep in mind when going out for things is to:

Buy the things you need, before going after the things you want.The second thing you need to do is to PLAN.

Here's what you need to do:

Before you even leave your dorm/apartment/house for groceries, STOP.

• Take inventory of what is needed before considering what is wanted. Overstocking may result in wasted food and ultimately wasted money.
• In order to avoid impulse buying, eat before heading to the store therefore the brain can have more influence in judgment than a hungry stomach. 

Once you've made it to a store, LOOK around you for a moment.

• Many popular brand named items are advertised in the media as being the best tasting or best working, however the price isn’t always the best sounding. A name for a product is what it is, a name.
• Another cheaper product can be just as good as a brand name product, just compare and contrast its ingredients and active ingredients if it's a household product.
• An example can be of the brand name aspirin you need because you get headaches from staying up all night studying. A cheaper generic brand contains the same active ingredient as the brand name aspirin.

As you look closer at items and what they're made of, you will soon find that in order to save more money you can just simply COOK things for yourself rather than buying pre-made products.

• Regarding processed foods, buying raw foods and ingredients is not only significantly cheaper but healthier as well. Cook meals instead of relying on prepackaged processed meals.
• Do you really want to buy a $4 pack of 3 frozen pizzas? Or do you want to make them yourself by getting more for your money, quantity, and most of all quality?
• Processed foods offer the convenience of a quick and easy meal, however the price of relying on them eventually affects finances

If you want to save money AND eat healthy, farmers' markets are your best friend.

• Use local farmers’ markets as a venue for fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes. These markets are much cheaper and are tastier than the produce being sold in stores.

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