The World’s Greatest Bargain

One of my friends buys a $7 latte every day. When I say every day, I mean every day. During the week, it's usually in the morning. On the weekends, it's either late morning or early afternoon. When she talks about her $7 lattes, her face lights up. She can go on and on and on about her lattes and how much value they add to her life.

Sounds pretty odd, eh? Yeah, I'd have to agree with you. Super weird. Except she's not actually talking about lattes. Sure, she does get a $7 latte every day, but it's not really about the latte. For her, it's about far more than a shot of espresso, milk, and syrup. To her, it's a ritual that signifies the blessing of another day to live. It's the relationships she's built with the staff and other customers. It's spending time in an environment that's uplifting and life-giving. It's finding the little joys in life, and then leaning hard into them. It's spending time with people she cares about and sharing her journey with them. It's meeting strangers and making new friends. It's showing generosity to others through simple acts of kindness.

Money is never about money…..it’s always about something bigger. To this woman, she's not buying a coffee. She's investing in something deeper. Yeah, it adds up to a relatively large expense each month. But if you were to ask her (which I have), she'd tell you her coffee ritual is the world's greatest bargain.

This isn't me advocating for everyone to go buy $7 lattes every day. Far from it. Rather, I'm advocating that we find the little joys in life and lean as hard into them as my friend leans into hers. I'm advocating that we look past the surface level of simply exchanging money for a product. I'm advocating that we focus on the meaning, not the money.

My friend is joyfully and confidently living out an important principle when it comes to life and money. She understands it at a deep level. The irony is that most people look at her and silently judge her as being irresponsible, superficial, and short-sighted. I don't think she cares, though. She's just living her best and most meaningful life.

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