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The point is to focus on the big wins. Save $1000 next time your buy a car and that covers almost a year of $5 lattes every weekday morning. If you overpay on

The point is to focus on the big wins. Save $1000 next time your buy a car and that covers almost a year of $5 lattes every weekday morning. If you overpay on your next car, or negotiate badly on your next job offer, the money you saved by not buying lattes was all for nothing. In other words, major financial decisions vastly outweigh the impact of a daily $5 purchase, so why focus on the small stuff? Yet much financial advice is about the small stuff, and this author is saying that's not a good approach.

hopler 8y ago
You know what's cooler than saving $1000 every 7 years on a car purchase? Saving $8000 every 7 years on a car purchase and lattes.
puranjay 8y ago
Why not do both? Save $1000 in coffee and another $2000 in car purchases. It's not like having an expensive cup of coffee has been an intrinsic part of human life forever. It's not even a 50 year old phenomenon. There are certain things you should treat yourself on, but a cup of coffee is too insignificant a hill to die on. Especially since I'm not sure how many people buy lattes everyday because they truly love lattes, and not because it is an extremely well marketed product.
- spenczar5 8y ago
  You are getting caught in the specific, and losing perspective on the argument. It's not that coffee is specifically valuable. It's that large fixed costs are more important than small, frequent discretionary spending.
  - puranjay 8y ago
    The point applies to expenses other than coffee. You don't need most of the things you buy. America as such buys too much stuff. The first time I went to America, I was shocked to see how "full" every house was. Just packed to the brim with odd knick knacks that no one uses. The kitchen gadget industry is the perfect example.
sisu2019 8y ago
this is an example of a poverty mindset: spend the future today and then hope that some windfall will make up for it. Sure, this can work, it might also fail spectacularly.

hopler 8y ago

You know what's cooler than saving $1000 every 7 years on a car purchase? Saving $8000 every 7 years on a car purchase and lattes.

puranjay 8y ago

Why not do both? Save $1000 in coffee and another $2000 in car purchases. It's not like having an expensive cup of coffee has been an intrinsic part of human life forever. It's not even a 50 year old phenomenon. There are certain things you should treat yourself on, but a cup of coffee is too insignificant a hill to die on. Especially since I'm not sure how many people buy lattes everyday because they truly love lattes, and not because it is an extremely well marketed product.

spenczar5 8y ago
You are getting caught in the specific, and losing perspective on the argument. It's not that coffee is specifically valuable. It's that large fixed costs are more important than small, frequent discretionary spending.
- puranjay 8y ago
  The point applies to expenses other than coffee. You don't need most of the things you buy. America as such buys too much stuff. The first time I went to America, I was shocked to see how "full" every house was. Just packed to the brim with odd knick knacks that no one uses. The kitchen gadget industry is the perfect example.

sisu2019 8y ago

this is an example of a poverty mindset: spend the future today and then hope that some windfall will make up for it. Sure, this can work, it might also fail spectacularly.