Personal Finance: rant?

So I read a few personal finance blogs here and there. It's always been a topic that has interested me for some reason. Probably because it fits in beautifully with my somewhat scary attachment to all things Excel related.

Anyhow, I was catching up on some blog postings this morning and came across a post titled something like "Cut corners today and retire early and rich" or something like that. The gist of the article was that if you choose to pack your own lunch a few days a week, and take less trips to the local coffee shop, over time, you'll save a billion dollars.

The concept is true enough. But it's the execution of it that really matters. Let's say that you do decide to brown bag it to work a few days a week. And let's say that over a week you have "saved" $20 doing so. And let's say that you cut back on the americanos and lattes for that week, "saving" $10. For the week you have spent about $30 less that you spent the previous week. So you're up $30. In a month you're up $120.

Now if you're anything like the typical consumer, at the end of the month you peek at your bank statement and think, "Wow! Extra money! Let's go see a movie, honey! Or how about a new pair of shoes?"

There a big difference between 1) saving money and 2) not spending money. If you avoid the coffees and the dining out, but you do nothing with the money you didn't spend except for keep it around and spend it later on something else, then you haven't gained much.

The key to the article isn't "cut corners and save money" it's "cut corners, save money, and put your saved money to work." Pick a mutual fund to invest in. Put it in an ING account. Just don't put it in your change jar.

I don't know why this struck me this morning...how are you? Anything you want to rant about?