16 hours ago
'I'm a full-time mum – here's how ditching £6 lattes saved me £547 a year'
A FULL-TIME mum has revealed how walking away from 'pretentious hipster cafés' in favour of brewing at home has slashed her caffeine costs and stress.
Angela Moore, aged 55 and from Warrington, runs her own accessories business from home while raising two kids.
She guzzled six takeaway lattes a week to keep her creative spark alive, dropping on average £859 a year on her caffeine fix.
But with the help of a newly-launched online coffee-cost calculator, she says she has pocketed more than £500 by making the leap to a bean-to-cup coffee machine at home.
On her coffee habits, Angela said: 'I run the studio around my two grown-up kids' ever-changing diaries, so coffee is mission critical.
'Six cups a week kept me buzzing, but the bills were brutal.
'Why pay six quid to perch on a wobbly stool while someone hogs a sofa for hours?
'Now, I hit one button at home, sip a perfect flat white, and get back to work – no queue or eye-watering price tag.'
Angela's penny-pinching victory lands as new research reveals the nation's biggest café pet peeves, and the hefty price we pay for them.
Top irritations include table-hoggers, laptop squatters, never-ending queues, uncomfortable seats, and the barista who cannot crack a smile.
Coffee experts at Philips found that Brits buy an average of four takeaway coffees a week at £4.13 each.
Philips' free Calculatté tool crunches any takeaway price and pinpoints the moment a bean-to-cup machine pays for itself.
Lizzie Lee, Philips' in-house coffee expert at Philips, said: 'Queues, sky-high prices, and those table-thieving tyrants have turned the morning latte into an expensive chore.
'Calculatté proves you can enjoy barista-quality coffee at home for a fraction of the cost.'
