Did My $50,000 Starbucks Habit Ruin My Retirement Plan?

WASHINGTON - JULY 2: Starbucks' new iced coffee and tea beverages are displayed during a promotion July 2, 2003 outside a Starbucks coffee shop at Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. Starbucks introduced a new line of iced tea, coffee and tea lemonade drinks to their customers to cool down in the summer. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images).

It all started sixteen years and $50,000 ago. I needed an excuse to get my infant daughter to sleep and couldn’t admit complete failure by driving around aimlessly.

So I strapped her into the car seat, hopped in the SUV, and hit the Starbucks drive-thru. I'm a new mom — who doesn't need caffeine? And if she falls asleep...