Now that the holidays are over, the number of divorcees looking for a rental house explodes. I thought it was just an interesting fluke last year when we were trying to rent out a larger property. This year, a property manager has confirmed that he finds more newly separated people looking for a new home than any other time of year.

How interesting since it’s also Valentine’s Day time, huh?

Valentine’s Day and personal finances make an interesting combination… a situation we haven’t figured out the best way to handle. Spend a fortune on stuff? Bypass the big spending? Put the money toward something “super sweet” like your hubby’s Roth or a new stock pick?

We’ve always downplayed this holiday at our house–usually because we’ve had a house to rent out! Now I’m contemplating all of the past articles on Aridni and wondering what the best solution is.

Jeffrey Strain at TheStreet.com pretty much sums up the reason most people don’t have wealth: it’s not because we don’t make enough money; it’s because we don’t treat money on a day-to-day basis very well. Check out the ten poor habits he’s narrowed down as our reasons for low wealth:

1. You Care What Your Neighbors Think: If you’re competing against them and their material possessions, you’re wasting your hard-earned money on toys to impress them instead of building your wealth.

2. You Aren’t Patient: Until the era of credit cards, it was difficult to spend more than you had. That is not the case today. If you have credit card debt because you couldn’t wait until you had enough money to purchase something in cash, you are making others wealthy while keeping yourself in debt.

3. You Have Bad Habits: Whether it’s smoking, drinking, gambling or some other bad habit, the habit is using up a lot of money that could go toward building wealth. Most people don’t realize that the cost of their bad habits extends far beyond the immediate cost. Take smoking, for example: It costs a lot more than the pack of cigarettes purchased. It also negatively affects your wealth in the form of higher insurance rates and decreased value of your home.

(for descriptions of the following, check out his complete article)

4. You Have No Goals
5. You Haven’t Prepared
6. You Try to Make a Quick Buck
7. You Rely on Others to Take Care of Your Money
8. You Invest in Things You Don’t Understand
9. You’re Financially Afraid
10. You Ignore Your Finances

“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!

If you’re always tapping at your budget and trying to find ways to cut expenses, you might want to check out The Simple Dollar’s recent article: Trimming the Fat: 40 Ways to Reduce Your Monthly Required Spending.

Trent has done an excellent job summarizing a lot of the things we think about but never act on in our budget… and he’s got a few more ideas. It’s worth a look.