How to Save Money with your Keurig by Using Refillable K-Cups

I finally broke down and bought a Keurig coffee machine. I had wanted one for a long time but could not bear to part with the $120 dollars the machine cost plus spend 50 cents a cup for every cup of coffee thereafter. 

Every time I pour a cup of coffee, I am looking over my shoulder fearing an intervention and forced rehab stay. Addiction of any kind is expensive. At 50 cents a cup, I would literally be spending $75 a month on coffee.  Then, I saw these reusable K-cups.

I actually bought the reusable K-cups first (not cheap at $10 for 4 at HyVee). I tried them in my Mom's Keurig before buying a machine to make sure they worked. They did and I began my search for the best deal for a Keurig. I found it at a garage sale. A brand new Keurig, new in the box, never opened. Apparently someone didn't like their Christmas present. 

I've been using these refillable cups for about a month and they seem to work fine. I have found the cheapest place to purchase them in Topeka is of all places, JoAnn Fabrics. They sell for about 11-12 bucks but JoAnn's frequently has 50% off one item coupons. Go the website, print out the coupon (or download to your phone) and use to purchase reusable K-cups. Have you found a better deal on reusable filters? Do share.

My daughter told me she often uses those 15% or 20% off coupons from Kohl's or Bed, Bath and Beyond to purchase K-cups. If they are on sale plus with an additional discount, they are more affordable. 

I do wish the refillable filters came in more colors than just black and red. It would be great to have several different flavors in different colored reusable filters. I am considering marking some with nail polish to distinguish different flavors. Unless you have a better idea?

I have also seen people on YouTube reusing regular K-cups by simply removing the foil after use, refilling the cup and covering it tightly with Saran Wrap using a rubber band. I have not tried this extreme method. 

There is also a product sold called K-caps which are caps which snap onto to old K-cups. I have not tried the K-caps and they are almost as expensive as the refillable K-Cups.

I have found it is very easy to make tea by simply placing any teabag in the reusable filters. And, I have been told you can reuse the regular K-cups twice, the second cup simply being weaker. 

The best thing about the Keurig is that I can now have my weak-sissy coffee and my husband can have his grow-hair-on-your-chest bitter coffee. 

What has been your experience with the Keurig? Any great ideas I am missing? I would love to hear from any of you with great Keurig ideas.

Part 2: How to Simply Lose Weight

I started dieting on February 2 at 173 pounds. On May 1, I weighed 160 pounds.  "Lose 13 pounds in 3 months!" is not a headline you ever see when scanning the magazine headlines while standing in line at the grocery store holding a box of Twinkies. 

I am always annoyed when I do see headlines such as "Lose Five pounds in Five Minutes Without Exercising! or "I Lost 100 pounds on the Pasta Plan!" Before you get too excited, there is no Pasta Plan. See, you were ready to google it. There really is no easy way to lose weight. It's simple (see previous post) but I never said it was easy. It takes self control and will power. They do not sell these things in a store. If they did, I would trample over old ladies and small children to be first in line with a blank check in hand. 

So, I lost 3.5 pounds in April which is a little less than a sack of sugar. Whenever I get discouraged and feel like saying, "I only lost 3.5 pounds", I go pick up that sack of sugar and carry it around for a while. Three and half pounds has some heft to it. 

Here's my problem. I'm stuck. I lost the 3.5 pounds the first two weeks of April and have lost nothing since. If you charted my weight loss, the resulting graph would look like I was having a heart attack and then flat lined. One day, I weighed 158.75 which was extremely exciting but then the next day, I jumped up to 161 despite behaving myself. It's frustrating.

During World War 2 when London was constantly being blitzed by random bomb attacks, the British had a propaganda poster plastered everywhere which said, "STAY CALM AND CARRY ON". I am trying to adopt this attitude in regard to diet bomb weigh-ins.  

One thing I did wrong in April was not to exercise. I dislike sweating. Plus, it was cold and rainy all month. It's hard to motivate yourself to sweat and be chilly and wet at the same time.

When I do exercise, it's not because I like to run but because I like to eat/drink. My thought process goes something like this:  Run three miles = glass of wine. Perhaps, I need AA more than WW.

This month, I have vowed to get back to the basics and start moving more. I have found an app for my phone which I really like. And since you know I am exceeding cheap, it is of course, free. The app is called "Run Keeper" and uses GPS technology to track your exercise route. The app will track your time, distance, calories burned, pace and elevation climb. You can email your results to yourself or others. It keeps a record of your walks/runs so you can see yourself improve. I find it very motivating. 

You do have to remember to hit "stop" at the end of your run/walk to have accurate statistics. I forgot last time and was highly disappointed. But then I calmed myself with a glass of Merlot.