About 15 years ago I was in a bookstore and found a book called Start Late, Finish Rich by David Bach. I was intrigued by the title and description on the inside cover, so I bought the book. This book started my interest in personal finance.
I want to be clear, I am not a certified financial planner, a CPA, or an other licensed money manager. Over the last 15 years, however, I’ve spent a great deal of time learning more about personal finance.
How does all this impact the teaching profession? One of the best things we can do is make sure we take care of ourselves. If we are in a better place physically, emotionally, and mentally, we can take better care of our students. There have been a lot of conversations lately about teacher wellbeing. I’m glad to see those conversations starting but rarely see much talk about financial wellbeing for teachers.
There’s basically two main factors of personal finance: money coming in and going out. In Start Late, Finish Rich, David Bach talks about the latte factor. Let’s assume that you buy a latte (or whatever kind of coffee you drink in the morning) and it costs $5 for each cup. That’s $25 each week and $100 each month. All of a sudden, that latte starts to add up. If you forgo your daily coffee, you can find some extra money in your budget.
A CNBC published an article yesterday shares seven other ways to save money. They reminded me of latte-factor-style savings.
- Eating out
- Phone upgrades
- Clothing and apparel
- Lottery tickets
- Extended warranties
- Cable TV
- Impulse purchases.
If you take a look where you’re spending your money, there’s a good chance you will find a latte-like way to save. It might not seem like much at first, but those little savings add up over time.