I saved $1200 in one year by making this switch to my morning matcha

I’ve been a coffee drinker since middle school. At the peak of addiction to the drink, I could easily put away a whole pot by myself. I was pulling two all-nighters a week in college and really just needed some quality sleep. So maybe it isn’t a surprise that by 30 I was feeling, well, like shit. More specifically, half-dead shit with bricks tied to my feet.

So I did what I once thought was impossible and weaned myself off of coffee, replacing the habit with one quality cup of matcha a day. There was only one problem. Now, instead of feeling anxious and jittery because of the caffeine, I was feeling the same way because of my bank statement. Those matcha lattes really add up.

The cost of buying matcha lattes at a coffee shop

In fits and starts I tried to replace my habit with matcha made at home. I didn’t really want to invest in a whisk I would only use for this one drink, so I tried (and failed) with a fork instead. Hey, a girl tries what she has on-hand, OK?

Needless to say the lumpy drinks I made did nothing to encourage me to keep making matcha at home. So I slowly gave up and went back to buying my matcha lattes at fancy coffee shops that didn’t add sugar to the green tea powder (side eyeing you, Starbucks). But even if I only grabbed a latte each day during the work week, it was still costing me $31.30 a week. (And let’s just go ahead and say that my matcha habit did not stop with the work week.) Yes, I did the math. That’s $125 a month and, gulp, $1500 a year. Count the weekends and it’s $2284 a year. I think we can all agree that even if you’re not going to save that money, there are more fun things to spend it on.

Thankfully for my bank account and financial peace of mind, I randomly grabbed a packet of Vital Proteins Matcha Collagen on a Whole Foods run.

Here’s how Vital Proteins Matcha Collagen saves me money

I was hooked from the first cup. Even from a packet, stirred with a spoon, the matcha was full-bodied and frothy. The bottom of my cup was blissfully free of those chunks that made me give up making matcha at home. The protein content in the packet was simply the cherry on top as far as I was concerned.

But I knew I had two options. Either I could invest in matcha powder, a whisk, and a carrier mug, or I could buy a jug of Vital Proteins Matcha and keep it on my desk at work. Sadly making regular matcha at work wasn’t an option. We don’t have a sink for water or a fridge for almond milk (my ideal mix-in). I settled on Vital Proteins because I could have my matcha any time of day, and enjoy it hot.

So again, I did the math. (Budgeting can teach you more than you ever thought.) You can nab a container of Vital Proteins Matcha Collagen for $49, and you’ll get 24 servings out of it. That means instead of shelling out a little over $6 for my daily matcha, I could knock that down to $2.

There’s actually room to save even more money

I’m a cautious shopper when it comes to subscribe and save. That mostly comes from a personal history of not taking supplements consistently and ending up with extra bottles of vitamins gathering dust in the pantry. (Thankfully, I’m getting better with that.) So I bought my container of Vital Proteins Matcha Collagen the normal way: at full price. I wanted to see if I would stick with it.

But that container dwindled day after day. I never got tired of the rich taste, and the coconut milk they use in the formula was the perfect replacement for my prefered almond milk. Pretty soon it will be time to pull the trigger on that subscription since I’ll clearly use up everything I order.

I did the math for you if you want to know how much I’m saving a year. Buying containers one at a time, I pay $735 per year for my Vital Proteins Matcha Collagen. (PS: They also have Peach Matcha if you’re into that.) Switching from my coffee shop habit, I save a little over $1500 per year. Once I upgrade to subscribe and save, I’ll save 10% on each container (and 20% off the first one), which puts the yearly total at just over $656. Then I’ll be saving almost $1630 per year.

Do I still occasionally treat myself to matcha out, like at Ippodo Tea? Of course. But I make sure it’s actually a treat, and I focus on letting that savings account grow.