I Have Extra Pumpkin Spice Savings In My Pocket. 5 Ways To Spend It

You might not know this, but sometimes I ask myself why I write this blog. I have doubts sometimes. Let’s be honest, this isn’t the most serious blog in the world.  I’m not writing about anything that has a huge draw from women of my demographic say, organic, dairy free recipes or blogs about with renovating your downstairs with shiplap.

I have never been published on the Today show webpage, which to me at my age seems like the pinnacle of blog achievement (tell me to want more out of my life, I know there is more).

I guess I keep writing here because I really do like sharing my family’s adventures with you. Also I like having a place to share my monthly trivia quizzes. Additionally, since I gave up Facebook and Instagram I need a place to showcase my pictures. (Can you tell me, does going to a Pumpkin Patch even count as an outing if you don’t post the pictures somewhere? Look for mine toot-sweet).

One more thing. . .this blog gives me a chance to write silly stuff sometimes because I really do feel like the world needs more silly in it.

Last week, I saw a headline that Whoopi Goldberg was making another Sister Act movie, called appropriately enough Sister Act 3. She said, “”I just want to bring that silly happiness to people, because there’s so much preying on people’s brains,” Goldberg says. “I just want a little silliness and who’s sillier than me?”

An aside: I heart Whoopi Goldberg. I remember watching the original Sister Act movie at the theatre, I think, and Sister Act 2 at home with my mother and sisters and we always enjoyed them.

One of my favorite quotes from Whoopi Goldberg is a joke from the television show 30 Rock where Tracy Morgan’s character visits her and asks her if her Daytime Emmy for The View should count toward her EGOT achievement (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) since it is a Daytime Emmy and she says

“It still counts. Girl’s gotta eat!”

Whoopi Goldberg, 30 Rock, December 2009

So anyway, I love Whoopi Goldberg and I love silly things and I love writing posts about seasonal products (remember this one) that really don’t need to be written but give people something to chuckle at when they read this blog. So here goes my thought for this week:

Earlier this week, I realized that since I started drinking Aldi’s Barissimo Pumpkin Spice Creamer I didn’t really notice any difference in my enjoyment of my morning, fall coffee from when I was buying the more expensive Starbucks brand Pumpkin Spice Latte flavored creamer.

It used to matter to me that my fall creamer brand was Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte flavored. I loved the container that it came in and got used to be okay with paying a premium as compared to other brands. I rationalized my purchase with the thought I’m getting a deal, at least I am not paying in-store Starbucks prices. It used to give me a little happiness boast to drink Starbucks creamer in the morning, in my home, in the fall. The experience justified the cost for me.

Then one day, I was in Aldi and it seemed more convent to get my pumpkin spice creamer there. I was already at Aldi and I didn’t want to drive over to Target even though they are located very close to each other. Also with inflation of the past year, even buying Starbucks creamer in the store started to feel unjustifiable.

So when I noticed that my coffee enjoyment hadn’t changed since making the switch, I thought, “That’s cool. I am glad that making this coffee creamer change has not affected my quality of life.”

But then I decided to do some analysis because I live with a scientist and our brains have started melding into one brain so that we are essentially the same entity anymore. I knew that I needed to crunch the numbers.

First, I looked at the capacity of the creamer bottle. 

The Starbucks brand pumpkin creamer is 28 fluid ounces whereas the Aldi brand creamer is only 21 fluid ounces. Starbucks bottles have 7 more ounces of creamer per bottle.

Then, I decided to calculate the price difference. I consulted the internet and found that according to Instacart, in my area the Aldi Pumpkin Spice creamer is $2.75 and the Starbucks is priced at $5.89 at my local Target. Even without considering sales tax, a fall coffee connoisseur would save about $3.14 per bottle of pumpkin spice creamer.

Those savings could really add up!

While it is true that I would certainly go through more Aldi brand creamer faster because the bottle is smaller, I would also save a substantial amount throughout the pumpkin spice season.

In the average pumpkin spice season, I might go through as many as three bottles of pumpkin spice flavored coffee creamer. That means throughout the season, I could expect to save as much at $9.42.

That’s right! $9.42!

While I would save $3.14 on one bottle, I could totally see myself saving up to $9.42 across the entire pumpkin spice season (roughly from early September to early December). Those savings really add up!

-Katie, age 43

So I asked myself, what would I do with all that saved money?

So now we have arrived at the meat of this post.

Here are Five Suggestions of How I Could Spend My Pumpkin Spice Savings:

1. I Could Totally Buy Tiny Native brand Seasonal Deodorant Minis, of course! I’ve been interested in these when I have seen them in Target in the past. (Truthfully, I have indulged in these before). For $2.99 plus tax I could buy up to (3) seasonal scents with my total fall savings and still have enough money left over for sales tax.

You might laugh at this suggestion, but I use natural deodorant and sometimes I do buy products from the Native brand. Native does feel like a splurge but with the money I am saving, I might just go out a buy one (or three) of these sample size deodorants. Seasonal scents do make wearing deodorant more fun! And having a fun scent around reminds you (but really in this situation, we are talking about me, I’m the one who forgets) to wear it.

2) My next suggestion about how to send my extra seasonal savings comes from Wawa. You might have heard, but this year the Philadelphia Phillies are returning to the World Series. It’s pretty exciting. Not only that though, but a HoagestFest Spin-off promotion is currently going on at Wawa right now. To the uninitiated HoagieFest is an annual summer hoagie promotion at Wawa, it’s an event that is to be taken advantage of.

This fall’s reiteration is called SchwarberFest (you can read about it, it has to do with home runs and a player whose last name is Schwarber). For a limited time, Wawa rewards members can get $5.00 Shorti hoagies (which are 6 inches long) and $6.00 Classic Hoagies (which are 10 inches long).

In terms of staying with the theme of seasonal flavors, if I spent the entire season’s saving of $9.42, I could buy a Classic sized Gobbler Hoagie (which is a hoagie with cranberry sauce, turkey, gravy and stuffing) and a drink and still come in under $9.42 as long as I purchased and paid for my sandwich on the Wawa app.

3) For my third idea, I would spend all $9.42 savings at one time. I could treat myself to a purchase that I would probably continue to enjoy after the pumpkin spice season is over. I could buy a seasonal favorite of mine, hot apple cider in a packet and a 200ml bottle of Wild Turkey whiskey. I love hot cider with some whiskey mixed in on a chilly night. I do really enjoy fresh apple cider but Alpine Spiced Apple Cider packets remind me of hanging out with my Aunt Sue and decorating her Christmas tree. They are a sentimental favorite.

Honestly, I am cheating a little bit with this idea because the Apple Cider Packets come in at $2.19 at Target and the 200 ml bottle of Wild Turkey costs around $8.00 online (not Pennsylvania where it might be a little bit more) for a grand total of at least $10.19. This brings the total of the items slightly over my budget of $9.42. Even so, I am going to justify this as a valid purchase idea because I will probably forget about the apple cider packets in the cupboard after enjoying a few and still have some left well into the spring. Also, I may not finish the entire bottle of Wild Turkey bottle before end of the season, so I am going to declare this idea legal and valid.

4) My fourth idea isn’t strictly a pumpkin season idea, but tonight, while I was shopping for votives for my jack-o-lanterns, I saw that Target already has some of their holiday bath gift sets out on display. This made me very excited. I love holiday bath sets. I buy them for other people because I love them and maybe wish that I was buying them for myself instead.

This particular one appeals to me because I love Dr. Teal’s Epson Salt Soaking Solution. The Target website has it listed for $9.99 but with the 5% savings I would get with my RedCard it would cost $9.49. This purchase it would still be over the $9.42 I would save by switching to Aldi creamer for the entire pumpkin spice season. Even so, I’ll allow it.

5) For my final idea about how to spend my pumpkin spice savings, I would be shifting to Walmart to spend my savings. Here is a confession, I only tried pumpkin pie for the first time when I was in my 30’s. Then I realized that I liked it. I never knew that pumpkin pie was good until I was well into adulthood. Still, I don’t think I have ever tried the Patti LaBelle Sweet Potato Pie that became the craze several years ago. So I would use my entire pumpkin pie savings to buy a Patti LaBelle Sweet Potato Pie ($5.94) at Walmart and a can of Reddi-wip ($3.12) for a total of $9.12.

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