Millionaires Make Their Own Coffee

When it comes to long-term successful outcomes, eliminating opportunity costs can lead to the greatest returns. In an article for RealClearMarkets, ProvenMediaSolutions founder Dustin Siggins showed how eliminating the purchase of a cup of coffee a day can lead today’s teenager to become a wealthy retiree.

Starting with a $3 cup of coffee that half of Millennials will purchase every day, Dustin calculated how that $1,100 yearly expense could instead turn into an $879,000 nest egg for retirement based on average stock market gains. As Dustin reasoned, the impact of locking in those dollars in a person’s 20s is magnified 64 times in 42 years, making these early investments the most critical over a lifetime.

Speaking of lifetimes, time itself is also a financial asset. Americans waste $4 billion in economic productivity just waiting in line for coffee; instead of spending 20 minutes per day as an investment in in career proficiency, health, or even gaining greater understanding of financial markets, people are waiting in line to spend more money on coffee than they could just by making it at home, reading the paper or spending time with family.

While every day presents choices, the small and seemingly meaningless decisions have a great potential for return when made consistently. At the end of the day, most millionaires and billionaires didn’t spend it waiting. Instead, they invested their one of their most valuable assets like they’ve done every day for most of their lives.

Read the full article here.