Coffee Maker

Good morning!

Usually I like to have my "Good Morning"s with a side of coffee. For years, my husband and I had a coffee maker. Actually many many coffee makers. Our last home had hard water. We must have gone through 7 coffee makers before giving up. We became fans of the french press (also known as a Bodum). A french press makes fresh, strong coffee. It is undeniably very good coffee.

The problem that I've been encountering for the past few months since moving to our new home, I am feeling nostalgic for a real coffee maker. That appliance that sits on the counter so quietly all day.. and rests all night but then does this wonderful feat in the morning. With a few extra dollars you can buy one that is programmable. So one can prepare the coffee in the evening, and in the morning, wake up to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.. ahhh.

In theory, the french press is romantic and old fashioned, it makes superior coffee (I have no doubt)but in reality it's a different story. I like to get up after my husband, he wakes up just after 5:00 a.m. (on purpose) so that he can carve out a solid hour of quiet time, and coffee. That means that by the time I get up, he is onto the 3rd french press full of coffee. He adds grounds to the already used grounds (which is perfectly fine by the way) but it does alter that fresh brewed taste slightly. And my way in the morning is to have a cup of coffee (usually luke warm, if there is any left at all) then I have to get the kids ready for school, myself looking somewhat put together to not be that crazy lady with crazy hair at the bus stop.. then we need to somehow get ourselves out the door which happens almost magically every morning on time. Sometimes I get to pour a second cup of coffee to take to the bus stop, sometimes I will even warm it up in the microwave.
If I'm not working, I come home from the bus stop and pour another cup of coffee and enjoy it quietly. Sometimes I will boil the kettle and make a new press full of coffee, or a cup of instant.

I know this is a lot of thought put into a morning cup of coffee (or 3) but it's sometimes those minor things that can really make your day better. I have decided to go ahead and throw caution to the wind and buy a new coffee maker. One on a timer. A coffee pot will keep the coffee hot... and I'm almost certain my husband will leave me a couple of cups in the pot. All my morning coffee frustration will be solved by this. As I get up really early some mornings myself, I do really appreciate that aroma of coffee wafting through the house (which does not happen with the press) and all the hot coffee goodness that it provides. My husband is okay with this decision. I think he will always favor the French Press - but he will also appreciate the convenience of getting up in the morning to a freshly brewed pot. After all, he is the man who made a timer for our electric kettle so that it would be boiled when he got up... alas, that worked fine until it started smoking one day.. no more home-made timers ;)

But of course, this would not be a post suitable for Money Not Spent if I had of just ran out and bought a maker. No sir. I have been shopping around. I have noticed a vast array of coffee makers on the market, it's been at least 5 years since we've owned one, and they have changed a lot in those few years! There are coffee makers with thermal pots, coffee makers with several settings, coffee makers that take little cups of pre-made grounds with flavorings and make you exotic fancy coffees one painfully slow cup at a time. There are coffee makers that mount under your upper cupboard and are supposed to take less space but are actually 3 times the size of a normal maker. There are coffee makers that cost over $200.

In my search, I have found a very nice, 12 cup, programmable coffee maker from a brand I trust, for ... drumroll.... $29. This is not on sale. Regular price. Did I run out and buy it? Nope - I will make myself wait until our next pay day. I could buy it today, I have the money... in the bank. But I will wait a few more days, to exercise my mental control over cash. And I like it. I like really wanting something, and then waiting for it... when I go out to purchase it, I will feel good about it. I will not feel remorse for over-spending because I have researched exactly what I want, found it for a great price and the day I bring it home I will be really happy with it... and that is what this blog is all about. Controlling our urges to spend, and really getting a sense of where the money goes and enjoying our purchases to the fullest.