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Buy Yourself a Latte

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Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#271

Post by cimmanom »

pascalxus wrote: post #152

1800$ per year will adds up to a lot for anyone still working. if you earn 20K after taxes then that's 9% of your income! If you earn 140K before taxes, 100K after taxes that's still almost 2%! that's almost enough to pay rent for a whole month in many parts of the country!

Almost enough? In many parts of the country? You can rent a small studio apartment, or a room in a luxury apartment in New York for significantly less than $1800/mo -- in the second or third most expensive rental market in the country.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#272

Post by geodel »

ebg13 wrote: post #32

So far people in the thread seem to be focusing on whether the use of inflation is appropriate and whether coffee is specific or merely representative or whether small costs add up. But they've all missed what I think is the true takeaway: > Please excuse my lack of enthusiasm for discussing 4-dollar lattes while we ignore 30-plus years of zero real wage gains.

Yes, maybe he will admit that Globalization which caused income stagnation in much of the western world is a big problem. Simultaneously it is also the thing that made big money for him and his wealthy clients.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#274

Post by parthdesai »

falcolas wrote: post #187
parthdesai wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's $100/$200 a month depending on how many coffees you drink per day. That is 4-5 nice meals in a restaurant. It sure is significant for me.

If we stick with our "tech worker", in that month they have likely earned in excess of $12,000. Even at $200, that's around 2% of the exemplar employee's earnings. If $200 is a significant amount that you don't want to spend, that's completely fine. But it's also not that much when you look at it, even as a leisure purchase.

Lol, not every tech worker works in SF/NYC. I work in Toronto, make more than what an average family in Canada makes, and still am no where close to $12,000/month before tax, forget about after tax.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#275

Post by test6554 »

csomar wrote: post #261

Sure. How about saving up that $5 coffee until you die. Then you can enjoy your millions in your grave-yard. I'm close to turning 30 and one thing I learned: There are certain experiences you only enjoy when you are at a particular age. You can't go hiking when you are 75. You'll probably be sitting on a chair. You can't also go drinking and dancing in some cities around the world and coming back to your hotel room w…

I have no problem with people who subscribe to the YOLO philosophy, as long as they never complain of wealth inequality later in life.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#276

Post by dublidu »

ultrasaurus wrote: post #96
ineedasername wrote: post #46

If part of your audience consists of people living without much a safety net, that $5 a day adds up. Also, the author's point that saving that much isn't going to be $1 million, but "only" as much as $500,000 then that point rather falls flat. Sure, inflation may decrease the utility of that amount of money, but it will also increase the cost of that latte, so you'll be saving more than just the $5 over time. Finally…

I agree wholeheartedly. I expect much of her audience is carrying credit card debt at 25% -- if you can change your subconscious habits to save $1000/year you stand a much better chance of getting back above water. Redo the calculations from a perspective of 20%+ interest, occasional late fees, the impact on your credit score & your mental health, and now skipping a latte makes a lot more sense.

If someone already took out student loans, car loans, credit card debt, etc, then cutting out the latte (or cable or nail salon or whatever) is something that’s totally in their control and allows them to stop the compound interest on their debt. Of course they should try to find a better paying job, of course it sucks that it’s hard to get a better job, but latte is something you can do TODAY and doesn’t require a lot of effort.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#277

Post by asdfasgasdgasdg »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #270
asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's arguing against the people saying "Your daily coffee habit is costing you a million dollars!" It's saying that is nonsense. Hopefully nobody is saying that. A $5 daily habit costs $20-30k per decade, after you factor in reasonably anticipated investment gains. No more no less. Viewpoints about what an ideal world would look like, or one's right to make such purchases, or whatever else, have zero impact on the…

From the article: It’s a cliché that refuses to die: personal finance guru Suzy Orman warned investors last week that if you “waste money on coffee, it’s like ‘peeing $1 million down the drain.’” That's apparently the reason the article was written -- to rebut that claim in specific.

Fair enough. It looks like Suze really believes a latte will add up to $1M. She's a blowhard, and wrong -- although I think it's fair to say it'll cost well over $100k over that period, which is not insignificant.

Most people who say to skip the $5 a day latte understand that that alone isn't going to make you rich. Instead, the point is to engage in good spending habits, the sum of which will make you at least substantially wealthier than you would be otherwise. The fact that Suze took it literally does not mean the advice needs dismantling. Quite the opposite.

That being said, I do think it's kind of interesting that this guy is writing about don't buy a latte. Buy as many lattes as you want, as long as you don't hire his firm. They'll hit you up for 1% of your AUM under $2M, which is going to hurt a lot more than lattes for anybody who still gives any thought to the price of one.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#279

Post by mrfusion »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #240
jimbokun wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The article isn't advocating that you buy a coffee every single day." That is EXACTLY what the article is advocating, very explicitly. Your case sounds very different than the "$5 latte a day habit", which is probably just someone standing in line in the morning, grabbing their coffee and absent-mindedly sipping it as they walk to the office. You got an hour of shelter and a comfortable place to sit in a nice enviro…

From the article: Let’s consider five reasons why you should occasionally treat yourself to a cup of Joe. It's arguing against the people saying "Your daily coffee habit is costing you a million dollars!" It's saying that is nonsense. That isn't the same thing as issuing the opposite edict that you, yes you , need to rush out and drink coffee every. single. day. Defending your right to make such purchases as you see…

I think he confused his whole point when he slipped the word “occasionally” in there. The rest of his argument is about a five dollar daily expense.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#280

Post by mrfusion »

Daily expenses are wierd.

Say your rent is 1000$ a month. That works out to 33$ a day. So if you spend $5 a day on coffee you’re spending 15% the amount of your rent in coffee.

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