5 Reasons You Should Buy Your Latte

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How you people turn everything into a political argument blows me away - they are talking about lattes, not politics. Why don't all you liberals and conservatives, tea partiers and commies go have a latte and take a chill pill then go put your comments on a site that is actually related to politics?

Daisy of GA 12:13PM October 06, 2010

By minimizing avoidable daily expenses I have amassed a lot of savings. Much more than $50000 in less than 10 years.

xm of AZ 9:30AM October 05, 2010

You blame globalization on Reagan. It was Clinton who signed NAFTA opening the door for our manufacturing to go to Mexico.

travelinkd of MI 2:13PM October 02, 2010

Hey, maybe its news to you, but living in a capitalist system (the preferred term now seems to be "the free enterprise system" which does not sound as dog-eat-dog as "capitalism" but is actually worse) is the "american way of life". Only a "socialist" like me and the President would dare suggest such an invasion on our way of life, the Constitution and the TEa Party wingnuts/patriots. Corporations will manufacture where they can make the most profit. That's the requirement of all good shareholders. Or get a new CEO. And that means going where the costs are lowest: salaries, bribes, regulatory requirements, taxes, etc. But you should know this by now as its been going with gusto for decades. Thanks Reagan and his economic voodoo formula for "globalization"....And nothing is going to change it. So, I suggest you either leave the U.S. and find youself a cheap place to live where you can get a subsistance level income. Or enjoy the fruits of unfettered american capitalism and its fruits.

jay of FL 5:34PM September 21, 2010

This is the most rediculous article of today. Why would I spend 3 U.S. on a cofee when I can buy a Folgers large red for 7 U.S. and make great tasting coffee the Latte would be throwing money away and besides fighting the rat race to get to work in the morning in order to keep it in an orderly sequence takes total consentration and the most likely is a cofee machine at work. If you want to finacially stay enslaved then buy your latte and do not forget to buy your lunch too. in the end with all of the money you have wasted it could have been a down payment on a piece of real estate to make you financially independent. Amen

tom of CA 6:15PM September 19, 2010

All of you are missing the point: You can cut back all you want - all that will do is slow spending - and in a way by accident, follow the correct economic model of "If you want to consume, you must produce." - which is the point: this is about PRODUCTION in this country, about manufacturing, about building and making things that people here and around the globe want to buy! Instead of scrimping and saving in you current model of a lower standard of living, in your "race to the bottom" why aren't you demanding and screaming that we produce products here, manufactur good that people want to buy, thus creating jobs and RAISING our standard of living? All the idiots online ever talk about is cutting your expenses, cutting, cutting, cutting - how about DEMANDING the things be done to RAISE our standard of living in the U.S? Like telling American companies that if they want access to our consumer markets - if they want access to the greatest consumers in the world - then they MUST manufacture a certain percentage of their products here! (just like Germany does!) Until you address the real issues, you fools can keep cutting and cutting until you live in a cardboard box!

JP Rattie of CA 12:40PM September 17, 2010

If you really like coffee (latte is coffee-flavored milk) then invest in a decent coffee machine and grinder and maybe a way to roast you own coffee beans.
You can get a decent grinder and espresso machine for $600 and a roaster for $200 more. That's a lot of money, but if you replace your $3 store-bought coffee every morning, you'll pay for it in only one year. And you'll have one less stop on the way to wherever. And every year after that (all this stuff will last ten years) is gravy. And the coffee will probably be better.
If you roast your own bulk-purchased beans, you can make excellent espresso-based drinks for about ten cents a drink.

Steve P of ME 9:54AM September 17, 2010

Ick...coffee at 10 cents a cup? What on earth are you drinking my fellow poster? Real coffee is worth the price. Saving money is important but there is only so much money you can save. I've cut so many things and was raised with a "money is tight" mentality. But kids need braces, shoes, clothes, college....schools need supplies. Healthy food costs money. No way am I shopping for groceries once a month...that's incredibly unhealthy and those families aren't eating nutritious fruits and vegtables and whole grains.
In addition to this "trim expenses" mentality should be an equal focus on additional revenue to balance out the equation. If you make more, you have more to save. And I am not talking about selling your household stuff on ebay. Get additional education, certifications...etc.

Cindy of CA 12:00AM September 16, 2010

> If you spend $3 a day on coffee and if you could otherwise earn a 3 percent return on your money, then you could have just over $50,000 after 30 years.
That's a lot of IFs. I got over 100k that's making far less than 3% interest and inflation (increase in M3) is way the hell more than 3% annually. The only reason I'm getting like 1.5% is that it's all in equities. If I went for a savings account, CD, or money market account, I'd be lucky to get 0.5% interest.
0.5% interest is 0.3% after tax, and -5% after inflation. Oh, if only the fantasy number quoted by "what if"s financial articles were even close to modeling reality...

Dan of FL 1:17AM September 12, 2010

Caffeine? Coffee costs 10 cents if you make it yourself. Which office building doesn't have a coffee maker or coffee pot? I have never seen that. If they don't, bring your own mug, bring your own powder. Save the money. Spending $3/day is over 1000 a year. If you make $36,000 a year, that's almost 3% of your post tax income. That's a lot of money. On coffee? And it's true..who just buys coffee? Maybe you'll buy a scone, or a bagel, or something else that is over priced. The average ticket at Starbucks coffee per person is about $5.00. That's more like 1500-2000 a year. And 3 percent. Sure, the economy has been bad lately. So what? Historically the stock market has yielded 7% return and if you randomly buy stock or buy into a fund that mimics the stock market, you should be averaging between 4-7%, in a normal economy. Hold it for 30 years, and yes - it will be worth a significant chunk of change.
And it's a mentality. The "so-what" mentality. So what - it's just a coffee. So what - it's just a parking fee. No - don't pay the $8.00 to park. Walk 1/2 mile and save it. Get some exercise.
Liberals complain about exploitation from the "rich" but do they ever consider their lifestyle?
Atman

Atman Kadakia of CA 9:46PM September 08, 2010