“Would you like that whip or no whip? Non-fat or soy? Tall, grande, or venti?” Your answer should depend on the size of your metabolism and your wallet, but if that was the way most Americans shopped, our country would be a lot less obese and not nearly as deep in debt.

For those of us in the latte generation, these questions have become an integral part of our culture… and a gradual source of strain on the pocketbook, so gradual that many of us don’t realize where all our money has gone until we see “Starbucks” listed multiple times on our monthly statement. $3.25 for a coffee may not seem like much, but when you multiply that by a couple beverages a day and add that up over the course of a week and a month, our Starbucks expenditures become substantial. The same goes for any temptation’getting your nails done, buying music or books, seeing movies… You know where you tend to rather be a sucker.

By introducing the Starbucks Card, the company hoped to make it easier for people to get that Frappachino without feeling like they were going over budget… and have they ever succeeded. After all, the money is already on the card, so why not spend it and spend it, right? It acts like a debit card, so you never have to worry about overspending. And when you run out, it’s so easy to hand over your credit card and load another $20. Did I mention that you can “save more money” by getting a Starbucks credit card which can serve as both a universal VISA and as a debit card at Starbucks? Now you can earn Duetto dollars with every purchase outside Starbucks and use that money towards your next latte. It’s all about customer service, right? As they say on their website: “A coffee break on a Card: A Starbucks Card is the easiest way for you – or someone you know – to enjoy Starbucks. How can we help you today?”

So you want to still enjoy your coffee or other little self-indulgence, but not hand your entire paycheck over to a Fortune 500 company? No problem. I take a different view on how to use what I like to call the “latte card.” Just follow these easy steps that work for me:

As long as you use your Starbucks card to your advantage and not the company’s, you will have a fatter wallet and a slimmer waistline! My own Starbucks spending has decreased maybe two-fold. I keep thinking, “Mmm, I only have ‘x’ dollars on this card. Maybe I’ll hold off this time.” And I keep passing up Starbucks!

On Aridni, we encourage our readers to work for themselves since this is generally the best means of aquiring independent wealth; however, we also need to remain cognizant of the trials and challenges that face the self employed in our society including the burdens of paying one’s own health insurance and life insurance premiums, having no guaranteed source of retirement, and coping with the unpredictablility of each month’s income. Among the most fortunate entreprenerurs, these costs are not an issue, but for those of us who are just starting our own businesses or are experiencing a drop in revenue as a result of the economy, the above can mean the difference between being able to pay your bills or going into debt. That’s why saving and managing our resources is so important.

Take my dad for example. He has been an alternative health practitioner for 30+ years and is widely regarded as #1 in his field internationally. He used to earn over $200,000 a year, but after my mother died three years ago his business slowly started to dwindle and now is falling apart. As of last week, he had depleted the mere $30,000 in his savings account and now keeps saying that he doesn’t know how he will get through the month. Yes, he still earns over $100,000 a year, but after he has paid the mortgage, $500/month for each of three individual health insurance plans, car insurance for two vehicles, life insurance, disability insurance, homeowner’s insurance, $15,000/year for the rent of his office space, etc. there isn’t much left over to save or spend. How can people like my father avoid disaster? If you are an established business owner, I suggest that you make a list of all the costs you have each month and try to put aside enough funds to last you for a year. Do not dip into these savings unless you absolutely have to. You simply never know what may come down the road later on so it’s best to save while it’s easy to do so. In the event that you are just starting out, try to save enough for at least three month’s rent. This may mean not buying that Starbucks coffee you are craving or waiting a little while before taking a trip you planned, but trust me you will be glad you did.

Another thing to keep in mind if you are self employed is the amount of time you need to dedicate to maintaining your business (i.e. recruiting clients) and how much time you must devote to your current tasks at hand. This is where networking becomes cruical. One of my dad’s problems was that once he became “successful” he simply assumed he would always have the same level of clientel and did not devote enough energy to obtaining new patients. So when people stopped being able to see him due to their own financial woes, he did not have people to replace them. Now, he is starting to seriously network again for the first time since he started his business.

While the self employed don’t have to worry about “losing their jobs,” in many ways they have less financial security and less cash flow than those of us who hold conventional jobs. Although they don’t have to pay for the overhead of a personal business, they have more monthly costs to contend with and in today’s world it is becoming increasingly important for these individuals to save not only for their own retirement, but for unpredicted expenses. The CEO of a trade association who earns $200,000 a year has significantly greater cash flow than someone like my dad who has to spend at least half of is income on overhead.

So if you are considering starting your own business, by all means go for it, but don’t forget to take into consideration the obstacles you will inevitably encounter as you start out.

If like many Aridni readers, you are saving every extra dollar for your next investment and are striving to make money work for you, there are lots of reasons to vote Democrat the next time you go to the polls. Sure, Republicans swear by lower taxes and fiscal responsibility, but who cares how well they can “eliminate wasteful spending” when our president can’t even balance the budget (which his Democratic predecessor left at a surplus) and average people like you and me are emptying our wallets so that the wealthiest 2% of the population can get tax relief while the middle class pays for it? Unless you are part of that 2%, you won’t save any money by voting Republican except maybe a little bit in income tax if you’re lucky.

Republicans love to say that they will “cut frivilous spending,” but what does that mean for you and me? It means they are going to cut back on essential social programs like Medicare and Medicaid to make their tax cuts possible and create “responsible alternatives” such as tax-free Health Savings Accounts to make those cuts appear fair and reasonable. In reality, only those who are already economically solvent can afford to put this money away and don’t need to save it to begin with. People who are living pay check to pay check cannot take advantage of these policies in a way that improves their standard of living.

Would you rather pay a little more in taxes or be able to afford health insurance As of this writing, approximately 45 million Americans do not have health insurance due to a Darwinistic culture in Washington that lobbies for the survival of the fittest or the wealthiest. The people who are getting these tax cuts don’t need health insurance anyway so why let them save their tax money while you’re struggling to get by?

Even for people who are part of the top 2% of the population, the tradeoff of lower taxes is a breakdown in city services including trash pick-up, snow plowing, and recycling; more crime on the streets due to fewer police officers; less money spent on mental health services for would-be-criminals which means your tax dollars are being used to keep these people alive in jail; bad roads which can result in expensive repairs on your car, and less environmental regulations which translates into an unhealthy, polluted planet for all of us. Irresponsible cuts are no better than irresponsible spending because budget cuts end up hurting all members of our society, especially the most vulnerable citizens. As MA Democratic gubenatorial candidate Deval Patrick describes the damage done by the tax cuts of the Republican Romney-Healey administration, “Our local communities have been left on their own, abandoned to carry most of the burden for the essential services our citizens need and deserve.” *Patrick also recognizes that lowering income taxes will simply result in a rise in property taxes, making it harder for many members of the middle and working classes to afford their homes.

So next time you go to the polls, remember to vote for the party that represents all of us, not just the top 2%. Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish by voting for short term gains at the expense of long term losses in your pocket book and quality of life.

*For more information, please visit: www.DevalPatrick.com

How can we achieve the American Dream if we fall prey to American commercialism which is addictive and consumer-based? Whether it’s junk food, drugs (including cigarettes and alcohol), money, politics, body weight… we are all subject to mass commericalism which convinces us that we simply cannot be happy if we don’t have a particular product that will change our life for the better. Because taxes are so low here compared to our trans-Atlantic counterparts, Americans can afford to buy these products in bulk which means we need to work harder to reduce the impulse to buy. If you are struggling to find a balance between these perpendicular forces in our society, it’s time to take a lesson from the people of Europe and Canada who have much higher taxes than we do and as a result, tend to be more penny wise.

According to a savy friend of mine who has lived in Canada, France, Great Britain, and the U.S.A., people in the first three nations think twice before spending double or triple the amount Americans spend on gasoline, depending on the country. Yes, that is quite expensive, but in exchange for their tax dollars, these countries offer free universal health care and subsidized higher education to all their citizens which gives those governments an incentive to take care of their people- much more so than here. After all, if you are paying for someone’s health care and education, you want to make sure they have a healthy, productive lifestyle so that they can give back to the country in the form of their tax dollars. In Sweeden, there is a 25% sales tax and 50% income tax. Amazing, yes?

People in these countries are more careful about spending money on food and are therefore less obese than Americans and on average have fewer health problems. The tax on cigarettes is much higher than in the U.S. and as a result smokers have a financial as well as a health incentive to quit. In essence, smokers pay for the cost of their chemotherapy through the tax on each pack. European countries make it harder for people to impulsively buy products without thinking twice about the impact on their wallets.

I’m not suggesting that you pack your suitcase and move to France (although that would be nice), but the next time you go shopping, try to put yourself in a European frame of mind. If that product was 25% more expensive would you still buy it? If so, then you probably need it, but if the answer is no, put your credit card back in your wallet where it belongs!