The Latte' Investment Plan

If you are a number-crunching accountant, I'm sorry but your search engine has betrayed you--you are about to get roasted here, so beware!

I was watching the Today show and a financial analyst came on and introduced a plan called The Latte' Plan for financial investment toward retirement.

Essentially, it says that if, instead of going to get a latte' every day, you put that money into a retirement account, it would add up to $100 per month. Then, using compounding interest, etc. you end up having enough to retire on in....I'm not sure, but it seemed like a long time.

KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY STARBUCKS, YOU CRAZY BEAN-COUNTER!!!!

Here's an alternative reality for me: Stop drinking coffee, in 2 weeks all systems crash, lose your job, and go work at Wal-Mart where you can guzzle cheap coffee in the breakroom for free.

Life isn't worth living without occasional pleasures that we allow ourselves, right?

I know it's a distillation to simplicity, and just an analogy to make you think, but on more than one occasion I've felt a twinge of guilt handing over $4 for a coffee. A lovely, huge, hot, chocolately-tasting mocha packed with calories and fat and laden with whipped cream. I don't wanna feel guilty, dammit!

Here are some alternative investment plans:

The "ramen-noodle-for-dinner-every-night" plan
The "live-in-a-card-board-box" plan
The "turn-off-your-AC" plan
The "don't-rent-movies" plan
The "clunker car" plan

Given enough analysis, I think every decision of your life can be proven to have an alternative that has a better result for the bottom line. Let me tell you, when we audit the books, kids seem like the worst investment ever! I mean, I could hardly sell them for half of what they cost so far!

Geeks are useful for some things, like deciphering tax laws--just look at them, though--don't let them tell you how to live.