Word of the week: misto

As many of you know, I like coffee. In fact, I like warm beverages in general. As many of you also know, I love a good deal. Perhaps not as much as Sara... whom I admire for a) her ability to find deals and b) her dedication in seeking them out... but I do love a good deal! I think my love of a good deal is twofold: 1. I love the satisfaction of knowing you got what you wanted at the best price possible, which leads directly to 2. I love that it means more money in the pocket to put towards something else. Where, you might ask, am I going with this train of thought that started with coffee and has somehow lead to bargain hunting? Lattes. In my limited reading of financial planning books, I often feel like I'm doing many things "right"... but I inevitably succomb to the "latte factor" (i.e. if one was to put the cost of their daily latte into a savings account instead of into the hands of some giant, non-socially-conscious coffee chain, one could amass some ridiculous sum of money over the years). I know that the term "latte factor" does not literally mean it must be a latte which you cut out... but quite honestly, I feel like warm beverages are one of the few, potentially daily, luxuries towards which I am tempted to 'splurge' (assuming you don't count things like healthy food... which I am typically willing to spend more on than junk... and which the Heart and Stroke foundation tells me is a costly endeavour... but I diverge). So yes, warm beverages... luxury... deal. Cutting to the chase. I have managed to find a loophole in the Starbucks system of overcharging. Here it is: rather than order one of their "new" London Fogs (a drink they're pushing in their new tea campaign that is an earl grey tea, steeped with milk, with a shot of vanilla syrup added), simply use your registered Starbucks card and order an Earl Grey "tea misto" with a shot of vanilla and you'll pay like half the price!! Proof: Large (aka Grande) London Fog, if ordered off the menu=$4.35 (at least at the Starbucks near where I work). Compared to: Large Earl Grey tea misto (which isn't actually on the menu, but I have yet to have a place NOT know what it is) = $2.31 + vanilla flavour shot (free because I use my registered Starbucks card... which I loaded using my PC MC, thereby getting points)= $2.31! It's SUPER!!! (NOTE: I would never actually pay $4.35 for a drink at Starbucks on a normal day. I set my limit at $2.50... except for special occasions). Now, the beauty of the tea misto, is that you can pick any number of flavours! Chai is pretty gosh darn good... and way more authentic than the syrup they use if you order a chai latte... but yes. Tea Misto.

Before y'all think that I am at Starbucks everyday, I should make it clear that I have been known to walk across the street to the little Italian store and buy a tea or coffee for $1.15... and take advantage of the free biscotti that it comes with... and/or go down to the coffee machine in our building just after 11 am when the woman comes to refill it and sometimes manage to scam a free coffee from her.

But yes... all good deals!! I still take solace in the fact that my warm beverage spending ventures (be they at Starbucks, the Italian place, or in the vending machine room at work) are more of a weekly (or perhaps twice weekly) occurence than a daily one... meaning that the majority of days I am saving my latte money.

How's that for a big long post about not much?!?

Quickly... in other news: I leave for Costa Rica in 2 weeks! Los monos, cerveza, mango... any thing else I need to know how to say?