Why you should “waste” money on $4 coffees

Lately I’ve been thinking about the hidden cost of saving money.

In other words, the consequences of being overly frugal.

My views have changed over the past 4 years and I wanted to share some insights that have served me well.

But first, lemme give you a bit of background on me:

I grew up lower class. I lived in a motorhome for a while, got used toys from the thrift store for Christmas, and my mom was always working. My clothes were from second-hand stores and ate the no-name brand of food.

Hell, I remember my mom’s boyfriend would sneak us into movie theatres instead of paying $10 for a ticket.

Was I in extreme poverty? Nah.

But subconsciously, I was trained to believe money was scarce.

This belief was reinforced my entire upbringing.

So, I worked, saved money, and lived frugally for the first few years of my adult life.

But over the past few years, as I surrounded myself around wealthier people, I realized the frugal mindset would keep me broke.

Lemme explain…

As you may or may not know, I go to coffee shops almost every single day.

I stand in line, have 30 seconds of banter with the barista, buy my $4 coffee (sometimes $5.51 latte OMG), sit at the table, and get to work.

Now, many finance accounts would run the numbers and say spending around $1200 on coffees every year is a waste of money. I mean, why would you when you can make it for 5 cents at home?

Spending $4/day is a waste of money, right?

And they’d be correct… IF value was only measured in dollars.

But it’s not.

There are hidden dividends to every purchase.

You see, when I go to coffee shops, I’m not buying $4 coffees…

I’m buying an environment that helps me focus. Which, in turn, makes me more money.

The coffee is just a bonus.

But there’s a bigger benefit. Every so often, you get lucky.

And no, I don’t mean when you get a girl’s number (although that’s cool too).

Sometimes, you get to talking with high-value people in business. The kinds of people making 100K+/month.

There are 2 times this happened to me.

One was a while ago and lead to us exchanging numbers at the cafe. That lead to us becoming friends and doing business together. We still talk regularly to this day.

The 2nd time happened the other day.

We recognized each other from a mutual friend that briefly introduced us about a week ago. So, we got to chatting.

Turns out, he’s an owner of a big brand and asked about my ghostwriting business.

After talking, he ended up referring me to another guy that’s pretty big in the business world with a huge follower.

Now I have a call set up with him in a couple weeks.

So, I could’ve listened to these finance gurus, stayed at home, brewed my own coffee, and saved $1200 a year. But I would have missed out on making these connections and business deals.

Now, think about the compounding effects.

These people have other high-value connections in their network. So when I do a kickass job and deliver value to them, guess who they’re gonna refer their friends to when they need a ghostwriter or brand consultant?

That, my friends, is why I “waste” $4 on coffee.

But it’s not limited to coffee shops…

Sure, a $10/month gym may be cheap, but think about the people who go to a $400/month gym.

Yes, the equipment is usually better, but they’re not paying for that. They’re paying for access to a network of high-value people.

The $400/month membership is a filter.

Think about it… who are the people who can afford that? People making good money.

And people making good money tend to be high value.

That’s the point I’m trying to get across. There are hidden dividends to everything. So, next time you look at a price, don’t base your decision solely on price. Think bigger.

Will that item save you time?

Will those clothes increase your confidence?

Will that membership get you access to high-value people?

Stop viewing money as scarce. Look at the potential value. Money is a tool for you to derive value.

But, that’s my rant for today. I hope it serves you well.

Your Canadian friend,

Dakota “broke boi” Robertson