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Who would’ve known that all this time we have been pouring caffeine-laced devil’s brew down our throats every morning?! If you’re not aware that the latte factor is the reason that we have poor people in the world, and are most likely the major cause of the growing income gap, increased student debt, and foreclosures, then you haven’t been reading many personal finance blogs lately. Seriously though people, what did poor lattes ever do to you? Why choose to single out that frivolous expense as opposed to our other frivolous expenses? I mean, how many people consume sodas, cigarettes, French fries, booze etc. on a daily basis, yet somehow lattes get to become the whipping boy? They are so hated they even get their own trending title of the “The Latte Factor” to make it all dark and mysterious? Now I must admit, I too have succumbed to the “my site needs a coffee article before it is complete” syndrome myself. It is a useful figure for showing how compounded savings can work. The Latte Factor Prophet HimselfIn case you actually have a social life and don’t read many personal finance blogs, the latte factor is an idea generally accredited to David Bach. It shows just how effective daily saving and investment can be. By taking the cost of an over-priced cup of coffee (seriously, why do these scenarios always use like the Starbucks mocha-frappa-double-choc-frothalicious that costs more than a happy meal) and showing how much money you can garner when the black magic of compound investment returns is applied to it, every personal finance blogger in the world believes they have found the path to true happiness. A sort of financial nirvana if you will. The articles usually forget to deduct what the coffee, cream, sugar etc. would have cost at home, and they usually assume extremely high investment returns, but yes, let’s all agree that cutting back on the coffee could help us out to the tune of a couple hundred grand when we are 103. Sweet. A Venial Sin At Worst The bottom line is that this is a tough strategy to enact because it advocates an extremely frugal position. People like a small creature comfort, and if a little coffee (by the way, in Canada we have this magic place called Tim Hortons – it’s kind of a cultural icon – and I get a great double-double there for like $1.50, you should try it sometime) prevents someone from going crazy in this insane world they live in, then hey, let ‘em have it. The key is to limit the luxuries we spend money on to a level that we are comfortable with and have made a conscious choice to spend beforehand. If you figure that you can spend $100 on “token luxuries” in a given two-week stretch, and you don’t smoke, rarely drink, and hate fast food, then knock yourself out and enjoy the caffeinated heaven that is calling your name. Everyone has different priorities, so to just casually send someone to frugal purgatory because they like a good cup of java makes little sense to me. As long as people are aware of the long-term sacrifice of the occasional cup of coffee (and how could they not be with the staggering amount of anti-coffee propaganda pouring out of keyboards everywhere), then who are we to tell them no? As financially-enlightened individuals we often give people a free ride, or a mild rebuke for driving luxury vehicles, investing in mutual funds that have ridiculous MERs, or spending money on gifts that will likely be underappreciated anyway. Yet we feel the need to fill the blogosphere with more coffee-bashing articles than there are hipsters in a downtown Starbucks. Come on guys and gals… we can be better, we must be better. Baristas of the world rejoice, hold your coffee up high and say, “I will staff write one post about the evil bean and it will pay for a week’s worth of my sinful ways.” What are your thoughts on the latte factor? Photo credit: @Doug88888 By Mrs. SPF
 Diaper duty © by mhofstrand Before lil’ SPF arrived I started researching diapers. I knew that I wanted us to use cloth diapers but had no idea what kind to buy. It turns out that there are many, many different kinds of cloth diapers to choose from. We have now been using cloth diapers for over 3 months and so far we are really happy about using them. What follows are my thoughts on why cloth is more sustainable, not only for the planet but also for your pocketbook – the reasons why we use cloth diapers. Why use Cloth Diapers vs. Disposable Diapers The first choice to be made when it comes to diapers is whether or not to go cloth or disposable. I really wanted to go cloth mostly because of how much waste disposable diapers produce (we used disposables at my in-laws at Christmas and filled a grocery bag in two days with soiled diapers!). According to wired.com “Diapers made up 3.4 million tons of waste, or 2.1 percent of U.S. garbage, in landfills in 1998 — the last year this information was collected, according to the Environmental Protection Agency”. A LOT of waste. Disposable Diaper Information In addition to all the waste that disposable diapers produce, most big brand disposable diapers have a lot of stuff added to them which I am not particularly fond of nor do I want touching lil SPF’s bum. Most of the top brands of disposable diapers are made with chlorine, latex, fragrance and petroleum based lotions as well as a gel that has been linked to skin irritations and respiratory problems. Diapers are made with all these additives so they that they are super absorbent and keep baby dry for 12 hours! In reality, baby is not dry but rather the additives in the diapers pull the moisture away from the skin but the diaper is still soiled. Continue reading Why Use Cloth Diapers? By Guest If you are single, or have a smaller family of just two or three people, you may often find yourself having to cook many small meals, or single cooking. But have you ever considered the many benefits of batch cooking and saving the leftovers for later? If you prepare more food than you would normally eat for the current meal you will be rewarded with tasty healthy lunches for the next day or, if frozen, a hassle free meal at a later time. And by simply doubling or tripling what you would normally cook you will save money, resources, and time. Don’t believe it is worth the hassle? Read on! Save Money with Batch CookingBy preparing extra food when you cook you will save money. For starters, you can use the ‘leftovers’ for your lunch the next day, which is much cheaper (and healthier) than getting fast food, take out, or going to a restaurant for lunch. By preparing extra food you are more likely to take advantage of bulk food specials… buying a single chicken breast can be expensive whereas buying a four-pack can be cheaper per ounce, for instance. Finally, by cooking larger amounts of food at once you can use up entire pieces or containers of certain ingredients, especially produce, meaning you are less likely to have expensive food waste (I have recently read that many North American households have as much as $500 in food waste each year) when you accidentally forget about that half a tomato or partial jar of sauce in the fridge! Save Resources Cooking in BatchesPreparing food in bulk is a great way to energy resources such as gas, electricity, and water. You will save gas by only making one trip to the store to buy ingredients. Additionally, if you are able to buy larger quantities of food you are also saving resources in the food’s packaging and the transportation to get it to your local grocer. When you cook one large meal instead of several small ones, you will save electricity or gas since you only have to heat up your range or oven one time to cook the meals. And by preparing several meals at once you are only washing your dirty pots and pans once, rather than multiple times. Every little bit helps when you are trying to live a greener life! Save Time (and Sanity) with Batch CookingWe each have a limited number of minutes in each day. By cooking two or more meals at once, you are able to better conserve your time and allocate those extra minutes to other tasks that need done. Let’s face it, most of us are stressed enough with our other real life responsibilities that anything we can do to save some time will also save our sanity! Do you enjoy leftovers? Have you discovered any additional benefits to preparing extra food to save for later? What objections do you have to saving your extra food for future meals? I want to hear your thoughts on batch cooking! This guest post was submitted by Denise @ The Single Saver. The Single Saver offers money saving tips for singles and small families. By Nelson Smith  Image via Wikipedia I don’t know if you guys have ever heard about this, but there are certain small costs that, over time, tend to add up. I know, this is the first I’m hearing about it too. For instance, if you buy a latte at the local Tim Horton’s of Starbucks, you’re shelling out like 3 bucks a trip. If you do that just 3 days a week, that’s close to $10 a week, which is over $500 per year. Boom, I just figured out why you’re struggling financially. Cut out the lattes, silly. In case you couldn’t tell, most of that first paragraph was sarcastic. By now, most of us have figured out that recurring small expenses have a way of adding up over time. And yet, every time I go into Starbucks, the place is still relatively busy. Either people just don’t care, or they’ve found other areas to cut out of their budget so they can afford a nice coffee sometimes. As much as I’ve read about the latte factor, I’ve read next to nothing about cutting out another drink that’s overpriced, habit forming and can affect your behavior as well. Yes guys, I’m talking about that favorite elixir that makes all ladies attractive to us, alcohol. Continue reading Like The Latte Factor. Only Better. | |
