Fitness & Finances

When you look at the world of finances and fitness you see a lot of similarities. Let’s take a look at what they have in common and see what finances can teach us about fitness.

One of the first things you need to be successful in your finances is a budget. You have to account for what money is coming in and what money is going out. You need to save for an emergency fund. You have to be smart with your money.

Now, you have to apply the same principles in finance to fitness. What does your fitness budget look like? Most people don’t even have a plan of how they will stay fit.  They are just going through life just hoping somehow they will stay fit. It’s like spending all your money on payday and hoping you win the lotto. The chances are slim to none. It’s when we don’t have a plan, or deviate from it, that we end some place we don’t want to be.

• You have to track your spending just as you do your eating habits.

• If you want to get out of debt, you have to be aggressive.  If you want to get fit, you have to be aggressive.

• You can get in debt a lot faster than you can get out of it.  In fitness, you can eat a whole pizza in a lot less time than it takes to work off all those calories.

• Your children will learn your spending habits, good or bad. What good or bad fitness habits are you passing on to your children?

• “I want it now”, this phrase will cause you to buy stuff you can’t afford and eat things your body doesn’t need.

• Filing for bankruptcy may erase your debt, but not your bad spending habits.  Surgery may change your look, but not your bad eating habits. In both cases most people end up having the same problem because they don’t learn how to fix it.

• You can work years to get out of debt and ruin it all with a month of bad spending. It’s also true in fitness that years can be ruined in months. Stick to the plan. You’re either moving forward or backwards; there is no neutral.

If you want to be successful in fitness or finances it just doesn’t happen by chance. You need a plan and you need to stick to it. I’m not a financial expert; for that I recommend Dave Ramsey. But if you need help with your fitness budget, I’ll be glad to help. Remember EAT, MOVE, REST!