In this era, countless people tell you: that those who only know how to save money have no future; those who know how to spend money will not have too bad luck.

But do you know that the money you casually spend in your daily life is enough to widen the gap between you and others?

There is a story:

A couple is accustomed to buying a cup of latte each when they go out every day. They feel it's a very pleasant thing to do and have never felt anything wrong with it. Until later, a financial analyst did some calculations for this couple:

The daily expense of two lattes is 10.77 USD, which is 3,930.77 USD a year, and 117,692.31 USD in 30 years with compound interest over time, the money saved from skipping daily lattes is enough for them to buy a good car.

This is called the "Latte Factor" effect. This term was first proposed by financial advisor David Bach, referring to the unnoticed scattered expenses in daily life, such as buying candy, bottled water, magazines, newspapers, and lattes, which can accumulate significantly over time.

The first step to avoid letting the "Latte Factor" make you poorer and poorer is to enforce savings.

Once, a couple argued because they didn't have money for New Year's goods. The wife blames her husband for spending too much on extra things, saying they would have money for the New Year if he saved.

To prove this point, the wife prepared a coin bank. Every time the husband bought a pack of extra things, she would put the equivalent amount of money into the coin bank.

When New Year's arrived, the wife poured out the money from the coin bank, and unexpectedly, it was a considerable sum. The family had a good New Year with that money.

From then on, the husband was determined to quit buying extra things, and the wife didn't put any more money into the coin bank. However, by the end of the year, they found out that they didn't have money for New Year's goods again.

The couple looked at each other puzzled: "It seems like we haven't been spending lavishly, why don't we have money for New Year's again?"

The reason why the couple didn't have money for New Year's goods again was simply because they stopped enforcing savings.

Many people's saving habits follow this formula: Income - Expenses = Savings. However, due to various invisible "Latte Factors," the actual savings often deviate from expectations.

So, enforcing savings changes the formula to Expenses = Income - Savings. Some say that all wealth is traceable, and everyone's poverty has clues.

We live in an era where consumer desires can be satisfied anytime. Reasonable consumption can reduce stress in life and work. However, unreasonable consumption habits will only lead you to lose yourself in materialism and lose control of your life.

Don't let this casual bad habit make you poorer and poorer.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg spends very little on material indulgence. He usually wears T-shirts and jeans. He enjoys going to the gym and hires a personal trainer for a hefty sum to build a strong physique.

Bill Gates drove an old car for many years, but he never missed an issue of The Economist. To understand the latest information from various industries, he subscribes to many magazines every year.

It is these rational consumptions that enhance self-improvement, which enables their wealth to accumulate continuously.

In the book "Investing in Yourself Boldly," it says, "To truly become wealthy, you must invest in yourself correctly, enhance your abilities and value."

Spending money on acquiring knowledge allows you to improve your cognition and have a broader mindset. Spending money on improving skills will give you more choices and better opportunities.

Investing in yourself is always a profitable business.

Only when one has a long-term perspective and learns to consume rationally can one bid farewell to a poor mindset and achieve lifelong beneficial growth.