Living The Dream Math

 

You have dreams. If you’re reading this and not following them, I’ll chance that finances are (among the things) holding you back. You may not think you have the cash. For some of you, this is a reality. For others, it’s a perception.

 

From the time I was ready to follow my dreams and to this day, I’ve crossed paths with sour faced people who declare that “it must be nice to have the money”. I love hearing this from those who have no dependents and make more money than I ever did. Particularly if they have a drink in their hand.

 

How much is that drink worth?

 

*Prices are based on a Toronto, Ontario, Canada median at time of writing.

 

Let’s say you go out one night a week and have three beers.  Your drink costs somewhere in the range of $6.00 USD.

 

3 beers ($18.00) x 52 weeks = $936.00

 

How many people do I know who spend $18.00 on drinks each time they go out? Few.

 

6 beers ($36.00) x 52 weeks = $1,872.00

 

How about that coffee? Do you hit Starbucks or an equivalent every work day? Every single day? Let’s say you spend somewhere in the range of $5.00 USD on a coffee or sugary creamy derivative of. I know there are plenty of you who spend more.

 

Working days are based on the Canadian system of two hundred fifty working days per year less ten days paid vacation.

 

1 coffee ($5.00) x 240 working days = $1,200.00

 

1 coffee ($5.00) x 365 days = $1,825.00

 

You don’t drink beer or coffee or the numbers just don’t apply to your life? Change them. Do the math. Replace beer and coffee with other things you do spend your money on that you could survive without. Add more to the list. How about whatever it is you smoke? Driving to work when you can take the bus? Manicures? Games? How many days a week do you eat at restaurants? Take-out?

 

At time of writing:

 

The cost of one roundtrip plane ticket from Toronto, Canada to Bangkok, Thailand. Days of travel are Tuesday, February 5 (Tuesdays are often cheaper days to fly) leaving from Toronto and returning to Toronto Tuesday, April 9.

 

$1,356.00

 

Okay, so you’re thinking, so what, it’ll take me XXX number of years to save for what I really want to do. Alright, but how long have you been holding on to your dream? What if you had started saving then? Let’s start from today.

 

*We’re not even going to worry about inflation or interest rates if you contribute to high earning fiancial products during this period….

 

1 coffee ($5.00) x 240 working days x 5 years = $6,000.00

 

1 coffee ($5.00) x 365 days x 5 years = $9,125.00

 

I was generally living on somewhere between $500.00 – $1,000.00 on any given month in Thailand.

 

And that’s just coffee.