Alan's 2 Cents - Coffee

I love coffee. However, unlike a lot of American's, I do not go to Starbucks or Caribou Coffee on a daily or weekly basis by any means. There is person in my immediate family (I won't name names) that might go once a week to indulge herself in a $4 - $5 foo foo drink, and I am sure she would love to go more frequently. Although, as the economy slows a bit and people have less expendable income, going out for coffee might not come as often.
I recently came across this website (http://www.finishrich.com/free_resources/fr_lattefactor.php) that goes into detail how much money you can save over a 40 year period. Although it might be a little extreme, you will get the point. Check it out…
The Latte Factor® is based on the simple idea that all you need to do to finish rich is to look at the small things you spend your money on every day and see whether you could redirect that spending to yourself. Putting aside as little as a few dollars a day for your future rather than spending it on little purchases such as lattes, fancy coffees, bottled water, fast food, cigarettes, magazines and so on, can really make a difference between accumulating wealth and living paycheck to paycheck.
We don't even realize how much we're actually spending on these little purchases. If we did think about it and change our habits just a little, we could actually change our destiny.
Still not convinced? Consider this:
$5 per day (the average cost of a latte and a muffin) x 7 days = $35 per week
$35/week = $150/month
$150 per month invested at a rate of 10% annual return =
1 year = $1,885
2 years = $3,967
5 years =$11,616
10 years = $30,727
15 years = $62,171
30 years = $339,073
40 years = $948,611