The latte factor, love it or hate it, gets a lot of press.

I’ve been thinking about it a little while I’ve been home this week, sniffling and coughing my brains out.

You see, I’ve been a major nail biter my whole life, but I’ve been doing much better this year. Then for some reason, between Friday and Sunday, I just totally obliterated my finger nails. Could it have been the incredible social stress of FinCon? Maybe the christening I attended on Sunday full of adorable little germ buckets known as my friends’ children… anyway.

My fingers were in my mouth constantly.

And, surprise, I now have a cold.

I’ve always thought that my propensity for colds was a combination of crappy immune system and constantly having my fingers in my mouth from biting them.

Not so shocking, this past year of mostly successful not nail biting has been the healthiest I can remember.

Could it be due to any one of a bazillion other things? Sure. But is it maybe also due to that small change? Also, sure.

The consequences of little things can build up.

Do I worry about a latte factor now? No.

Did I worry about losing $20-$100 a month a few years ago? Heck yes.

Also, exactly what constitutes “little” changes over time.

I try to look at my finances as a fairly well balanced scale.

If you’re one of the people who don’t have $400 saved to be able to cover an emergency, the latte factor could be a legit thing for you – whether or not it’s actually coffee.

And it also might not be, just like a cold. But it is worth exploring. If you cut back on a twice weekly $5 purchase, you’d have $40 at the end of the month.

The odds are pretty in your favor that 10 months from now, you’ll still be alive, so if you bank that $40 a month for 10 months, you’ve now crossed the first hurdle into some financial security.

And, according to Murphy’s law, the day after you hit $400, you will have a legitimate $400 emergency, so you may need to repeat the plan. Or just keep going and save up a slightly bigger emergency fund.

When you’re really cash strapped, the little things can make a difference because:

• A little extra money is genuinely felt.
• You’re stretching your frugal muscles and that’s never a bad thing.

I think another aspect here in the journey to getting our finances in order is that it usually starts with frugality for most of us because that’s 100% in our control (if you’re single – if you’re married, may the odds be ever in your favor).

For the majority of us, there are some quick wins in the frugal world with skipping lattes, no spend weeks, calling our utility providers and negotiating. These things can be legitimately empowering.

And that empowerment can also help us feel like we can handle a side hustle or asking for a raise or interviewing for a bigger job – things that can really start to make a big difference in your financial state.

And then with a little more wiggle room happening, you can look at the big expenses and see if you can do anything to minimize your debts, housing expenses and cars – since those are some pretty big ticket items.

The fact is that as much hate at the latte factor gets, it’s an okay starting point for those of us who feel we need to dip our toes into the water rather than just jumping into the deep end.

On that note, I’m going to go brew a nearly free cup of tea and collapse in front of Netflix for the rest of the day while I hack up some more phlegm and try to not bite my nails.