Being cognizant of the small purchases in life and how they can lead to wasting substantial sums of money is important. However, to achieve meaningful wealth I don't believe the "latte factor" is ultimately going to move the needle.

The major purchases in life such as a car, home, and education have opportunity costs that are worth a lifetime of latte purchases. So while I respect the principles of the latte factor, I don't like the hyperbolic examples used by personal finance 'gurus' to draw attention to unrealistic examples.