Love More. Live Better. A Southern Couple's Guide to Successful Living

Today I wanted to discuss an idea that occurred to me the other day at the gym…that working out/going to the gym is like budgeting/personal finance. I know, at first it doesn’t seem to make much sense. You think, “how in the world is working out like doing my bills?”, but there are some similarities.

One of the employees at my gym told me last week “You know, working out is the only time in your life that it’s OK to fail, because it means you tried your hardest”. Well, I happen to think she’s right about that statement and I think the principle applies to your finances as well. Most people, I think, would agree that as a nation we could do better at both working out and balancing our budget. Personally, I think $6 coffee has been a huge detriment to both. We eat too much, we spend to much. We need to work out with great intensity, and carry that drive over to our finances. When you go to the gym, you focus on what you are doing (otherwise you might drop something/fall off something and hurt yourself), but when you do your finances, are you focused? Or, more likely, do you have the TV or radio on? Your budget/finances will only work for you if you work for them…turn that TV off so you can pay attention! Do the absolute BEST you can with your money, and if you fail, you are probably still better off than most people!

Most people who go to the gym plan out what they are going to do in advance. they decide which muscle group they want to work, which machines they will use and whether or not they will do cardio that day. Your approach to your budget should be the same. You should be thinking about it ahead of time. You should be planning out if you will pay the bills first, or balance the checkbook with the weeks receipts. Your yearly budget should take even more planning than that. You should have things written down and have a game plan (look for next weeks blog to learn how to create a simple budget) of what you think that years monetary needs will be.If you take the time to plan out your trip to the gym, do yourself a favor, and do the same with your money. You’ll feel better while you are at the gym if you aren’t worried about the state of your money!

People who go to the gym know you can’t just go once a week and expect fabulous results. So why then, do people only do bills once or twice a month and think that is enough? It is important for you to pay attention to where your money is going at least once a week, preferably twice a week. Most people don’t use cash anymore (which is a real problem, cause we spend it without thinking about it now), and so we end up with a bunch of receipts from our debit card (if we were diligent enough to get a receipt in the first place) at the end of the month. This is equivalent to going to the gym irregularly and using random equipment in the wrong way…you’re just hurting yourself at this point! So, know that you have to go to the gym 3 times (or more) a week to get results. Know that you have to pay attention to your finances weekly (at least) to keep your budget balanced and peace of mind.

I like to believe that a person shouldn’t let their life happen to them, they should happen to their life. If something is going on around you that you don’t like, do something about it. You aren’t powerless. The gym and you finances are the same. People who go to the gym see that their body is not where they want it to be and they are doing something about it. It is my goal to help people realize that they need to do something about their personal finances, and help them achieve it!