McDonalds McCafe - Save Money and Enjoy a Decent Coffee Drink

I'm a big fan of eating out at fast food restaurants. It makes a long day easier but not having to deal with washing pots, pans and dishes after dinner. Sometimes you just want some fast, greasy and inexpensive. Recently at Burger King and Mcdonalds there have been a couple of changes.

For example when ordering a large at BK, did you think your soft drink and fries seemed to be that of a king size? That's because it is what was before King sized. Now a small size is the same as what before was a medium. If you're catching on then you already know a medium size is what was the large size before. How does this effect your wallet? The prices for value meals are a "small" size which in reality is a medium size cup and drink. Before ordering a medium, remember you're not ordering but your paying for a larger drink than what the small was in the past.

Another perhaps craze that may be gone by the end of this year is the BK Mini 6 pack burgers. Not only is it for burgers but also BK offers 6 pack breakfast sandwiches. I'll admit, I was curious to see if they were as cute as what the commercial expresses but decided not to order them. Why? Because a value meal for a 6 pack of mini burgers plus a small fry and drink is $7.15 + tax. Often times items cost a little more when first being introduced so ordering the value meal a little bit later may cost less. Instead you may want to order a 2 pack for $1.39 to try them out. Or if you want more than just a nibble why not order 3 junior whoppers, a small fry and drink for under $7.00. The whopper jrs may not look as cute but more than likely will fill you up more.

Over at McDonalds they offer now not only breakfast but also cheeseburger meals for $3.00 each. Morning meals includes a breakfast sandwich, hash brown and orange juice. The evening meal includes a burger, fries and a soft drink. Something that caught my attention more was the McCafe by McDonalds. Maybe your local McDonalds already has been up and running more fancy coffee drinks. Or your local restaurant is in the process of setting up coffee machines and training the employees.

Maybe you've been recently laid off and the highlight of your workday was heading over to the local Starbucks with a co worker, friend or spouse before or after work. Or a local Starbucks has closed due to loss of sales. It doesn't help Starbucks that recently Yahoo held an article on the front page as the coffee company "Eight O'Clock was the winner against well known more expensive coffee brands. Or that Dunkin Donuts decaf had a better flavor over that of Starbucks.

Normally when it comes to McDonalds there have been complaints of the coffee not even being hot. Or the iced coffee doesn't give enough variety of flavors. But don't overlook the recent addition to America's McDonalds. Now you can currently order cappuccinos, iced or hot mochas, iced or hot lattes and the traditional hot chocolate. McDonalds uses real expresso along with whipped cream and chocolate syrup over it's drinks. Each Starbucks price may vary but generally you can expect to pay around $0.20 more per drink for adding a syrup on top of the whipped cream. $0.20 may not sound like much but let's say for example you buy a drink with a friend one time a day, 7 days a week. $0.40 X 7 days equals $2.80 a week for chocolate syrup. In a month that's a whopping $11.20 a month just for a little syrup. It'd be less expensive to buy a chocolate syrup in a store for less than $3.50 a bottle. But again you can't whip out a bottle out of your purse or back pocket in a Stabucks and proceed to drizzle your drink.

The average costs for an iced mocha style drink at a Starbucks is around $3.50 for a Tall. Now if you are unsure what a "Tall" means, it's a small. How odd is that! Not to mention a Grande in Spanish means large is rather only a medium at Starbucks. At Mcdonalds for a one size (yes, this perhaps is a down size to McDonalds coffee drinks) the cost is $2.78 and no, there isn't a charge for the chocolate syrup. It may not sound like a lot of savings but more than likely a McDonalds is closer to you than a Starbucks. That right there saves on gas and if you drink a lot of coffee drinks, at around a dollar a savings each time (depending on the price of Starbucks in your area) you could be saying as much as $7.00+ a week.

As for the flavor, each person's coffee tastes a different. Personally I found the drinks tastes just as good as Starbucks if not better. And saving a little bit of money each time made the drinks tastes even sweeter. Curious to try one for yourself but aren't sure if one if located in your area? Check out online McCafe's zip code locator @ www.mymccafe.com Through you may want to call a local McDonalds as the zip code locator claimed to have no zip code data in an area that does have the McCafes up and running.

Take note that all fast food and fancy coffee house chains do vary on prices. They also vary on menu items. While one may have the BK mini burgers, another restaurant may not carry that specific item. Before opening that wallet, check out just what exactly you are getting for your money.