We are constantly told that if we stop buying avocado toast and lattes, we will become millionaires. Financial advisor Jessica Bloom calls this the "Penny-Pinching Paradox." In "Stop Saving Pennies," she argues that the personal finance industry shames consumers for small joys to distract them from the real structural issues: stagnant wages and exploding housing costs. Bloom demonstrates mathematically that skipping a $5 coffee daily saves $1,800 a year—negligible when a down payment on a house is $100,000. She advocates for "Big Win" finance: focusing energy on negotiating salary, minimizing investment fees, and choosing the right car and housing situation. The book is a permission slip to buy the coffee. Bloom teaches "Conscious Spending"—cutting ruthlessly on things you don't care about so you can spend extravagantly on things you do. It shifts the focus from scarcity (coupon clipping) to growth (earning power).