Finance and Fat

My blogging pace has drastically slowed over the past month or so- it’s not that I don’t enjoy writing for the blog, I have just been trying to use my time more efficiently to earn money, get out of debt, and lose weight. I have spent more time doing freelance work, working on building a small side business, and I have read several books (list of the books below).

• The Richest Man in Babylon - Loved this book, it’s a definite must read
• The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class - Loved this one too, another must read
• The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich - Lots of good stuff mixed in with some worthless portions that should be skipped. Overall, I would still call this a must read as it has given me lots of great ideas and inspiration, but be prepared to skip some of it.
• The Millionaire Next Door - Excellent premise and some good basic information, though rather long winded and dull at times (would be perfect minus about 1/3 of the words).
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money–That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! - Not quite done with this one yet, but I love what I have read so far.

Look for more complete reviews on those books some day (obviously given my recent pace it probably won’t happen too soon).

I have been attempting to ‘unplug’ a bit from the media and Internet lately- skipping the news almost entirely, un-subscribing to email that piled up in my inbox for no good reason and being very selective about the blogs I read. I have found a lot of ‘extra’ time this way and my mind feels sharper than it has for a while.

One thing I have realized recently is that it can become easy to think you are doing something to solve your financial or weight problems (or whatever the current goal is) because you spend time writing about them (such as this blog) or spend time reading about them (see the 100 plus blogs in my RSS Reader). It’s not that those activities aren’t beneficial, but more time needs to be spent actually DOING something to solve these problems- hence my shift in attention to finding ways to earn extra money and spending more time exercising. I think it is especially easy for bloggers and avid blog readers to get caught in this trap (I know it was for me).

My advice is to take some time to think about what you are doing right now and ask yourself if it is moving you closer to the goals you want to reach or is it just making you feel like you are doing something when in reality you aren’t moving any closer- it’s an empowering question!

Start now. That is the best advice I can give for anything you want to change about your life. No matter what it is you want to do, take at least a few minutes today to do something that will get you started on your new plan.

I have lost 18 pounds since I started this blog in September. I still have plenty of pounds to lose, but I woke up feeling good this morning- I feel lighter and the same clothes that were a tight fit a few months ago are loose and will soon be too big. I would not feel this way today if I hadn’t made the effort back in September to start something. I started small, only trying to walk for 5-10 minutes  per day and limit my calorie intake, but that was what I needed to get the ball rolling and start building momentum.

Setting a goal to walk for only 5 minutes may seem somewhat small and meaningless, but if you are coming from walking 0 minutes per day, 5 minutes is a huge improvement. The point is, no matter what the situation or what your goal is, changing your life can start today and it can start with something small.

Choose something you know you can do. Don’t wake up one day after months of inactivity and decide that you will jog for 30 minutes and lift weights. That is not realistic! Diets can fail for many reasons, but I believe the problem with a diet is the difficulty of making massive changes overnight. You aren’t building new habits if you take that approach. You are trying to force yourself to behave in a new, uncomfortable way- the odds of success are very slim.

No matter what you want to change in your life, I encourage you to start it now. Take the time to write down your long-term goal (perhaps losing 60 pounds or paying off $25K of debt). Think about where you are now and think about what you can do now (or at least today). Choose something that you can take care of in 5-10 minutes. It could be something simple like walking down your street and back, making an extra payment on a credit card, starting a budget, or getting a how-to book at the library- whatever you can do today, in a short amount of time, that will start you down the path to reaching your long term goal.

Decide what you will do today, then do it today and repeat it tomorrow.

There will be setbacks, there will be days you fail to keep up the pace, but the point is to build new habits. After a few weeks have gone by you will find yourself with a new point of view and that long term goal will seem a little bit closer.
Start now!

*update* I think I left the door a bit too wide open for me on this issue. I just needed to remind myself why I don’t want another credit card.  The question is still a good one to ask, but I finally know that the answer is no for me.

My article on taking a look back at our first cash only Christmas was included in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted by We’re In Debt (great site by the way, I recommend subscribing if you don’t already). The ‘King of Debt‘ at We’re in Debt made an interesting comment on my article-

I would argue that they could have earned rewards using their credit cards, but cash only is just that, cash only with no possibility of spending more.

I don’t disagree with the comment but part of my get-out-of-debt plan is cutting up my credit cards and closing accounts as I pay them off so going out and getting a rewards credit card isn’t an option for me right now.

This topic really just brings us back to the old argument of what we are doing with PERSONAL finance and why we have to consider the emotional and non-mathematical parts of the equation. Looking strictly at the numbers, yes, you would be better off spending your money on a rewards credit card and paying off the balance early each month (never carrying a balance). That is true IF you have the discipline to pay off the balance on time AND the discipline to not spend more money because you are using your rewards credit card. Can you honestly say you are never tempted by your rewards points to buy a little more than you had planned before? Maybe you aren’t and if so, you are the person that should be using this strategy. If I am honest with myself, I know that I would be tempted to spend more money in order to earn the rewards. If I spend less money using cash (and debit cards) then that is how I need to pay for things until I develop better discipline with my spending.

Taking control of your personal finances really requires a focus on the human and emotional aspect of your money (we are starting with the assumption that your finances got out of control like mine). I can’t just look at the numbers, do a little math, and suddenly be out of debt. That is part of the process, but I have to understand what got me here. Honestly, I think I’m a shopaholic. I thought that seemed crazy at first, but after reading this great article by J.D. at Get Rich Slowly, I really think that is me. Like most men, I don’t get any joy out of going to the mall or shopping anywhere in general, but if I sit down at my laptop with a cup of coffee and visit Amazon.com, I could easily spend and spend some more without thinking about it. In fact, I did just that when I got my Amazon.com rewards credit card! Oh how I loved racking up those Amazon points- well, guess what? I couldn’t use that card wisely and it only took a few months for me to max it out. Is that stupid? Absolutely that is stupid. I am not trying to suggest that a rewards credit card is evil, but in the wrong hands it certainly is. No offense to anyone who has struggled with alcohol, but this is much the same situation- the bottle of beer in itself is not evil, but in the wrong hands it can do great damage.

I am not trying to argue with the comment regarding the benefits of rewards credit cards. If I didn’t make it clear, I absolutely agree with that opinion. However, I want to stress the fact that this strategy is not for everyone. You need to know yourself, be honest with yourself, and do what works for you to save money and take control of your finances. I am not saying that I will never use a rewards credit card. I may get to the point where I can have the discipline to use it as a personal finance tool and actually earn money with it, but I’m not there now. I actually admire the people who are able to do this- they must truly be wise and disciplined. Frankly, I love seeing people ’stick it’ to the credit card companies and earn money using the very same piece of plastic that is the downfall of so many others and costs most people thousands of dollars a year in interest charges. I can’t argue with the math, I just know I can’t trust myself in that area yet.

Inspired by Trent at the Simple Dollar who recently abandoned (most) of the ads on his site, I have decided to drop Google AdSense and Text Link Ads (the only ads I have as of now) from this site.

I was actually very close to doing this about a month ago. To be honest, I don’t like most of the ads that show up on AdSense- many of them look like scams or come from companies that I would never endorse.

AdSense ads are quite common on the Internet, and it’s not like I’m some sort of Internet Saint for dropping them, but at some point I need to ‘walk the walk’ and draw the line. For example, I would never sell an ad to a Pay Day Loan company so why should I let Google display their ads on my site?

The good news is I hardly make any money from these ads right now so I’m not going to be hurt by the lost income. I can’t imagine how much money Trent is missing out on, so if he can do it there is no reason I can’t do it.

To be clear- I am not saying there will never be ads on Finance and Fat, but I will only sell ads for products I can truly endorse. I think that is an important message for me to send because I want this site to be a resource that helps people who are struggling to improve their lives, not a way to make a quick buck at the expense of people who visit my site.

Also, I do not mean to say that I look down on sites that run AdSense ads or that I will stop visiting those sites. I have no problem with the ads as a site visitor and I would never judge someone for using a legitimate source of income. This is a decision I have made for myself, based on my personal preferences, and I also reserve the right to change my mind at any time. 

I didn’t know exactly where I wanted to go with the idea for this web site when I started, but I did hope to learn a lot along the way. Between doing research and writing articles here and reading lots of other great blogs around the Web, a few things come to mind as the most important so far.

• There will be setbacks.
• Patience is a requirement.
• No matter how much debt I pay each month, it doesn’t feel like enough.
• A $1,000 emergency fund sounded like a lot until I needed to use it.
• Losing weight is harder than paying off debt.
• There is no perfect plan for everyone to follow.
• The only universally applicable money management tip is to SPEND LESS THAN YOU EARN.

What have YOU learned in your journey- whatever stage you may be? If I get enough tips I’ll create another post with links to the authors. Thanks!