The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

5$ v 50 cents

Anything related to matters of the mind

RichieG

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
67%
Sep 27, 2018
97
65
What gives you more motivation? ( I have used coffee but it can be used for anything homemade v service driven )

Some billionaires will give different answers. Some kings of debt living will also give different answers. What do fastlaners think?

Question: Going to Starbucks whenever you want and spending $5 on a cup of coffee or making your own cup of coffee for 50 cents?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,079
169,498
Utah
I don't understand the question. People with real businesses and real visions aren't fretting about how they get their coffee.

Its like asking, "Hey, what gives you more motivation, waking up in the morning on your back? Or your side?"
 

Lionhearted

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
266%
May 29, 2012
289
770
Killeen Texas
What gives you more motivation? ( I have used coffee but it can be used for anything homemade v service driven )

Some billionaires will give different answers. Some kings of debt living will also give different answers. What do fastlaners think?

Question: Going to Starbucks whenever you want and spending $5 on a cup of coffee or making your own cup of coffee for 50 cents?
If you are worried about spending $5 or 50 cents on a coffee, you have your head in the wrong place. If I was a billionaire why would I worry about the cost of a coffee? The TIME it takes me to make or get a coffee is what I would value. Your TIME is the real currency. If I was a billionaire I would have one my servants either go get me one or make me one. BTW I make my own coffee because #1 I like it. #2 It's quick and easy and my TIME is the most important consideration. When I can afford servants they will do it for me. All the best.
 

AllenCrawley

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
420%
Oct 13, 2011
4,112
17,270
52
Scottsdale, AZ
Huh?




Ask better questions.






It's better for humanity.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Harbourmaster

If it is to be, it's up to me.
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
281%
Mar 2, 2017
120
337
Canada
What gives you more motivation? ( I have used coffee but it can be used for anything homemade v service driven )

Some billionaires will give different answers. Some kings of debt living will also give different answers. What do fastlaners think?

Question: Going to Starbucks whenever you want and spending $5 on a cup of coffee or making your own cup of coffee for 50 cents?

Hey @RichieG I can see you’ve only been a member of the forum for a couple weeks. Welcome. Highly, highly, HIGHLY (did I say highly?) recommend you pick up both the books by MJ and start reading ASAP. It will give you a solid baseline of the types of things we all talk about around here. Also, they will help you on your mission to financial freedom.
 

ZCP

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
336%
Oct 22, 2010
3,952
13,267
Woodstock, GA
Money is a by product. Changing lives and providing value to the world is my motivation.

In answer to your first question, not enough info to determine what gives me more motivation.
If your actual question is 'would i buy from the store (it costs more) vs make myself (costs less)?' ...... I'm with @Lionhearted , time is the motivating factor if for me.
If for my businesses, then same value at lower cost is motivating.

Great lesson in what @AllenCrawley is saying .... ask better questions!
 

minivanman

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
265%
Mar 16, 2017
1,722
4,562
54
DFW
Although I have no idea why, but I think this person is asking this..... would you rather spend $5 on an item at a shop or .50c at home and save the $4.50. Doesn't have to be coffee. Or maybe even, would you rather spend $5 on a piece of chocolate at the chocolate store or buy a piece of .50c candy from a convenience store. Not sure what the question is getting at though.... just to be clear, I'll take the $5 piece of candy. Well thanks.... now I'm going to have to go to the chocolate store this weekend damn it!! :mad::rage::playful::smile:
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

RichieG

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
67%
Sep 27, 2018
97
65
The point I was trying to make was some very very rich people still to this very day watch the pennies. They seem to base this on value. If coffee costs 75 cents to make in Starbucks i'm not paying $5 dollars for it as it doesn't offer value.

Whilst some other people rich and poor buy what they need but don't focus on price - they just buy it.

If value isn't put on things would you pay $20 dollars for a coffee or $50 because a) I can afford it and b) i want it

Where is the limit? Surely motivation will dwindle and contentment will set in with a I will buy anything at any price.

Go back 15/20 years when coffee was served in a white plastic cup for 50 cents. Would you pay $5 dollars for that? Or does the nicely presented coffee make all the difference?

Aren't we being sucked in by clever marketing?
 

RichieG

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
67%
Sep 27, 2018
97
65
I don't understand the question. People with real businesses and real visions aren't fretting about how they get their coffee.

Its like asking, "Hey, what gives you more motivation, waking up in the morning on your back? Or your side?"

But at what point do you have a real business? When you don't notice the $5 for a coffee?

The price is irrelevant it was the value concept I was trying to get a take on.

Some very rich people get motivated and makes their day when they make a saving and save money and these are people with huge businesses who still make their own flask as they can't justify paying x for coffee.

Whilst some people love the image of buying $5 coffee and holding it in front of them like they are the most important person in the world

Each way motivates people.

Just wondered what the response on here was
 

Merging Left

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
185%
Jul 20, 2014
397
735
33
Your question isn't really clear. Motivation for what? Are you asking what motivates someone to pay for a good versus saving the money and doing it themselves?

I'd guess that for those with money, time is going to be the larger motivator. Is it worth your time to brew your own coffee (assuming it's identical to what you can buy)?

For those without, they simply may not have the luxury of being able to buy a $5 cup of coffee each morning, and so their financial position is the primary motivator.

That doesn't stop poor people from buying cigarettes, though. In that instance, addiction is the motivator. Same for alcohol and caffeine, among other things.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Merging Left

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
185%
Jul 20, 2014
397
735
33
But at what point do you have a real business? When you don't notice the $5 for a coffee?
Having a "real business" is not defined by whether you can afford coffee, or a Ferrari, or a second home. That's how you might define wealth.

Have a "real business" is going to be defined as having set up a system that allows you to generate income without a direct involvement of your time.
 

RichieG

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
67%
Sep 27, 2018
97
65
but there are billionaires out there who make their own coffee flask, drive older cars, cut coupons etc to save more money

not saying its right - just seeing what people thought and used coffee as an example
 

AllenCrawley

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
420%
Oct 13, 2011
4,112
17,270
52
Scottsdale, AZ
I make my own coffee. Not because I’m saving pennies but because I make it better than any coffee you can buy elsewhere.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

minivanman

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
265%
Mar 16, 2017
1,722
4,562
54
DFW
I don't get sucked in by any marketing. I never pay attention to anything any company does for advertising. I'm a guy that can't be talked in to buying anything if I really didn't want it to start with.

As for being cheap.... I do think about this myself. I can only speak for me.... I don't know why, for example, I will buy a little bit cheaper pair of jeans ($30 instead of $37) yet the next day spend $1700 on racing. Or, I will NOT buy a $1.50 candy bar in a convenience store yet I'll pay $5 or $10 for a small piece of candy at a candy store and I'll buy 5 of them and like a little hungry kid I will eat them before we get to the car. I have no clue why I do it. I know a very famous, now retired, Nascar driver that will do the same thing. The weird thing is that when I see him do it, I think to myself how odd he is but if I do it... it's ok. lol
 

rollerskates

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
269%
Jan 10, 2017
391
1,053
Texas
It's not really a matter of just buying what you want when you want, ask all the bankrupt athletes, rappers, and lottery winners how that works out for people who buy on a whim. A big part of having money and keeping it is knowing the value of it. To me, a $5 coffee is a better value than a $1 TV dinner. And no matter how much or how little money I had, I would never buy a $1 TV dinner.
 

ShamanKing

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
140%
Aug 30, 2018
382
534
California
What gives you more motivation? ( I have used coffee but it can be used for anything homemade v service driven )

Some billionaires will give different answers. Some kings of debt living will also give different answers. What do fastlaners think?

Question: Going to Starbucks whenever you want and spending $5 on a cup of coffee or making your own cup of coffee for 50 cents?

"Sure you can skip spending $5.00 a day at Starbucks for the next 5 years, which is $10,000. But if you think $10,000 is going to make you rich, you are not just being cheap, you are also stupid" - GC
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

ryanbleau

Silver Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
224%
Jun 22, 2014
284
637
41
Scottsdale , Az
It's the same logic the leads people to reuse paper towels, collect condiments from fast food joints and flip their underwear inside out and rotate so they get 4 days out of one pair. Live life, eat the good food and drink the better liquor. And for god sakes change your underwear every day.
 

Fox

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
Forum Sponsor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
690%
Aug 19, 2015
3,881
26,766
Europe
Some very rich people get motivated and makes their day when they make a saving and save money and these are people with huge businesses who still make their own flask as they can't justify paying x for coffee.

It seems like you are looking at these things to get a winning edge to help improve your chances of success. But you are 100% focusing on the wrong stuff.

Plenty of broke people make their own coffee.
Plenty of rich people do too.
Plenty of broke people buy expensive coffee.
Plenty of rich people do too.

Do you know what poor people don't have - a business that is bringing in a ton of cash on a steady basis that is built on solid Fastlane principles. That is where you should be directing this same focus.

Some rich people count pennies and others spend it as fast as they make it - but there are no lessons on how to MAKE money watching how people SPEND money. Unless it's your target audience.
 

MTEE1985

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
425%
Jun 12, 2018
685
2,914
Arizona
I debated responding to this but come on a quick journey with me.

We begin here: 85.6M MEGAYACHT CAKEWALK - SOLD! - News

Keep in mind this is 85m, so about a 250 foot mega yacht. One day this yacht is off the coast of Florida and one of the crew members asks a young lady how her morning is going, she says “it’s good, I just really miss my morning Starbucks” the crew then proceeds to take a helicopter to land, get Starbucks for everybody and come back.

This is a true story, told to me by the original owner of the yacht. He did not nor have I ever met a person with a 8, 9 or 10 figure net worth who clips coupons or gives a damn about the price of coffee.

That Starbucks run cost in the thousands of dollars. I cannot stress enough that the point of this is not frivolous spending, it’s that when you reach a certain point you get coffee whenever and however you please.

When you read Unscripted you will hear MJ touch upon this in the form of shopping at Whole Foods without caring if an item is on sale. He buys what he wants, when he wants it. Period.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:

Process

Silver Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
224%
Jul 19, 2017
273
611
Solving Pain
I'd be more motivated to sell coffee for $5 that takes less than $.50 to make at a crowded location. Culling the fluff and scaling that model would be even more motivating.
 

Lionhearted

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
266%
May 29, 2012
289
770
Killeen Texas
but there are billionaires out there who make their own coffee flask, drive older cars, cut coupons etc to save more money

not saying its right - just seeing what people thought and used coffee as an example
The only billionaire who I know who drove an old truck was Sam Walton and he only did it for show because he understood sales. He never wanted to look like he had billions because people would see that and jack up the prices of the products he wanted. He also would not allow his buyers to take a single thing from a sales rep as he understood the law of reciprocity. He hid his fleet of private jets from sight. But he had them.
Mark Cuban is another billionaire that touts this kind of "look after the pennies the dollars will take care of themselves" crap but if you look at his lifestyle you see that is "do as I say not as I do". A guy who buys a gold-colored $90,000 bottle of Ace of Spades Champagne and spends $100,000.00 at a bar in four hours is not shopping at Walmart and making his own coffee. Study both of MJ's books and get your head straight. You can't save your way into prosperity. Thanks and start studying this stuff until it becomes ingrained in your brain.
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top