Coffee, food delivery, cigarettes, cab instead of metro — enter any daily habit and see the true cost over months, years and decades.
A ₹180 coffee feels insignificant. It's less than 0.01% of a monthly salary for most people. But habits compound just like investments — in the opposite direction. The same daily ₹180 becomes ₹65,700 per year. Over 10 years, that's ₹6.57 lakh spent on coffee — and if that money had been invested at 12% SIP returns, it would be worth over ₹12 lakh.
This isn't an argument to never spend on things you enjoy. It's an argument to spend consciously — knowing the true cost of a habit before you decide whether it's worth it to you.
The "latte factor" concept — popularised by David Bach — suggests that cutting small daily expenses and investing the savings leads to significant wealth over time. Critics argue that small cuts don't matter as much as earning more or making big financial decisions correctly.
Both are right. Cutting your daily coffee won't make you rich if you're not investing and growing your income. But awareness of the true cost of habits — which this calculator provides — changes how you evaluate spending decisions, which does change financial outcomes over time.
The question isn't "should I cut this habit?" The question is: "knowing the real cost, do I still think this is worth it?" That's a better question, and only you can answer it.