Every morning started with a trip to the Starbucks coffee shop.
It didn’t matter whether it was convenient and on the way to our destination, or if it took us twenty minutes in the wrong direction. It was non-negotiable. Starbucks would be the first stop of each day.
And so it goes, even when on vacation with my now-adult children. Perhaps it’s my own fault. I’ve always enjoyed my morning coffee. When the kids were little, I can remember saying things like, “No opening the Christmas presents until I have my cup of coffee,” or “We can’t leave until my coffee is ready.” So, in a way, spending my vacation starting each morning following Google Maps to the Starbucks near me was my payback. Airline flights and family photo appointments be damned!
There are worse ways to start a morning, for sure. Somehow, it makes me feel young when I walk through the doors … like I’m one of those young hipsters who sit wearing beanie hats and Birkenstock sandals—with socks—typing away on their laptops. The problem is, after drinking a venti, nonfat, pumpkin spice latte with no whip, I spend the afternoon regretting it! Especially if I rushed out the door without my pocket filled with Tums and Gas-X!
Besides that, I can’t afford it. We’ve all heard of the “Starbucks Equation.” My friend Krista writes about it in her book The Boss Lady Investor: You Don’t Need a D!*K to Understand Money. It’s a funny title for a great book that will teach you how to take charge of your finances. I recently sent a copy to my daughter. A short synopsis of the equation advises against spending $7 a day on coffee. Over a year, that money really adds up! If you put the money in a Roth IRA at age twenty, by the time you are in your fifties you’ll have a nice little pot of money for retirement. These are Krista’s words of advice. Now that I’m halfway through my fifties, stressing and counting the days I have left to amass my pot of money for retirement, I’m wishing I had the book years ago. But I pretty much know I wouldn’t have read it then.
Here’s another lesson I’m learning as a newbie empty nester—most advice is not welcomed. My kids don’t want to hear this advice … not from me anyway … at least not right away. And I get it. We all went through the stage when we thought our parents were as dull and dumb as shoe leather. I’ve found this is true across the board, and not just for adult children. Most people really don’t want to hear advice; they just want to be listened to. Since that’s true for me, I’m not sure why it surprised me that my kids would be the same.
To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, “Youth is wasted on the young.” So, I’ll keep sending great books of advice and wait with my suddenly brilliant parents for my children to welcome it.
In the meantime, I’m happy drinking gas station coffee.