As clients of ours will know, when creating your financial plan we need to assess how you currently spend your money, often there is a gap between what is stated and what happens. This is what I (and many others) call spending creep and I usually suggest that this is what all those trips to coffee houses actually cost. Unless some fairly tough decisions need to be taken, I rarely suggest that we alter “spending creep” we assume that it is indeed spent money, rather than treat it as identifiable and therefore able to be saved and put into your financial bucket or plan (as some are prone to do). Spending creep is part of life and a budget should be something that allocates money, not counts every bean. Well it turns out that perhaps not terribly helpful to your wealth, all those coffees are perhaps helpful to your health. The LA Times report that drinking coffee might improve your life expectancy. Now I’m not an expert so I couldn’t tell you if this is actually true. I have to admit to holding a great many suspicions about the links between research, business and media particularly in the US. However, if it is an accurate assessment, then perhaps coffee drinking is a new form of investment in your future… but of course living longer may bring other issues – for instance being able to afford to live or have additional need for care, which has a significant price tag.

For those of you that work and grab a coffee on the way, I wonder if you have thought about how much your spending on coffee typically is each week? I have failed to notice any good hot drink sell for less than £2 and I invariably find myself parting with something closer to £5…. I’m a sucker for the blueberry muffins. Any visitor to Paris, Venice, Florence or Rome will also be aware of the high price of a the black nectar. Well say that’s 5 days a week and something like 46 weeks a year.. around £1,150 a year… which is why I bought a decent coffee machine for the office (which clients like too). Whilst I cannot grab the coffee on a platform (or near one) my pod coffee machine is not even a tenth of the expense. “Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves”. So apart from being a nice pick-me-up, if coffee is also a wake up call to longevity, make sure your financial planning ensures you have enough beans until the end!

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