Physically Healthy vs. Fiscally Fit
When I wrote 7 Secrets To Staying Slim, That Save You Money I really came to understand how one’s physical health has a parallel existence to being fiscally healthy.
Lose the Excess Weight – Just like excess weight puts an added burden on your joints and heart, so too does the excess stuff in the house; to keep it up in usable condition, to find a place to store it, to dust it, to forget you even have it. Eventually that adds a burden to your budget and to your psyche. Declutter and get some money in the process.
Gain Muscle – Through the process of gaining muscle you are losing weight and firming up your existing muscles that will help you later in life. The same is true in the financial gym, when you gain a savings, you also realize that getting rid of your debt will help you save even more. This savings bulk up will also help you later in life or through an emergency.
Develop Your Core – It is hard to gain muscle when your body’s core is weak and can’t bear under the weight. This means that you need to know what is coming in and where it is going. If you have that balance under control, then you will be able to handle the money you are putting away and increase or decrease it with a plan.
Go for the Gold – When you start to see that physique in the mirror that you have been dreaming about, you start to build a confidence that moves you to loftier goals. And with finances you will also find this to be true. You have found a way to train that will shape you into the image you long to see (with little tweaks here and there, no one is perfect!) and as your financial life grows, so will your ideas for retiring early, cutting back to one job, buying a half tone of gold or saving 1 million dollars for retirement.
So how do you do these things?
Lose the Excess Weight
Stop overspending – Cut up the cards. if you maxed them out, you can’t use them anyway.
Spend within your means – Moderation is key. Don’t let your eyes grab a hold of what your wallet can’t handle
Pay off debt – Put in a little extra. If it is rounding up your minimum from $37 to $40 a month or paying min on all cards except one.
Build some muscle
Improve your credit score – Since this is a new year, it is a good time to get your free reports at Annualcreditreport.com and take a look what needs to be fixed.
Improve your emergency fund – If you have nothing, get it to $100, $1,000 or save 3 months expenses worth
Start a 401K/IRA – Hide today’s money away for yourself in the future.
Develop Your Core
Differentiate Needs & Wants – Obviously you can’t have it all now, or you can, but there is a great debt to pay for it. This is where procrastinating is a good thing- when you spend money.
Understand Income/Outgoing – Sit down and work out a balance sheet, set up a budget, find ways to cut back so you can increase it in other, better areas.
Balance Value – Cheap isn’t always equal to value. Sometimes you have to delay in order to get a good value.
Go for the Gold
Save even more – If you have a robust 401k/IRA and savings, start expanding
Keep yourself Informed – Make sure you are keeping yourself informed, it is your money and under your control
Avoid scams – Don’t fall for get rich quick scams, keep your finances safe and secure
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Dawn C. is site owner of Frugalforlife.com where this is a repost from: Physically Healthy vs. Fiscally Healthy. Dawn is residing in Colorado with her spouse, Teri, of 11 years.
As someone who ascribes to HAES (Health at every Size), losing weight is not necessarily a reasonable goal. Adding activity and eating healthier- sure- I’ll buy that– but there really is no proven, long term successful weight loss regime. And before others start in on “eat less, exercise more” and stuff about bariatric surgery, I recommend checking out the website “Junkfood Science”, which explains better than I do about weight loss myths, health, and sizism.
People who are heavy have stronger bones. And people whose high BMI is due to high muscle (as opposed to fat) are actually at INCREASED risk of health problems, specifically heart problems. Those of us fatties who don’t diet (hard to find in this country, I know) have no increased risk of hypertension or heart disease. In fact, fat people without health problems (that’s the MAJORITY of the “obese” population, btw, despite alarmist news reports with headless fatties in the doctor’s office) INCREASE their risk of cancer, heart attack, and other health problems if they intentionally lose weight. And don’t start in on diabetes, because the improvements seen in people diagnosed with diabetes who start exercising and eating well happen even if the person only loses 2 pounds, while a person who loses a bunch of weight via liposuction doesn’t have any improvement. So it isn’t about weight. It’s hard to accept when we’ve been fed a fairy tale dream and bundle of stereotypes all our lives, but healthy bodies come in many shapes and sizes, and many people will remain fat even while living healthily – and fiscally fit. Please educate yourself. There are many books out there with the science behind this. Big Fat Lies. The Obesity Myth. And journal articles in major medical and epidemiological journals. A queer person should know better than to scapegoat fat people – and should understand how internalized prejudice can lead to acceptance of stereotypes even about oneself.