From the DailyCheapskate Inbox: Shopping tips on buying K-Cups, and Yes Virginia, you really can save money on produce

Ever since I published a few readers' email last week, I've been getting a steady stream of interesting inquiries from loyal DailyCheapskate readers.  Here are two that I thought would be useful:

	Dear Daily Cheapskate, I just got a Keurig!  Thanks to you and your blog, I got it very cheaply, but I'm almost out of K-Cups and I don't know how to buy them without spending A LOT.  What's the best place to get them?  Also, what's the difference between all the roasts and stuff? And how do I know before buying them which brands are kosher? -Chavi R., Monsey, NY
	Dear Chavi, Despite some initial resistance on my part, back in May, Joshua and I also came over to The Dark Side.  We yuppied out and bought a Keurig too.  This deal was way too good to pass up.  No regrets; this machine makes a great cuppa coffee. It's one thing to get a Keurig brewer for a song, but the real challenge comes in buying the K-cups to feed it. While food in general has come up in price over the last few years, (in part due to increases in gas prices and the cost to ship food to stores,) coffee, as a commodity, has really shot up in price across the board, and pre-packaged K-cups cost a small fortune.  I've seen them for anywhere from $0.30 to $1 per K-cup.  My litmus test?  I won't buy any K-cups unless they are less than $0.50 each, preferably even cheaper than that. I've done a little research and digging around, and I'll share some of my K-cup findings with you: About the roasts:  first figure out what sort of roast you prefer.  Do you generally like Starbucks coffee straight up?  Then you are probably a dark roast person.  Do you prefer Dunkin Donuts coffee?  Then you are probably more of a light roast person. That said, there are two ways to measure the "darkness" or "richness" of the cup of coffee that you'll get out of the Keurig. I had assumed that a dark roast meant that the coffee beans were roasted a little longer than the light roast, so it was qualitatively different. This is indeed true; however, there is also a quantitative difference.  The dark roast K-cups also have a little more coffee in them; the light roast K-cups have less coffee in them.  So if you like a slightly lighter roast (as my husband and I do), you can use the darker K-cups twice without dilution (meaning one K-cup for two cups of coffee).  You'll get a little more mileage out of your K-Cups. Grove Square K-cups are significantly cheaper than other K-cups.  The reason is because they are filled with instant coffee, so they will not produce a fresh-brewed cup.  I have another name for instant coffee; I call it "mud powder."  Ich.  If you are picky about coffee taste at all, avoid the Grove Square brand, even though they are inexpensive. Cafe Escapes brand K-cups are not kosher. Most Green Mountain K-cups are kosher, even the funky flavors.  One way to find out about the kosher status of a K-cup variety or flavor is to go to the very comprehensive Green Mountain website and look up the flavor.  Say you would like to buy an unusual flavor like Kahlúa K-cups.  Look it up here and you will see a little picture of the actual K-cup, showing that it's KSA-certified-kosher (hechsher on the left side).  Green Mountain even has a kosher section, but as certifications change rapidly, I would not rely on Rabbi Internet; always check for a hechsher on the product first. If it appears online with a hechsher and arrives at your home without one, call Green Mountain and they will make good on it. Now, as far as saving money on K-cups, it's not all that easy.   Keep checking the blogs for specials.  We bloggers have an eye out for these all the times, so let us do the legwork for you.  Also watch for those wonderful free sample offers. Stack sales with coupons.  For example, Bed Bath & Beyond had an 18-count French Toast flavored K-cup package on sale for $7.99 (no longer available).  I had an online 20% off coupon, so I ended up getting them for $6.39 (or $0.36 per K-cup, an awesome price).  Kohl's periodically has specials on K-cups, and stacked with their cyclical 30% off discount for Kohl's credit card holders, you can do really well on the deal. Costco also has decent deals on their regularly-priced K-cups.  I bought an 80-count box of Donut Shop light roast for $35.99 ($0.46 per K-cup).  Make sure you love the flavor you buy, because they are sold in bulk, so you'll be drinking it for a long time. Amazon periodically has some pretty awesome sales.  Again, watch DailyCheapskate for posts on Amazon sales and act quickly.  Amazon changes its prices in a blink, so you'll definitely need to strike while the iron is hot. I've found that websites that offer K-cups buyer's clubs are pretty overpriced to begin with, so you don't benefit all that much from the discount. Green Mountain's Cafe Express gives you 15% off and you need to take shipments on a regular basis.  But when your starting point is $16.49 for a 24-count package ($0.69 per K-cup) , reducing that price to $0.58 per K-cup just isn't low enough.  I would join these programs to get a great deal on a brewer when there is a special running (like on the recent Mother's Day or Father's Day deals), but not for my regular coffee supply.  Think out of the box a little. If you've got one of those great $10-off-$25 or $25-off-$75 coupons at an office store like Staples or Office Depot, use it to purchase K-cups.  Even if there is a small markdown on the K-cups, stacking that with a substantial coupon could snag you a great deal. If you stock up on K-cups because of a great price, keep them in the freezer to keep the coffee from becoming stale. Make sure to ALWAYS do the math when you are figuring out K-cup deals.  Keep that under-$0.50 per K-cup litmus test in mind at all times to keep some perspective on whether or not you are getting a good deal on K-cups.
Dear Daily Cheapskate, I read your posts about how to save money on fruits and vegetables, but even though I love your blog, I have a hard time believing it.  Let's see some receipts and coupons.  I don't care so much about getting organic stuff, but I'd like to save money on the regular fruits and vegetables. Are there really coupons for this? -Elizabeth O., Omaha, NE Dear Elizabeth, I will turn you into a believer yet!  Three ways to save money on general produce: Buy organic anyway, but with a coupon. Look for other coupon sources. Get a shopper's loyalty card and watch your mail for store coupons.  Don't throw out your Catalina coupons without checking them first. Price match produce loss-leaders from other stores.  First of all, Elizabeth, please realize that I buy organic produce not because I care about whether a vegetable is organic (though I know that many DailyCheapskate readers do care), but because it is actually cheaper than non-organic produce when you use a coupon, and organic companies seem to distribute many more coupons than their conventional counterparts.  Right now, looking in my purse, I've got a $1/1 Organic Girl coupon and a few Earthbound Farms Organic $0.75 coupons.  Target has a 1 lb. bag of Earthbound Farms Organic carrots for $1.09, so I'll be getting them for $0.34. Walmart has a package of Organic Girl green onions for $1.39, so I'll be getting then for $0.39. And yes!  There really are coupons for non-organic produce.  Here are two examples of store coupons that I had in my purse. This is a coupon for $2 off of a $5 produce purchase that I got in the mail from King Sooper, Denver's Kroger affiliate (in Omaha, that would be Bakers).  I got it just for having a shopper's loyalty card. Here's a Catalina coupon (the kind that prints out after you pay for your order at the cash register) that's good for $1.50 off a $10 purchase at Target.  I must have gone through three or four of these this year.  I can stack these with my manufacturer's coupons, so I'll be buying a bunch of those Earthbound Farm carrots, but also Klondike potatoes (I've got an awesome BOGO coupon on Klondike potatoes) apples, tomatoes, and bananas, which I need.  And did I mention the cherries? This past Friday, I bought cherries at Target, but not at the $4.49/lb. Target price.  No sirree Bob. Sprouts and Sunflower, two local natural food chains that have stores in Colorado, are advertising cherries this week for a super-low $1.47/lb.  I brought the Sunflower circular up to the service desk and price-matched.  Here's my receipt (click on it for a readable version) that shows the original price of $4.49/lb. adjusted down to $1.47.  With my RedCard 5% discount, I ended up paying $1.40/lb. Yes, Target will price-match on generic produce, as long as the dates on the competitor's circular are current and the circular does not mention a brand name (for example, you can't price match Dole bananas to some no-name generic banana at Target).  I read through the Sprouts and Sunflower circulars each week and price match at Target on their loss leaders, if I need the item.  This sure saves me a lot of running around to different stores as well as a ton of money on produce.  Sprouts and Sunflower are both a 20 minute drive away from my house, while Target is only about an 8 minute drive. So, summing up, saving money on produce requires some planning.  Stack organic coupons, store coupons, sales, and price-matching, and you will make out like a bandit on produce.

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