DDR

“Exercise is done against one’s wishes and maintained only because the alternative is worse” — George Sheehan

I’ve posted a few times about the parallel between staying healthy and financial wellness. When I recently visited my family in Ohio, I noticed yet another connection by watching how my sister encourages her daughter to make healthier choices. She’s on this kick about her eating and exercise… she’s only in kindergarten but you already can see the early effects of growing up in a Fast Food Nation.

Because of this, my sister has encouraged her to drink water instead of sugary fruit juices or soft drinks and she also bought her the dance pad video game called Dance Dance Revolution as an alternative to sitting on the couch playing video games.

You can tell I’m not a parent because the only reason I knew about DDR was from the frolicsome date scene between the flirtatious lesbian & straight woman characters in “Imagine Me & You“. This was their version of dancing and it later led up to their first kiss. It’s a chick flick for lesbians especially if you’ve ever had a crush on a straight woman. Who hasn’t, right?

Okay… before I stray too much here, I’ll get back on topic with the similarities between health and finances. I think it’s great that my sister is “tricking” her kid into being more active by pushing DDR instead of a passive PlayStation game. The same “tricks” apply to saving money.

Barbara O’Neill a professor at Rutgers provides a list of twelve similarities between the health and personal finance problems experienced by many people. She mentions such things as “Problems generally start small” and “Less stigma than before”… ten others follow here that make a lot of sense about our behaviors with food and money.

She also continues on about motivational action steps or “tricks” that offer parallel strategies for success. I picked a few to highlight:

Meet yourself halfway ” “People can lose weight and still eat favorite foods by decreasing their portion sizes by half. A comparable financial example is reduced spending on “discretionary” expenses such as meals eaten away from home and lottery tickets. In other words, not cutting out these items completely but spending less than before. This strategy of “finding” money to save by reducing small expenses has been referred to as “The Lattà © Factor” (Bach 2004).”

Downsize and economize ” “Strategies for eating less include ordering lunch portions and appetizers at restaurants, instead of entrees, or taking food home for another meal, which also saves money. Household spending can also be reduced.”

Say “no” to super-sizing ” “This strategy applies to all types of purchases. No matter how much of a “better deal” upgrading a food’s size appears, encourage learners to steer clear of “meal deals” and order smaller portions. Ditto for non-food spending such as “buy three and save,” when you only need one item. Offers that require people to spend more to save more should be scrutinized carefully.”

Track current habits ” “Most people don’t know how many calories they consume daily or how many dollars they spend monthly on “incidentals.” One of the best ways to increase awareness of current practices is to provide learners with tools to record foods eaten and/or dollars spent for a typical month or two. With this data collected, they can then look for evidence of habits that need changing and relationships between eating, spending, and emotions.”

Just do whatever it takes to get yourself off the couch: moving and saving. Find your own DDR.