Thanks for checking out Ten Dollar Latte! I’m not a financial advisor, just a 27-year-old trying to afford life in NYC. I write about how I spend my money while enjoying a $10 latte.
My financial goals have evolved over the years. Some were crossed off because I accomplished them—open a 401K account, open a high yield savings account, afford to rent an apartment alone in NYC—and some were crossed off because I lost interest in them—buy an apartment. I was ecstatic when I found my first studio apartment alone, a Covid deal in the spring of 2021. I gave up on my dreams of buying an apartment after learning more about the high monthly maintenance fees and crazy co-op boards.
It’s normal for goals to evolve over time (and it’s not a failure to reevaluate and give up on one). Honestly, three of my four current goals are new in the past year. Some of my goals are about how I spend my money, and some of my goals are about how I make my money.
Also, some of these goals feel very out-of-reach right now (like, you’re going to think I’m in a much better financial situation than I am by reading them). And that’s okay. Goals I had in the past also felt out of reach at that time. I strongly believe that writing down goals, no matter how crazy, has the power to make them happen.
So here are my four latest financial goals, in no particular order:
Achieve barista FIRE (financial independence retire early)
I first learned about the FIRE movement years ago, and it never appealed to me. The FIRE movement is the idea of saving up so much money—typically $1,000,000+ by a younger age (any age below typical retirement), and retiring early on that sum of money. Of course, saving that amount of money so young comes with lots of sacrifice. Yes, I enjoy and value saving money, but I hate the idea of not spending any money, even on things I enjoy. I also don’t see a world where I’m not working, but I love the idea of not having to depend on a 9-5 job, which is how I found the barista FIRE movement. The idea of barista fire is to have enough money in savings that you can “retire early” but still need to make some amount of money each month, typically ~$1,000-2,000 through a part-time job.
Grow my party game business to 6 figures revenue/year
I started my small business about six months ago, and it’s now a 4 figure business. I’ve accomplished a lot I’m proud of but I’m still learning a ton on how to grow the business. This will be through a combination of increasing website sales and wholesale orders.
Monetize my newsletter
I started writing this newsletter four months ago, and I’m still learning what works and what doesn’t (and how to bring value to my subscribers)! But eventually, I would like to monetize this newsletter, either through sponsorships or paid subscriptions.
Buy a property outside the city to enjoy
While I’ve reevaluated the benefits (and costs!) of buying an apartment in New York, I would love to one day (emphasis on “one day”—this dream is very far away) buy a place outside the city to enjoy (and rent out for income). My ideal destination would be somewhere on a beach, accessible to New York City by Amtrak train, and in a walkable town...if this exists (in a somewhat affordable area), please let me know in the comments. I’ve always had the philosophy that the reason to make money is to share it, and I would love to have a place outside the city that I could invite family and friends to visit.
Share your long-term financial goals in the comments and save this post to check back in the future!
Trying Something New with Ten Dollar Latte
Do you have something financial you’ve been dwelling on and need guidance? Not what stocks to invest in—more like:
How much should I spend on my friend’s bachelorette?
Who should pay for the first date?
Can I afford to spend $2,000 in rent if I’m making $80,000 per year?
If you do, drop them in this form and I’ll discuss them in a future Ten Dollar Latte newsletter!
Thanks for reading! I post weekly about living in NYC, personal finance, and growing my small business. I also post a monthly reset on the 1st of each month sharing everything I spent money on the previous month and goals for the next month. My small business is called Sidetracks—it’s a collection of party card games I designed. Grab a game to make your next happy hour unforgettable.
Yesssss our financial goals change as we grow and learn more and discover what really makes us happy! We inherit so many ideas about what we “should” want from money and work and then have to unpack all that by living and building a relationship with money and work (and risk) that suits us and our lifestyle.
I am sharing in the dream of a place outside of nyc 🥲 we’ll get there one day!! I hear the north fork of long island is nice but not so walkable :/ if you find a place lmk I love having concrete visuals for dreaming