Here is the only tip you need to know…brew your own coffee at home, for pennies on the dollar, and stay out of Starbucks. Thanks for coming everyone, drive home safely. No, but seriously, no matter how hard we try, a quick drive-thru at your local Starbucks is gonna happen. Either as a little reward for yourself or when you need a caffeine pick-me-up. But believe it or not, there are a some easy ways to save at Starbucks. Here are eight of my favorite ways to save money at Starbucks…

1. Order a Trenta Iced Coffee with NO Ice

By ordering a Trenta iced coffee WITH NO ICE you’ll get a 30 ounce cup filled to the rim with cool coffee for only $3.75.

Then you can just add it to ice at home, or in the office, and you essentially get 2.5 Talls for only $1.20 more than a single Tall order.

It’s the absolute best way to save at Starbucks as you can easily save the extra coffee in your refrigerator and drink it the following day.

2. Not Gonna Split It? Avoid the Venti

Many casual Starbucks customers aren’t aware that Venti and Grande espresso drinks have the exact same amount of espresso, 2 shots.

When ordering a Venti the extra volume is typically just milk, syrup, and ice (if you ordered it cold).

So if you’re ONLY looking for a caffeine hit, avoid the extra cost and stick with a Grande.

See Also: Starbucks Dress Code: What’s the Deal With Yoga Pants, Tattoos and Piercings?

CONSIDER 2 REWARDS ACCOUNTS

Starbucks sends out better deals to those who DON’T use their Starbucks Rewards account often. So create an account with 2 separate email addresses. Make one account to collect stars and make it your “go to” account and use the other to collect the BOGO deals and other cool offers they send out.

3. The SINGLE Best Value for Under $5

So I want to give full credit to my daughter for finding this amazing iced Starbucks drink idea on TikTok and sending it to me.

I tried it myself recently and I gotta admit, IT’S AMAZING! Great smooth coffee flavor, a hint of sweetness, and incredibly refreshing.

It comes from Megan Evans and bless her for sharing this “secret menu” item with her followers and here’s how you order it.

• 3 shots of Ristretto espresso
• Over Ice in a Venti Cup
• Add Whole Milk
• Topped with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam

In case you’re wondering, “Ristretto” is made with regular Starbucks espresso beans but less hot water is pushed through the grounds, giving it a sweeter and richer flavor.

The drink ended up costing me a little bit under $5, but it was big enough that I could easily split it with someone or save half of it for later.

I dare you to try and find a better (or more delicious) value at Starbucks.

4. Easy on the Frozen Water

I love this tip and it’s a play off the first hack I mentioned in this article.

The next time you are ordering an iced coffee, tea, or specialty drink, order it with only half or very little ice.

You’ll essentially end up getting the next sized drink for the price of a smaller size. Winning.

5. Order a “Short” for a Cheap Caffeine Boost

Were you aware that there is a size smaller than the Starbucks 12oz “Tall”? I wasn’t.

But according to Slate.com, you can order an 8oz “Short” and in many cases get the same amount of caffeine, with more flavor, at a reduced cost.

For example, a “short” latte has the same amount of espresso (and caffeine) as the tall size but costs less.

Not a bad way to save some money and get your caffeine fix.

6. Get Creative at Home

Do you find yourself visiting Starbucks more than you should because you can’t replicated their drinks at home?

If so, those days are over as I found an amazing resource at a website called Yummly.com which lists a bunch of amazing (and detailed) Starbucks recipes that you can easily make at home.

Popular recipes include the Starbucks Mocha, Frappuccino, Peppermint Mocha, Eggnog Latte, and Caramel Macchiato.

7. Always use a Starbucks Reward Card

If you buy coffee from Starbucks at least three time a year, you should definitely download their mobile app. and join their rewards program for free.

By doing so you’ll earn cool rewards like free drinks, free flavor shots, free refills, and free tasty treats.

Totally worth the effort. Also, you’ll always get a free drink on your birthday.

See Also: 9 Brilliant Ways to Hack the Starbucks Rewards Program

8. Happy Hours on Thursday

Most Starbucks locations offer pretty much ALL beverages for Buy 1, get 1 Free from 2-7 pm on Thursdays.

Be sure to download the Starbucks app so you don’t miss a Happy Hour coupon ever again.

I took advantage of this just the other day when driving home from San Francisco, I got a Venti Coffee Frappuccino for a cool $2.

Bonus Tip: Buy Discounted Gift Cards

This tip was too good not to include.

From reader Mel: “I buy discounted Starbucks gift cards on Raise.com – usually the $100 card for like $71 – 73 dollars (wait for the extra 5% off weekends). Then I link the Starbucks gift card to my rewards account. It’s like getting 6 free coffees between the initial savings and the free coffee rewards and it lasts me 3-6 months.”

Love it, thanks Mel for the great tip.

Ask the Reader: What tips or advice do you have on how to save money at Starbucks? Or are you stronger willed than I and just stay out altogether and brew at home?

By Kyle James

Photo credit to Piutus.

Kyle James( Owner/Founder )

I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)