Your book is terrific. They should teach it as a required course in high school!

My latte factor was a real latte. Ten years ago, the building in which I work added an espresso bar. I was enjoying my latte every weekday morning. On one of those mornings, latte in hand, I walked across the street to my credit union to deposit a gift check. It occurred to me that my deposit would have been a few dollars more had I not bought the latte that day – and $50 a month more if I skipped the latte every day. I went home that night and consulted my amortization book. (Today I would use my computer!) What a shock to learn what my latte was REALLY costing me! The choice was mine: A latte a day or pay off my mortgage SIX YEARS early by putting the $50 a month on the loan principal.

Since then, I’ve had fun with a “what if” scenario. Such as, What if I did NOT buy this $5 item? Do I REALLY need it? If I didn’t buy it – and instead saved or invested the $5 – how much would it be worth in five years? Ten years? Twenty? If I buy the item, will I even have it five years down the road?

Your book is the perfect gift for high school grads, college grads and newlyweds!