Wake up and smell the freshly brewed espresso — and then, if you’re so inclined, buy it or brew it. Not buying coffee won’t make you a millionaire, but making your morning coffee yourself could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime.
To combat the idea of forgoing lattes in the name of becoming a millionaire, Beth McMillan, a Ph.D. student in the computer science at the University of Oxford, decided to crunch the numbers: She found that, if instead of buying a latte, you invested 3 euros ($3.19 in U.S. dollars) for every day you bought a latte into an account that paid 6% interest for 50 years, you’d end up with 318,135.57 euros, or $337,942.69. Not bad, but not going to make you a millionaire any time soon.
“It bothers me that people widely share these tidbits without checking them first,” McMillan said in an email. “I don’t disagree with the message — it’s great to save money on small, everyday things, and it does add up quickly. However, people who become millionaires must also have a high income.” Rather than buy coffee when she’s out, she usually prefers to make hot beverages at home.
See: Drinking coffee may help you live longer, research shows
The idea sprung from David Bach’s book “The Automatic Millionaire,” which mentions “The Latte Factor.” He writes on his site, which includes a calculator for coffee and other purchases including cigarettes and ATM fees, that in order to finish rich you must look at the small expenses you have every day, and redirect that spending elsewhere.
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There are a few other ways to calculate the amount of money you could save from avoiding takeout coffee. To be conservative, say the cup of coffee was $5 and you bought one every workday (about 250 days per year), you’d be spending $1,250 for store-bought coffee every year, or $14,247.25 after 10 years, assuming a 4% investment yield, according to a calculator created by Hugh Chou, a system and network administrator at Washington University in St. Louis.
Almost half (45%) of the younger side of the millennial spectrum (18 to 23 years old) put more money toward coffee than retirement savings, a survey conducted for investing app Acorns found. About 35% of those ages 24 to 35 did the same.
Savings can certainly add up to make you a millionaire, or more, once you cut a few daily expenses. In terms of retirement, even saving a few dollars a month can help down the road — not only because of compound interest but because you’re building a sturdy habit. Other expenses to cut include cable bills, cigarettes, eating out at lunch, bottled water and salon services, according to FinFit, an employee financial wellness program based in Virginia Beach, Va.
Though you could save that amount of money, you don’t need to cut the coffee out of your routine if you’re one of the many coffee aficionados out there. Someone who makes coffee at home spends about $45 a year on the beverage, a Bustle article found, but you’re more likely to save serious money if you decrease higher bills and expenses, such as with your car or rent. Fighting for a higher wage also helps, McMillan added.
See also: Tom Brady says he’s never drunk coffee or eaten a strawberry
For those who don’t go near a stove or a coffee pot: If you do want to try making your coffee at home, there are plenty of ways to save: You can buy beans in bulk and then grind them yourself, to start, and find a coffee machine that works best for you. You can also try joining a coffee club, according to personal finance website Wise Bread, from which you receive coffee grounds and flavors once a month. If you insist on getting your coffee to go, bringing your own mug or becoming a rewards member could save you some cash, too.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/making-your-own-latte-every-morning-could-save-you-337942-2017-03-10