☕ The Drip Effect
It was never really about the coffee.
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💰 The Move
Why “Just Skip the Latte” Missed the Point
Financial author David Bach coined the term “the Latte Factor®” to make a simple point: small daily purchases add up to real money over time. It got twisted into finger-wagging about coffee — Bach himself later had to clarify he wasn't anti-latte, he was anti-autopilot.
💳 A widely cited consumer survey found people guess they spend about $86 a month on subscriptions, while their actual bank statements average closer to $219 — nearly triple what they think.
The lesson was never “stop enjoying things.” It's that anything small enough to feel unimportant is exactly the thing that never gets reviewed.
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☕ Find Your Own Drip
- Pull last month's full statement. Not your memory of it — the actual list of every recurring charge.
- Circle anything you forgot you had. That's the real leak, not your coffee order.
- Cancel or downgrade one thing today. Momentum matters more than picking the “biggest” one first.
- Redirect it, don't just delete it. Send the freed-up amount straight into savings so it doesn't quietly get replaced by something else.
👉 Try This Today
The latte was never the problem. The unopened statement is. ☕