Photographed by Kate Hoffman.Once upon a time, you bought a coffeemaker. When you purchased it, you probably envisioned all the cash you'd save by making coffee at home instead of buying it every day. Well, guess what? If our experience is any indication, that little brew machine spends more time as counter decor than anything else. We're still queue up at whatever coffee shop's closest to the subway each morning, and spending more money than planned. Oops.
However, a new app, CUPS, promises to change all that. The new service pairs members with independent coffee shops in Manhattan and offers membership plans ranging from $7 (for five drinks) to $45 (unlimited drinks). So, even if you're not a full-blown caffeine addict, you can still snag a serious deal. The only catch is you have to wait 30 minutes between each use — so it's not ideal for treating a friend to a cup of joe.
What's really great about this app is how it simultaneously helps our wallets while supporting local businesses. CUPS co-founder Gilad Rotem told Slate: “We’re uniting independent coffee shops together and giving them economics of scale and tools that they cannot get by themselves, but keeping their independent atmosphere. It’s a chain of independence.” And, that's some logic we can get behind. Plus, with all that money you'll save on java, you can drop a little extra on your summer clothes shopping. (Slate)