Oh coffee, how you bankrupt me so. I’m sure I’m not the only millennial out there who’s obsessed by coffee. That oh-so-New-York feeling of stomping around town clutching a hot coffee just gets me in the gut – I’m a sucker for it, and I can’t start my morning without a caffeine hit.

But as we all know too well, these hipster coffees could be standing in the way of our dreams of financial freedom. At around $4.50 a pop, buying just 5 a week adds up to $1,170 a year. That’s an expensive habit.

Now, in the name of being #NiftyNotThrifty, we’ve hunted down four ways to bag yourself free coffee in Australia – and none of them involve naff rewards programs or annoying loyalty cards that promise to grant you your 10th coffee free (after they’ve guzzled your cash for the 9 that came before!)

1. Taste coffee at Nespresso boutiques

I actually do buy Nespresso products, and when I go in there, I always make sure to head to the tasting bar before I leave. You can try all different types of their coffee capsules, and they’ll make the coffee any which way you like. Some stores even have soy milk! This service is totally free, and you can try as many as you want – no need to be a Nespresso member or anything!

2. Hunt down real estate coffee vans

All in the name of experiential marketing, more and more real estate agents are investing in coffee vans to woo buyers on auction days. Hop onto the Instagrams of agents in your area and see if they’ve got a coffee van booked for any auctions near you. You’ll get to watch some juicy real estate action AND bag a free, totally legit fresh ground coffee – for ‘nutin!

Hint: Gary Peer brews a fantastic capp.

3. Hang around the coffee machine section of major retailers on weekends

This is a real sneaky one, but if the many weekends spent standing around while my boyfriend stares at boring electronics have taught me anything, it’s that if you hang around the coffee machine section long enough, they’ll offer you a coffee.

They’re usually demonstrating some of the machines – particularly on weekends – and they’ve got all the gear they need to make you a soul-warming cuppa all hidden in sneaky hidden drawers. Try Harvey Norman, JB HiFi or Myer. You’re welcome!

4. Look out for pop-ups in your city

Melbourne’s Federation Square once hosted a Delonghi pop-up barista-less café, which handed out free caffeine for a week. Other times I’ve grabbed a freebie outside Flinders Street station, or been handed a voucher for my local 7-Eleven (unexpectedly good coffee, btw). Keep in the loop with local websites like The Urban List or Broadsheet – they’ll usually be right on top of where is handing out free coffee in your city.

And hey, we crunched the numbers. If you got just ONE of your coffees free each week, you’d save almost $250 a year. That’s maths we can get on board with.

Have you got a free coffee tip? Email us at hello@thebrokegeneration.com or find us on Instagram! Meanwhile, if you’re a sucker for Afterpay, read this, or read our list of things to do for under $20 when you’re on a money diet.