Blogging for Change

Healthier habits are good for weight & wallet

by Kim McGrigg on
6/1/2009
in Personal Finance

I just joined the Personal Finance Blogger Weight Loss Challenge!  Over the next two months my team members (Baker- Man vs. Debt, Neal- The Wealth Pilgrim, Kelly- The Centsible Life, and Mrs. Micah- Finance for a Freelance Life) and I will be competing against five other teams of PF bloggers who are all striving to improve their health and well being.

The challenge was coordinated by Baker of Man vs. Debt because he was looking for a way to hold himself accountable for his weight loss goals.  I agree that accountability is important when trying to achieve those hard-to-reach goals.

In addition to reporting my progress every week, I am going to hold myself accountable by writing down every single thing that I eat or drink.  This is the same approach that I recommend to help people to get control of their spending.   In fact, there are a lot of similarities between the efforts to lose weight and improve your financial situation. Both efforts take discipline, time, and are well worth the work.  The main difference between the two is that when you monitor your spending, you are keep track of what you have put out; when you monitor your eating, you keep track of what you put in.  I might as well try to “come out even” by putting less in my mouth and more in my wallet!

In getting ready to get fit, I noticed that many weight loss tips translate well into financial tips.  For example, drinking a full glass of water before grocery shopping to help you stick to your list and your budget.  Do you have a weight loss tip that might translate well into a financial tip? If so, please share it!

If you want to keep track of the Personal Finance Bloggers Weight Loss Challenge, there will be an update every Sunday at Man vs. Debt.  Go Gammas!

Kim McGrigg is the former Manager of Community and Media Relations for MMI.

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