Starbucks Oatmeal

*stands up and wrings hands in front of her

"Uh- um, hi. My name is Jennifer, and I-uh... I have a Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal problem."


Okay, so it's not really a huge problem of epic, global, or even intervention-style proportions. But as a financial advisor, I can assure you it reaks of 'The Latte Factor"... that woeful factor that I worked so diligently to reduce last year by weaning myself from Starbucks to Tim Hortons, and from Tim Hortons to the store-bought organic granola and plentiful (also, free) tea selection in the office.


Starbucks' dreamy 'Perfect Oatmeal' snuck past my Latte Factor Forcefield with it's jazz 'chase music' and coo-ing suggestions about Perfect Oatmeal being the Perfect way to get the warm fuzzies during the weather shift into fall.

Now, what's 'The Latte Factor," you ask?

David Bach coined and trademarked the phrase "Latte Factor". It is those small, day-to-day purchases that, when eliminated, can actually provide you with a significant, and somewhat surprising, sum of money. It really comes down to finding $5 a day that can be saved and invested.

There's even a nifty little 'Latte Factor Calculator' to play with here:
http://www.finishrich.com/free_resources/lattecalculator.php

At $3.75 three times a week, my Perfect Oatmeal habit- invested weekly- would generate about $643.50 over 1 year (with 10% ROR). Yikes!

But I'm a resourceful little thing (adorable, too, I might add...) so the buck doesn't stop there. You see, I took a few minutes to ask myself... what is it about Starbucks' Oatmeal that I like so much? I decided, it is much more filling than those little instant oatmeal packages... and I always worried about the sugar and sodium contents of them. Furthermore- the texture was different: glutinous, like oatmeal cooked on the stove top for 20 minutes or something. And yet... it was somehow ready in five minutes.

Bring on the research. I've learned that most instant oatmeals are made with rolled oats, which makes them (duh) flat and compact even with water added. However, there is an alternative, called Steel Cut oats. Apparently Steel Cut oats are not rolled- therefore retaining the original consistency of stove-cooked oats. And, it cooks in five minutes.

Hmmmm... sound familiar?

So, I vow to pick up a box of these Steel Cut Oats tonight and try them out this week. I can grab a bag of slivered almonds and some of that nice 'Golden' brown sugar. I'll let you guys know how it goes, at $0.75 ;)