Youve got a secret. It may be a small one but its lurking there. It follows you around and you hardly even notice. How do I know? Because we all have one. We all have something that we hardly even think about because its become a regular habit.

What is it for you? A Medio Latte to give you that kick start every morning? Or a Grande Skinny Cappuccino for that extra zing in the late afternoon? How about that White Chocolate and Raspberry Muffin that you just have to have at eleven oclock? Or even a copy of the latest celebrity gossip magazine, a bar of chocolate or a pack of cigarettes. If you can find a small habit that youd be willing to change for the sake of your financial future then youre away. Lets call this your Cappuccino Factor.

How much do you spend each day on your Cappuccino Factor? Is it 3? Is it 5, 7, or even more? Whatever your figure is, it could make a huge difference to your financial lifestyle and your financial future. Try this little experiment. If youre good at maths you can do this on paper otherwise you might need a calculator. Take the amount of your daily Cappuccino Factor and multiply it by 6,214. This will give you the amount you would save at a 10% interest rate over 10 years if you stopped your Cappuccino Factor habit and invested it instead.

If you multiply your Cappuccino Factor by 23,034 then youll have the amount you could save in 20 years. You will immediately see how much better off you would be by simply cutting out one or two of these unnecessary luxuries.

If you could save 5 a day at 10% for 40 years, youd have 959,152. Imagine that, just under a million pounds. And think about the fact that it only takes a couple of Cappuccinos a day and youre wasting that much money over the same period. Thats a whole lot of coffee. Enough to retire on.

Now I know that youll already have a little bit of a challenge when you think about cutting out your daily treats. And you may initially start to feel that youll be depriving yourself. Sometimes it does feel a little bit uncomfortable to change, but if you start with something small, like this, that you can handle then you pave the way for making even bigger changes.

If you can put your mind to something as small and simple as forgoing an expensive cup of coffee each day then you start to break one habit and build another more positive one. This sends a message to your brain that says Im ready, willing and able to change. Then your subconscious mind will quickly decide to help you and youll find your willpower and determination begin to grow. All from this simple first act.

Do you really think it will make you feel any less special? Will it really make you feel any less loved? Will you be any less significant if you stop this one habit? Or have these things just become habits that dont even give you any real pleasure any more.

Make a decision today to cut down on your Cappuccino Factor and start saving the money that you would have spent. Calculate how much you will save in a month, a year or ten years and think about what you could do with that extra money. Look for the best rate of interest you can get using one of the online comparisons on the internet or look into the returns on managed funds. As you start to save more youll find better places to put your money, after all it gets a lot more interesting when youve actually got money to invest.

Its been shown that it takes 30 days to make a habit, so just start now and see how fast your money begins to grow. Then you can start building greater habits on top of this one.