I’m really struggling with my diet and exercise lately. I’ve realized that I first turn to food when I’m feeling stressed or depressed. The only healthy replacement I can think of is exercise so I’m going to work on making exercise a priority, even when I don’t feel like it.

Favorite Quote:

“One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. Unless you’re a raccoon. Then it’s basically all one category.” – Funny Quotes by Quotes for Idiots

Favorite Links:

• I have two favorites from Early Retirement Extreme: Survival Preparedness – a great starting point for emergency preparation and Extreme Early Retirement vs. Friends and Relatives offers a look at the issues you’ll face with friends and family when trying to save money to the extreme.
• What We Wish We Knew When We Were Younger [from Get Rich Slowly] – a great look at things we wish we had known before, since I knew virtually nothing about money these all apply to me and many more too I’m sure.
• The Short Term and the Long Term Choice [from The Simple Dollar] – Ask yourself where you’ll be in the future when making a decision, this is great advice and something I’m trying to put into practice in my life now. I have far too much of a short term focus.

Carnivals

I was fortunate enough to be included in the Carnival of Personal Finance: Famous money quotes edition, hosted by Christian Personal Finance and the Festival of Frugality #189, Extreme Heat Edition, hosted by Modern Tightwad. Many thanks to the carnival hosts for the hard work they put this week!

*As always, you can find all of my ‘weekly web favorites’ and many more links on my StumbleUpon page.

By Eden, Sat 8 Aug 2009, Comments Categories: Web Favorites, Weight Loss

I have a little side project going, called Quotes for Idiots. The idea behind it is humorous takes on the usual, boring quotes we hear all the time, as well as some wacky stuff that someone crazy comes up with. Traffic to Quotes for Idiots has recently taken off so I want to start working harder at promoting it. I’ll be including some quotes in my weekly web favorites post from now on. Enjoy!

“He who hesitates is lost. Unless he hesitates before walking in front of a moving bus, that might save his life.” – funny quotes by Quotes for Idiots

Favorite Posts:

• The Big Question: Are You Better Than Yesterday? – From The Blog of Tim Ferriss and it was written by Chad Fowler, CTO of InfoEther, Inc. – I really enjoyed this post. One great takeaway is when you are working on something long-term, like losing weight, don’t let the lack of immediate results discourage you. Just try to do better than you did the day before and give your results time.
• Are Budgets Dead? [Ask The Reader] – From Saving for Serenity – Great conversation on the importance of budgeting and whether a budget is really necessary.
• Six Words That Saved Me $17,893 – And Can Save You Even More – From Frugal Dad, written by Neal Frankle of Wealth Pilgrim – Read this post and remember “What is the purpose of this?”.
• Frugality Vs. “Big Wins” – Why You Shouldn’t Care About Either – From Man vs. Debt – Big wins or frugality is always a popular personal finance discussion. I think paying attention to both is important.

Carnivals

I was fortunate enough to be included in the Carnival of Personal Finance: House of Rose Edition, hosted by Good Financial Cents and Carnival of Pecuniary Delights #18, hosted by My Life ROI. Many thanks to the carnival hosts for the hard work they put this week!

*As always, you can find all of my ‘weekly web favorites’ and many more links on my StumbleUpon page.

By Eden, Thu 30 Jul 2009, Comments Categories: About, Web Favorites

Golf is an expensive hobby. Of course, expensive is a relative term. You can easily spend a *lot* of money on golf, but you can just as easily enjoy the game with a frugal approach. I gave up on golf almost entirely when I started working on getting out of debt. However, I really missed the game and I finally came to the conclusion that cutting out something I enjoy to save money isn’t a wise thing to do (assuming it wasn’t financially impossible for me to keep playing, which it wasn’t).

I’m happy to say I’ve started playing golf again over the past month or two, but I’m doing so with a budget and I’m making an effort to stretch my golf dollars farther and to find good value. I no longer need to avoid golf. Though I may have to avoid the expensive courses, I can definitely play an adequate number of rounds and practice my game each month.

If you’re interested in the details, I’m starting with a budget of $50 per month. This is enough for about two to three (inexpensive) rounds of golf per month and some practice time.

Practice your short game more than the long game.
According to Dr. Bob Rotella, “If you’re not spending 70 percent of your practice time on shots from 120 yards in, you’re not trying to become the best golfer you can be.” [Golf is Not a Game of Perfect, pg 88]. Not only will practicing the short game save you money, but it’s better for your game. If I’m going to practice three days in a week, I’ll buy range balls one day and work on my long game, but I’ll only work on my short game the other two days. The trick to this is finding a course with good short game facilities. I’m fortunate to have two courses about twenty minutes from my home that have separate chipping and putting greens and one even has a separate pitching area for shots in the 70 – 100 yard range. I take advantage of these short game areas as much as I can. This is much easier if you have a ‘shag bag‘ and a collection of old (but still decent) balls. I don’t find my long game to be lacking at all and I’m definitely saving more and more shots around the greens.

Use old balls found on the course for practice balls.
During any normal round you’re going to come across lost balls. If I’m certain no one around has played the ball and it’s not badly damaged I’ll pick up as many as I can. I don’t use these balls to play, but I save them for the shag bag and use them on the practice greens. This is a great way to keep your supply of practice balls replenished (they will get lost and damaged over time) without spending any extra money.

Buy a ball retriever.
I used to think ball retrievers were a bit silly, but with many balls costing $3 – $4 each, it can quickly pay for itself. The best part is, a ball lost in the water may have only been hit once so you’ll often find balls that are essentially brand new. I also find that the golfers playing the most expensive balls are the least likely to bother to retrieve them from a lake. The better the course you play, the higher quality you’ll tend to find.

Check for tee times on GolfNow.com, but give the course a call too.
Golf Now is sort of like an Expedia or Travelocity for golf. It acts as the middleman in helping golf courses sell open tee times and you benefit by getting a reduced rate. I find rates are almost always cheaper on Golf Now, but not 100% of the time. To be really sure you’re getting the best deal, you might want to give the course a call before you book on Golf Now, just to be sure you’re getting the best deal possible.

Play during off-peak hours.
For me, playing in Tucson, AZ, off-season is about May – September and the cheapest tee times are to be had in the afternoon. Of course, that means playing in 100 – 110 degree heat, but as they like to say, ‘it’s a dry heat’. As long as I stay hydrated and wear sunscreen, I really don’t have much problem playing in the heat here at all. I’ve suffered much more playing golf in the summer in San Antonio, TX (think 90 degrees with 90% humidity). If you’re willing to be less comfortable and play more golf when other people aren’t playing, you can save a lot of money. I played a course a couple of weeks ago that can cost as much as $170 per round during peak season for only $35. The course is still as beautiful and challenging as ever, I just had to suffer through the heat to enjoy it.

In summary, don’t make the mistake that I made and give up on golf (or whatever your favorite hobby may be) because of the cost, if it’s something you truly enjoy. It’s possible to find a middle ground and approach your hobby in a wise and frugal manner. Value can be found, you just have to work a little harder to find it. In the end, I’m much happier to be out playing golf again and my budget will be just fine.

By Eden, Tue 28 Jul 2009, Comments Categories: Frugality, Golf, Life

My financial turnaround began when I realized I was spending more than I earned each and every month. That’s pretty much the only way you can pile up more than $25,000 of credit card debt in a year (that’s about the rate I was going). For me, it came down to stupidity and lack of attention really.

If that sounds like you right now, here are four things you can do TODAY to stop the bleeding and begin to gain control of your financial life.

Stop using credit cards – Those little plastic jerks are ruining your life and you know it. Chop ‘em up! They aren’t cool, you don’t NEED them, and what good have they done for you so far? Life is possible without credit cards. I haven’t had one for more than a year now and I never miss them.

Make a budget – Honestly, making a budget is like getting a raise. It’s amazing what a little detail work can do for your finances. It’s hard work though. It takes time and practice to successfully budget. Don’t give up after your first try and don’t expect to get it right in the beginning. Just trust that it will work and give it a chance. This step alone will dramatically change your financial life.

Sell some of the stuff you bought that you knew couldn’t afford anyway – Video games, DVDs, golf clubs, whatever unnecessary junk you bought that you don’t need. Face it, almost nothing that we buy is truly a NEED. Be ruthless. Start listing some stuff on Craigslist or Ebay. It can be a pain, but consider the hassle to be part of your therapy. This will put some cash in your pocket quickly and give you some small victories on the road to turning your cash flow positive again.

Create more income – This could be overtime at your current job, finding a part-time job, or my personal favorite- finding some freelance work of some kind. Anything that allows you to use your existing skills to provide a valuable service for someone is your best bet for some quick side money. This is the best choice because you’ll start to get a taste of how to create your own path to income in your life.

These are just a few tips and there is more you can do, but you have to start somewhere and this is as good a start as any. You need to dedicate extra time to working right now, but don’t neglect education. Read some blogs, and read some books. Start talking to your friends and see if any of them are trying to change their financial lives too (you might be surprised, this is more common than you probably think). Try listening to the free Dave Ramsey Show podcast (or his radio show if it’s on in your area). The podcast is only 40 minutes long, it’s free, and it’s a great way to get a daily boost of inspiration and keep fighting the battle with debt.

Even if you can only do one thing today, it’s a start (if I had to pick one, I’d start with budgeting). The most important part is realizing there is a problem and starting to take action as soon as possible. Once you get the ball rolling, this will get easier. Good luck!

By Eden, Mon 27 Jul 2009, Comments Categories: Budgeting, Credit Cards, Finance

For bloggers (and other website owners), let me know if you would like to exchange links. I’m adding links to other sites in my blogroll, as long as the content is not spammy, objectionable, and is related to the topics on Finance and Fat. I added a link exchange page with all the details. Contact me if you are interested.

By Eden, Wed 22 Jul 2009, Comments Categories: Administrative