Pumpkin Spice Latte’s are here (oh yes). This delicious drink and I have a love hate relationship. My tummy loves it; my wallet and waist line hate it! So, I tried last year to use it as a reward for accomplishing something, and I could only have 1 a week.
Well, I came up with all sorts of reasons I could have more than 1, and I got rewarded for tying my shoes in the morning. When I saw what my Starbucks tab was for the month, that put a quick halt to my PSL habit, but I sure did dream about it and struggle not to pull in every time I passed that green sign.
After the terrific amount of self control I used last year to end my habit, I wasn’t looking forward to depriving myself again this fall. After all, the Pumpkin Spice Latte is fall-in-a-cup, and why should I not get to enjoy that pleasure on a crisp fall morning? Well, $5 a day on coffee adds up quick, but don’t despair…this article isn’t about giving up something that we love. This is about a frugal way to enjoy this oh so delicious treat.
Good ol’ Pinterest comes to the rescue again. So many times when I’m trying to find a way to save money, I find a solution from one of my fellow pinners. That is where I came across this recipe for a make at home Pumpkin Spice Latte syrup, and bonus it doesn’t have any faux syrup.
Now I know that it is convenient to just pop into Starbucks in the morning, but if you’re like me you get in the mood to bake and craft in the fall, so take 20 minutes on Saturday morning and make your pumpkin spice to add to your coffee all week long.
There are so many variations out there, but here is the one I like because it makes an actual syrup. I’ve seen some that make some sort of smoothy thing that you add to your coffee. I don’t want chunky coffee. Besides with a syrup you can make all kinds of other things pumpkin flavored, and I guess that is my real obsession. Tell me it’s pumpkin flavored and I’m ordering it. Anyway…. here is the recipe:
PUMPKIN SPICE SYRUP:
1 cup water
2/3 cup brown sugar*
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whisk together water, brown sugar, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice together in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 3 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in vanilla extract, and remove from heat.
Use immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 1 week.
Add this to your coffee with some steamed milk, and you’ve got a healthier, tastier version than you get at your local chain coffee shops.
*Feel free to use any kind of sugar/sugar substitute you prefer.
Now here’s for the Financial Planner bit… the recipe above only costs, with rounding up, 0.09¢! Yes, that is 9 cents. Add in your cup of coffee and you are spending well under a dollar for the drink you’ve been forking over $5 for. Let’s say you were spending $60 a month on Starbucks. That’s 3 times a week every week. If you saved that and earned 8% over the next 30 years you would have: $89,422. And that’s just from changing how you acquire your caffeine fix in the morning!
Thank you to Ali at Gimme Some Oven for the recipe: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/pumpkin-spice-latte/
