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The Latte' Factor Works Even At Any Age: On Living Well

By: Rick London As a young adult, when I was finally able to afford, at least some of the things I wanted and/or needed, I became a big fan of frivolous spending. I had to have that new issue of Esquire, that personal trainer at the gym (not just the gym), an office in a better location, a more trendy breed of dog or cat, live in a nicer neighborhood, and, of course, later, "My morning Starbuck's". I "had arrived". The "American Dream" or at least for a short time it appeared that way. And what a letdown that was.

It seemed fun, at first, being a male version of Madonna's "Material Girl", but I was young, in my thirties and early forties, and was naive enough to believe that peer pressure at least ended after high school, and certainly after college. Not so. It became worse. If my friends bought a better house, I sure better call my Realtor immediately. They got a Lexus, time for a Mercedes. It all seemed like fun and games and, in fact that is all it was. We were simply male peacocks showing our feathers and attracting some pretty shallow female birds, as we were just as shallow.

Within twenty minutes, in 1994, everything I owned, except my now-used Mercedes was destroyed in the Northridge Earthquake. All my "goodies" as a material consumer was gone. And insurance didn't come close to covering my collectibles, antique furniture, family albums/videos, memorabilia from as far back as kindergarten, etc. I was left with my car, and a few boxes of clothes, and a one year old golden retriever puppy named Otis who saved my life (barked wildly before the earthquake), I thought to go out to do his business, but to alert me and guide me away from a house that was about to be destroyed within minutes.

A lot of water under the dam since those dark years, and I have learned something I never had before, and never thought I might learn. It is called "humility". Please do not confuse humility with sainthood, far from it. Rebuilding one's life from scratch midlife, after "having it all" teaches a few lessons, and, I am certain I am not unique in this situation. When I say "having it all'; I don't mean the Forbes 400. I mean I could afford what I needed and usually what I wanted as well. Times have changed since then.

Health was important to me, still is, and I had managed to keep a semblance of that...at least for the time being. But then my health deteriorated as well for a number of years. This was a motivating factor in my going back to college as an adult, and reading voraciously when not studying for my online classes. The library, used book stores, and Amazon.com and I became intimate.

Maybe the most fascinating book I read was not within the genre of books I usually consume. The book is titled "Start Late, Finish Rich" by David Bach. In it, he talks at length about something called "The Latte' Factor". Strange name I know, but it describes how the American consumer is taught from birth to consume all he/she can in this material world, that life is short, winner takes all, the one who dies with the most toys wins, etc. and more.

Then he calmly suggests ways to counteract that. Do we really need that magazine subscription, must we have a latte' and bagel each morning at Starbuck's. Do we have to even buy his own book if its available at the library. Must we have a car that is made to "show off" when a pre-owned Honda, Saturn, etc. does the trick. I have a wonderful eight year old 4-door Saturn now and it rides better than my old fancy German car ever did. Better gas and reliability as well.

If you do the math, dropping just the small non-necessities, that we don't need, or, in the case of coffee-chain madness, we can make coffee at home with flavored creamer for pennies and a bagel for a quarter, nix the magazines, etc. We are talking saving anywhere from $800-2000 or more a month. If that is put into an IRA, even if you are in in your forties or fifties, you can actually create wealth and live to enjoy it.

We still love to give gifts to our friends and loved ones. I, consider that an investment in love and sharing and caring, and recommend memorable personalized gifts that people see daily and enjoy and think of you often simply with a quick glance at the item.

He recommends losing the credit cards and paying as you go, cash, check and/or debit card. I began doing that, and noticed a huge difference in my extra cash at the end of the month. He says budgeting does not work. I know he is right from experience. Prudent spending over personal budgeting wins out at the end of the day.

Bach's book goes into more depth, but the bottom line is that The Latte' Factor need no longer be a part of our daily routine. Monitoring oneself, at first, is a bit boring, but one gains an extra sense of pride and self-satisfaction at the end of the month seeing a credit to one's investment portfolio rather than a debit. And we are happier and oh what an anxiety-reducer not to have those kinds of worries all the time.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

Cartoonist Rick London founded Londons Times Cartoons which critics call the Internet's funniest cartoons and LTSuperstore which sells award-winningFunny Gift items

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