We all love Starbucks, but sometimes paying full price for the coffee is a bit hard on the wallet. If times are a bit hard for you, or you’re like me who like to find ways to cut corners, this list is for you. I used to work at Starbucks and these are tried, tested and true methods. I’m sure to anger a lot of baristas, but sometimes the system rules were made to be broken 😉

1) Poor Man’s Mocha/Tim Hortons Mocha – I didn’t make this up, one of my coworkers then did and I never forgot. Order a short coffee in a tall cup with one pump of mocha (they can’t charge you for just one pump of syrup). Go to the milk area, fill it up with your choice of milk, then go over to the bar area and ask the barista to put whip on it (which they cannot charge you for either). $1.75 for a tall “mocha”.

2) Ice Coffee – Order a short coffee, and a clear cup with ice. Add whatever you want to the hot coffee first (sugar, cream) and pour over the ice.

3) If you want syrup but don’t want to pay the ridiculous 0.65 cents for it, if you order only one pump for a tall or two pumps for a grande, they CANNOT charge you because it is less than half the amount they normally put in the drink. So it might not be the full sweetness, but you still get the taste.

4) Whip cream, cold soy, chocolate & caramel sauce all of these great additions cannot be charged, so it’s a good treat with your coffee.

5) Bring Your Own Mug gets you five cents off your purchase, BUT if you bring your own Tazo tea bag and ask for hot water, they will have to give you a starbucks cup and hot water, for no charge.

6) If you like your Americano really strong but don’t want to pay for extra shots, ask for LONG shots which is the equivalent of two shots in one shot (flavour-wise anyway).

7) If you enjoy coffee but don’t enjoy paying extra for a Coffee Misto, ask for an INCH of steam milk they cannot charge you for it.

8) This isn’t necessarily a money saving tip, but if you want one of the teas you usually cannot get iced – it still is possible. Ask the barista to put two teabags into a tall cup and steep it for the recommended steeping time and pour over a venti cup of ice.

When I was working at Starbucks, these were our quirky ways to save money when we went to other Starbucks’. Do you have any tips on how you save money at Starbucks?

Photo taken from The Next Web.