Savings Calculator Feeling Really Good about Being Kinda Cheap When financial gurus scold us into saving more money, we resist because they sound so puritanical. "Your daily latte habit is costing you thousands!" they screech. "Repent, you effete, luxury loving twit!" Who needs that? So instead of "giving up" why not consider just "cutting back"? For instance, you might skip three lattes per week - say on Monday (which is too grim for a latte to do any good), Tuesday (still too grim), and Wednesday (it's only Hump Day, why bother?) - and then splurge on Thursday and Friday. This calculator lets you see how much of a difference cutting back can make over time. It's initialized for skipping three $4.00 lattes per week, investing the savings, and doing that for 20 years. Skip spending $ , times per week

, times per week Invest the savings at % interest

% interest Keep that up for years.

Results The moral: cheapness in moderation pays off big. Transportation is another obvious area for potential savings. If you drive to work, then maybe you could carpool or use public transportation four days a week and only drive in on Fridays. (Driving a car should be fun, not sad.) Even better, if it's physically possible for you to telecommute, then maybe you can make that happen. There's no logic in hauling your carcass across town, and then parking it in front of a computer that's just like the one you already have at home. You could be saving money and frustration, and saving the environment all at the same time - a rare win-win-win solution. The future is bright for the intelligently frugal.