Do you ever find yourself at the gym staring at someone who is completely jacked and wonder why you don’t look like that? Kind of depressing isn’t it? Well, you can take this one of two ways from how I look at it. You could slouch your shoulders, walk away is self-pity and leave the gym early. Or you could decide right then and there that you’re going to transform your life and proceed to get on the treadmill and run like the wind. Yup, the second one sounds better!
Now, you might be asking “why is this guy talking about fitness on a personal finance website?” That’s a good question for which I have an answer for! My hobby and one of my passions is bodybuilding. No, no, not that kind (I’d like to be able to run thank you very much). Finances and fitness are intertwined in numerous ways.
American culture doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on your personal fitness. But to be honest, it should be a priority. I mean, what’s the point of saving money for retirement, then finding out that all those twinkies were the cause of your stroke?! All kidding aside, it really should be your first investment with your time.
Fitness and finance go hand and hand. The parallels between the two are astonishing. Like I mentioned above, your mindset is the most critical element to success in both the fitness world and your personal investment decisions. Take a couch potato for example. Void of pride and discipline, the couch potato rots life away eating junk food, watching TV, and lives in denial. This parallels the American with thousands of dollars worth of credit card debt and zero savings. Without initiative, things are just going to get worse and worse. On the other hand, if you take an individual who is a doer, he or she conquers goals, reduces debt and saves for the future.
Don’t jump for the latest fad.
I like to use diet pills for this example. Those late night “extreme fat burning solutions” ads crack me up. I feel bad for people who buy into this non-sense. Slow, steady and repetitive wins the race! An ample amount of cardio and cutting down on calories is the tried and true solution! Yes, it’s really that simple. Finances are like this too! You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again from me: don’t chase returns or fall into the too good to be true stock pick, it never works out in the long run! If you’re saving for retirement, investing in “boring” choices like Roth-Ira’s and employer 401k plans are the best way to go and will always be that way. Wall Street is after your wallet and they will tell you what you want to hear, but will never tell you what’s in your best interest. There’s no magic cure, only discipline and diversifying your money.
With repetitive discipline, comes a time of frivolous cheating.
I’ll take myself for example. I eat mainly vegetables, meat, and natural carbohydrates like oatmeal. But time to time, I do feel my steering wheel telling to pull into McDonald’s. But here’s the thing, it’s OK to cheat a little bit! If you are working out regularly, that fast food splurge is going to do diddly squat to your personal fitness goals. This ties back into personal finances. You go out of your way to save money, invest a large amount of your income, and live a frugal lifestyle. To be honest, if you did JUST THAT your whole life, it would be pretty boring. This is where the splurging comes in. It’s totally OK to buy nice things. If you save up for it and it does not put you in debt or take your retirement accounts for a detour, go for it! If anything, it will keep you sane haha.
Keeping track of your progress is crucial.
It makes sense to keep a daily log of what you did at the gym. You should be constantly improving, no excuses. I make notes when I get home from my workouts and use Nike + to keep track of my running times and goals. If I didn’t keep track, where would I know where I stand? Oh, another great tool is the scale because it doesn’t lie! Tracking tools are necessary for physical fitness success. Tracking tools are necessary for your investments also. Even if you are saving for the long term, it’s important to keep track of successful funds and the losers. Looking at what is working and what isn’t, you should re-balance on a yearly basis for your goals. Tracking can also help you achieve goals as simple as saving for an emergency fund.
Yes, even saving on costs is applicable.
Who wants to overpay for their gym membership? When I relocate, I do a Google search of the local gyms and find a couple with the lowest prices. Then I find out without a joining fee. Personally, I think new member fees are ridiculous and a scam. If you are limited to gyms with new member fees, you can talk them out of charging you. This is similar to fees for index and mutual funds. You should NEVER pay high fees for your investments (most notably, load-mutual funds). Actively managed funds are bunk. Instead, manage your own investments, avoid the high fees and choose index and ETF funds.
In closing, treat exercise like an investment. Make it a priority just like you do with personal finances. Go ahead, treat your waistline AND your wallet with a treat this week, pack your lunch!
OMG, it all so true! Boring, slow, small steps, lots of will power, with occasional rewards. Changes in finance thinking, as well health thinking, need to be done as a life style.
It is just a matter of self esteem and positive out look. Before i weighed almost 200 lbs but i shed of and now i am 125 lbs. What i did is instead of getting envy, i was inspired every time i see those gorgeous women. Don’t get discouraged.
I’m with you on this one. Anyone who thinks they can change how they run their finances overnight it is crazy. I work out and much like with finances it takes time, patience and most importantly work. Great Post.
I’ve been meaning to clear out a room in my house and get my treadmill set up. I told myself today maybe I’ll do that tomorrow. I just wanted to tell you that you’ve changed that ‘maybe’ into a ‘definitely’
I always say “you can’t make money if you’re dead”…but I never actually do anything to improve my health. Thanks for that, Jon 
Very nice! I bet once you start seeing the results, no excuse will cut it anymore. I’m glad I helped you get to that point when you will work out now! Congrats and remember, the slow and steady win the race