Brew at home, save more—and turn donuts and café runs into true treat days.

Pouring hot black coffee into a small glass tumbler on a bright kitchen table

Why talk about food spending again

It’s been a while since I wrote about food costs.
The other day my kids begged for fried chicken, so we ordered in.
When it arrived, I realized it had been ages—and we devoured it, laughing at the table.

We rarely eat out, so even with great restaurants a short walk away, we end up going to the same few places.
It wasn’t always like this.
When the kids were little, we practically survived on takeout and delivery.
Order once, then twice… and suddenly cooking dinner felt like the most exhausting thing in the world.
The more we ordered, the less I cooked—and the harder cooking felt.

Back then, even my “home-cooked” meals didn’t taste great.
Honestly, I was under-skilled and hiding behind “I’m too tired.”
Anything that went into the fridge? I never touched it again.

Then one month I opened our credit card bill and knew we had a problem.
“This can’t keep going. We need to cut back.”
From that day, we went back to home cooking.
Food is the one line item that drops immediately when you change habits, and our savings started climbing.
More than the money, trimming food costs rewired my mindset—frugality began to show up everywhere.

Brew at home instead of buying coffee

The first shift was simple: stop buying coffee out.
I’m a certified coffee addict.
Realizing how much I was handing to Starbucks was a genuine shock.
And have you noticed how pricey coffee’s gotten lately? It’s practically the cost of a quick lunch.

So now I rarely buy coffee outside—only when it truly makes sense, like a long drive or a special day.
At home I pull a Nespresso shot I love, and when I head out I pour it into a tumbler.
Funny thing: because I don’t buy it often, a café latte tastes even better when I do.

Rewiring the dessert routine

Coffee wasn’t the only leak.
I’d fallen hard for desserts—the perfect donut, that trending bakery’s cream bun, the cute box that makes everyone smile.
It’s easy to call it a “small treat,” but once-a-week turns into most weekends, and those line items keep popping up in the budget.
Seven or eight bucks feels light, until you grab two or three for the family—then add it up across a month.

So I reframed dessert as an occasion, not a default.
I built waiting back into the treat.
We pick one day a week, usually after a family walk, and that’s our “real treat day.”
On other days we do fruit with yogurt, or toast crisped in the pan with a pat of butter.
Satisfaction didn’t drop—if anything, it went up.
That once-in-a-while donut tastes incredible again, and the trip to a “hot spot” bakery feels like a mini outing.

The little things that make it stick

I turned off delivery-app notifications and cut back on explore-scrolls filled with pastry photos.
Less visual temptation, fewer impulse stops.
Before leaving the house, I brew and pack my coffee—five minutes that save me from the “I’ll just grab one” detour.
And when it really is a special day, we enjoy it fully.
The anticipation makes the spend feel intentional, not mindless.

Wrap-up

Coffee and dessert used to feel like everyday basics.
Once they became occasional treats, the budget went down and the joy went up.
It isn’t about being stingy; it’s about getting the happiness back.

What “little sweet thing” are you buying a bit too often lately?
This week, what if you choose just one true treat day—and let the rest be home-brewed and homemade?