Random title - huh? My friend, Kam, is worried that y'all are going to think that we live a deprived life. So, this post will address two of Derek's hobbies and how they fit into our overall budget.
Derek home brews beer and home roasts our coffee (we order green coffee beans in bulk). Two hobbies that I am more than happy to support! Mama needs her coffee and life on a budget without alcohol is madness. (My apologies to any teetotalers out there.)
The beer has it's own line item in our budget every other month or so. I usually budget $50. Depending on what he's brewing, it usually works out to about $10 per 12 pack. And it's really, really good. I don't roll this into our food budget, because it is a treat. If we're having a tight month, it's obviously one of the first cuts. However, it's not just about beer - it is his hobby. And, I figure there's a ton of other hobbies he could have that wouldn't afford me nearly as much pleasure!
The coffee works out to about $5 a pound, because we buy in bulk. That is actually about half the price of buying whole coffee beans at the store. Derek likes to order from Sweet Maria's, if you're interested. He's used a hot air popcorn popper to roast for the past two years. We recently used some gift money to purchase a small home roaster. Again, an unnecessary expense, but one that keeps us willing to stay on the getting out of debt track for the long haul.
We spend around $30-$50 every other month for the green coffee beans. I usually try to roll the orders into months when I'm not trying to stockpile cat supplies, diapers, or other higher $ items. So, technically the coffee usually comes out of the grocery budget. There have been a couple of months that it bumped our grocery spending to $300 for the month. I can't live without high-quality caffeine. For real.
If anyone is interested in learning more about either the home brewing or the home roasting - I might be able to talk Derek into a guest post.
See, not deprived at all!! And after all that coffee talk - I now need a cup.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
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I am very interested in having Derek guest post how he goes about making both beer and coffee, as I see this as a potential hobby for my husband. I know a) buy green coffee beans-organic and fair trade of course! and I know b) you can buy a hot air popcorn thingy at Walgreens but would like to know what brand, what to look for, instructions, and where to go from there. Do you have to store them any certain way? Different ways to roast to get different types (we prefer DARK beer and coffee...espresso, french roast, you get the picture). Thanks a million! You are very much appreciated! So wonderful that you are willing to share your hard work and knowledge (it would have taken me hours to figure out some of the coupon matching stuff you post).
ReplyDeleteKam is ridiculous :)
ReplyDeleteI was curious too, about the beering and coffeeing.
Wendy, seriously, we need Derek to give the other dads (Jamie and Tara's Matt, at least) a workshop (or just casually talk to them) for sho on this.
This is so cheesy, but I'd love to make labels for these things and give it away as presents to friends and families.
Oh, I definitely want to know more about the coffee.
ReplyDelete