Swap Your Coffee Stop: A Money Saving tweak
Having been a graphic designer for over a decade, in the last 6 years I have mostly worked between home and Manchester city centre. In this time I've discovered something that might interest fellow commuters - especially those who can't resist a morning café treat!
Remember those £4 pastries and fancy hot chocolates from Caffè Nero that made the 1.5 hour commute bearable? While those loyalty cards might earn you a free drink every few weeks, I calculated I was spending nearly £100 a month on those treats alone!
Here's my game changing solution: weekend batch cooking pastries. Just an hour or so on a Sunday can save you serious money and still give you that little morning luxury.
Easy Chocolate twists (Makes approx. 8)
Ingredients:
1 pack ready-rolled puff pastry*
1 pack of dark / milk chocolate chips
2-3 tablespoons of ready made custard*
Dash of milk for glazing
Icing sugar for dusting
*For a calorie saving option without ditching the treat, buy light puff pastry and use light ready made custard.
Method:
Flatten out the pastry & spread the 2-3 tablespoons of custard over the whole sheet evenly.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips over one half of the pastry.
Fold the pastry in half to cover the chocolate chips, and press down.
Cut into lengths and twist as you put them on a baking sheet.
Brush with a little milk.
Bake at 200°C for around 15 mins until golden.
Dust with icing sugar while still warm for that fresh bakery feel.
These freeze beautifully - just pop them in freezer bags. Defrost overnight and warm for 5 minutes in the oven while you're getting ready. Pair with homemade hot chocolate mix (my fav is the Cadbury Highlights for a calorie saving option), and you've got your luxury breakfast at a fraction of the cost!
You can also try different flavours and shapes - these work brilliantly with cinnamon sugar and butter instead of custard and chocolate, roll them into spirals, chill and cut before baking.
The Savings Breakdown:
Café breakfast: £6/day = Around £120/month
Homemade version: £15/month
Monthly savings: £105
If you’re not a baker, you could even buy them from Lidl (or other budget supermarket) for not that much more than making them.
Think about it - those savings could go towards a new laptop, that website redesign you've been putting off, or even a weekend break! Sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest difference to our wallets.
What would you do with an extra £105 a month?
P.S. Want more money-saving tips or need help making your business look as good as these chocolate twists taste? Drop me a line at hello@littlewinterdesign.co.uk!
