I love rules. In fact, the more restrictive the guidelines, the better.
It’s not that I like someone telling me no. But I just love trying to find a way around restrictions. Every time someone tells me how I’m not supposed to be able to do that, I always respond with “please tell me which rules I’ve broken”.
This time though, I don’t think I’ve just stretched a rule of the personal finance world, because I actually broke one. Not only did I buy a cup of latte, I kept buying them for the past few weeks.
Am I screwed?
I’m not sure how you would answer, but I have a sneaky suspicion that I won’t be. Yes, there are those who saved millions with an below average salary, but for everyone of those people, there are thousands more who reached their millions through a much higher income. While savings is important, generating income is still critical.
So the question you should be asking is – how do you earn more money?
This time, I won’t be giving you any suggestions (I bet you were expecting a few of the usuals right?) because you should be the one thinking about this. You don’t need someone telling you want to do, just like rules exists to be interpreted and adapted to YOUR liking. You have your unique situation, and it’s uber important for YOU to figure things out. What should you do? You should answer that yourself.
Oh and while we are at it, here are a few reasons why coffee daily will never amount to a million dollars.
- Returns – In order to get over a million dollars with your coffee fund, you have to drink a coffee costing $5 every day for 42 years, plus invest that amount and receive a 10% interest rate. Is 10% per year, every year actually realistic?
- It’s $3, not $5 – I forgot to mention that my latte cost $2.45, not $5. Opps. I just cut my latte retirement fund in half.
- Taxes – Most investments requires you to pay taxes along the way, which SEVERELY cuts into the outcome.
- Every day, Really? – Does anyone seriously have the discipline to go out and buy a cup of coffee every day for 40+ years? A few lost days per month and you aren’t getting that million.
- If you don’t get coffee, you will probably get something else – There were times when I seriously stressed myself out because I kept trying to keep myself from buying a cup of coffee. With the added tension, I bet I ate more, and wanted to buy other things just a bit more too. In one pocket and out the other.
- Go Make Some Money – Hey, a cup of coffee is $2.45. Try to find something that will make you $3 a day instead. I guarantee that you will be happier, and you can keep the extra.
Here’s a suggestion – Add this to your To-Do list tonight. “I will find three ways to increase my income”.