The Latte factor - my two bits
posted in frugality, save money, tips |I read a lot about the Latte factor - that all those Lattes you buy can add up to big bucks!
Take this post from Free Money finance - he shows four examples about your daily habit, and how it adds up… over 40 years.
I agree, little factors add up. But *anything* adds up over $40 years. Let’s talk car payments - lose that car! Walk to work (or bike)! Insurance and maintenance add up, too. Don’t have kids. Live on Ramen and multi-vitamins. There are so many ways to save money if you look.
Of course, this comes in your interpretation of… The Latte Factor! If you really want to save money, those are really legitimate ways - lose the car and take the bus or move closer to work (I know a guy that bikes to work year round, another person that carpools). You don’t need to eat out everyday for lunch (do you really need to Never Eat Alone
The idea is - do you really need that cup of joe in the morning? Or, if you really need that coffee - do you really need it to be Starbucks brand? Do you need the $5 flavors when a $1 cup of coffee with free cream and splenda will do?
The idea is to cut out those small expenditures that we take for granted - and to cut out the ones that will cost us in the long run (smokers, I’m looking at you, same thing with Mickey D’s addicts). I don’t drink coffee in the morning (usually). If I do, it’s a $1 a cup at the little deli place downstairs - Starbucks is across the street, so if I really wanted it, I’d get it there - but I don’t. I’ve maybe been in Starbucks one dozen times, if that many. I dig the atmosphere, the whole “watch me type my novel” crap that goes on - but I don’t dig the prices.
Dong (@ AskDong.com) also points out that when you’re considering cutting lattes - you should really look at your budget and see if it’s that huge of an expense - his example shows that Dining/Going out was a huge expense over his lattes. This is an excellent example of realizing what the Latte factor is about - realizing where you are burning money - not necessarily in lattes and coffee, but in the things we do every month that we take for granted.
I’m not saying we need to go the ultimate route - No Impact Man is all about reducing his environmental foot print - and in essence, is being incredibly frugal. Borderline hippie-commune frugal. I love it. I’d love to follow in his steps, but I’m not quite at that point yet. Subway is too easy a choice when I’m studying for four hours after an eight hour day of work, and my pregnant wife is half awake. Maybe someday, but today!
Anyone else do the latte factor? Have you seen that it’s not your lattes but something else eating your money?
