I just wanted to do a very quick update on the 100 Miles Challenge that I started just so I can have "official" record of how we're doing (since I have been posting on Facebook for accountability
As of Sunday's totals (haven't added in the new numbers since then), I am about 72-point-something and my husband is at about 55-point-something. So, with 9 days left in the month, we are on good track to meet, or beat, that 100 mile mark challenge. We are also participating in the March of Dimes walk this coming Saturday (4/25) which is about a 5-6 mile walk from what I was told, so that will definitely help in the overall goal.
I am also aware that some people who accepted my challenge are doing so well that they have since self-challenged themselves to a 200-Mile challenge and are on their way to meeting that goal, so I am super proud of them and excited for them. Kicking ass and taking names is a great thing. A few others took the challenge in spirit, but challenged themselves to their own personal fitness challenges (like x amount of Yoga every day or X amount of added gym minutes/sets) and have, as far as I am aware, been doing well on their personal challenges as well. I love it when people take an idea and make it work for their own situation and challenge themselves! Keep it up, guys!
How are you doing on your own challenges? Please feel free to let us know in the comments below, or if Facebook is more your thing, there is a newly-formed page I created that you can find here. I hope you are doing well on your goals and meeting your own personal challenges!
Showing posts with label Buff Millionaire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buff Millionaire. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Monday, April 20, 2015
Book Review: The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke
A few weeks ago, I read through Suze Orman's book, The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke and, as always when I read a book that is related to the topics of this blog (Fitness or Finance), I wanted to share some of my thoughts on it.
Suze's Young, Fabulous and Broke (or YFB) book is, as its name implies, is written with a target audience in mind of younger readers who may be first navigating their way through the financial world. This book discusses everything from credit score, building savings, how to analyze your investments, and almost everything in between, and is a great resource.
At over 300+ pages, it would be impossible to discuss every topic, but the whole book is broken down into categories and gives information at the beginning of the chapter, then answers specific situations in a question and answer style, then does a chapter recap with actionable items for that chapter. So you can read in order from front to back, or just dive in with something you may have been having trouble with or have been wondering about. I always find that this style is most helpful, because you don't want to have to read dozens of pages to find the two-five sentences that you were looking for, so I greatly appreciate that.
One thing I thought was strange, was that in her chapter about buying a house, Suze actually goes as far to say directly that "flat out, a home is the best big-ticket purchase you will ever make" and she actually believes that it is a good investment strategy. Here's the thing: I simply do NOT agree with that sentiment. If you are buying a home structure for the purposes of renting it out or if you are a skilled "flipper", then sure, buying a house can be an investment strategy. But your primary residence that you yourself live in? No. That is not an investment.
Many people buy houses expecting them to appreciate so much they can sell for a profit later in life, but that is not a guarantee, and many studies and articles show that, after inflation is accounted for, housing prices actually don't change upward that much. Through the life of living in a house, mortgage interest, property taxes, and general maintenance of the house typically means you will pay much more than the purchase price (double or sometimes many times over), and of course you never know if there will be another housing bust like that of 2007-2008 that leaves your $200,000 house worth $50,000. If you are buying your home for your own personal reasons outside of it being an investment, then by all means, please do. (We certainly plan to when we're able to!) Just try to keep in mind the true price of home ownership in your dealings.
However, when it comes to buying a home, YFB did give one piece of advice that I thought was pretty genius: "Play house before you buy a house." The basic idea is this: After figuring out a general idea of what your mortgage could be (look up house prices in area, check to see interest rates and possible mortgage based on your credit score, etc.), add 40% to cover maintenance, etc., and transfer the difference between your current rent and the increased amount for 6 months to your savings account. For example, if your estimated mortgage plus that 40% is $1450 and you currently pay $1000 in rent (totally made up numbers on my part), transfer $450/month to savings for 6 months. If you miss one payment, or are consistently late transferring the money, you are not ready to take on the burden of actual homeownership. I think this is a great way to practice paying that higher amount, and of course as Suze points out, it does help boost the down payment you're working towards.
So overall, I think this book is a very useful resource. Even if you are not "YFB", it does explain things in a pretty clear and easy to understand terms. It would be worth a read or look if you are looking for some basic information on saving, investing, home ownership, or other topics having to do with personal finance.
Suze's Young, Fabulous and Broke (or YFB) book is, as its name implies, is written with a target audience in mind of younger readers who may be first navigating their way through the financial world. This book discusses everything from credit score, building savings, how to analyze your investments, and almost everything in between, and is a great resource.
At over 300+ pages, it would be impossible to discuss every topic, but the whole book is broken down into categories and gives information at the beginning of the chapter, then answers specific situations in a question and answer style, then does a chapter recap with actionable items for that chapter. So you can read in order from front to back, or just dive in with something you may have been having trouble with or have been wondering about. I always find that this style is most helpful, because you don't want to have to read dozens of pages to find the two-five sentences that you were looking for, so I greatly appreciate that.
One thing I thought was strange, was that in her chapter about buying a house, Suze actually goes as far to say directly that "flat out, a home is the best big-ticket purchase you will ever make" and she actually believes that it is a good investment strategy. Here's the thing: I simply do NOT agree with that sentiment. If you are buying a home structure for the purposes of renting it out or if you are a skilled "flipper", then sure, buying a house can be an investment strategy. But your primary residence that you yourself live in? No. That is not an investment.
Many people buy houses expecting them to appreciate so much they can sell for a profit later in life, but that is not a guarantee, and many studies and articles show that, after inflation is accounted for, housing prices actually don't change upward that much. Through the life of living in a house, mortgage interest, property taxes, and general maintenance of the house typically means you will pay much more than the purchase price (double or sometimes many times over), and of course you never know if there will be another housing bust like that of 2007-2008 that leaves your $200,000 house worth $50,000. If you are buying your home for your own personal reasons outside of it being an investment, then by all means, please do. (We certainly plan to when we're able to!) Just try to keep in mind the true price of home ownership in your dealings.
However, when it comes to buying a home, YFB did give one piece of advice that I thought was pretty genius: "Play house before you buy a house." The basic idea is this: After figuring out a general idea of what your mortgage could be (look up house prices in area, check to see interest rates and possible mortgage based on your credit score, etc.), add 40% to cover maintenance, etc., and transfer the difference between your current rent and the increased amount for 6 months to your savings account. For example, if your estimated mortgage plus that 40% is $1450 and you currently pay $1000 in rent (totally made up numbers on my part), transfer $450/month to savings for 6 months. If you miss one payment, or are consistently late transferring the money, you are not ready to take on the burden of actual homeownership. I think this is a great way to practice paying that higher amount, and of course as Suze points out, it does help boost the down payment you're working towards.
So overall, I think this book is a very useful resource. Even if you are not "YFB", it does explain things in a pretty clear and easy to understand terms. It would be worth a read or look if you are looking for some basic information on saving, investing, home ownership, or other topics having to do with personal finance.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Workout Focus: How the 5x5 makes you Better and Stronger, Faster
My Husband and I have been (inconsistently) working on the 5x5 workout since the beginning of February and since it has been very helpful for me so far, I thought I would share some information about it. If you are looking for a strength building routine, you may want to consider the 5x5 Workout.
The 5x5 workout (which stands for 5 sets of 5 reps) is a weight training regimen designed to help you build strength at a faster pace than if you were to do the "traditional" 4 sets of 10-12 reps routine. The idea is to make those 5 sets challenging enough that you feel as though you DID do the full 10-12 rep routine, and since it is compound muscle workouts, you are getting more "bang for your buck", so to speak, in both muscle strength and time spent at the gym. Since we lift weights on opposite days of each other, the routine takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour (though that is with waiting for weights on occasion, so could be less.)
We do 5 sets of 5 reps of Bench press, Squats, Deadlifts, and Shoulder raises on alternating days with the goal of lifting 3 times per week. (Goal, being the key word at the moment since we have not done the workout in a couple weeks right now.) Most articles or resources that talk about 5x5 routine suggest that you start at lower weights for your first set and add weights throughout the sets, but we find that that brings us too close to the kind of failure that can lead to injury (instead of just exhaustion and not finishing the set), so we instead switched it to be the heavy/max weight on the earlier sets and find that it is very helpful for us. We work toward adding one more set of the high weight each time we go, until all 5 sets are at the highest weight-then add more and start the process over again. Between sets, you would rest about a minute or so, so you can power through the next set.
Here's what a typical workout looks like, using some of my most recent numbers, with the high(er) weight sets at the beginning:
Bench press: 3 sets at 75 pounds, 2 sets at 65 pounds.
Deadlift: 3 sets at 115 pounds, 2 sets at 95 pounds.
Squat: 5 sets at 155 pounds.*
Shoulder Press: 2 sets at 20 pounds each hand (40 pounds total), 3 sets at 15 pounds each hand (30 total).
-We'll also do about 15-20 minutes of cardio to help burn fat, or in my case sometimes, I will walk home from the gym, which is about a mile from our apartment. (Though when we get back to the workout and get consistent again, I am really going to work on doing more actual high intensity cardio to help burn these last few pounds before goal weight faster.)
*For the squats, I started at 135 and tried 155 for a few sets and the next workout felt like the 135 didn't offer as much as a challenge as it could have, so did the 155 for all 5 sets. This is one way the workout helps build strength faster.
So there you have the 5x5 workout, which in addition to helping us build strength even when we have been inconsistent, is a workout that is easy to master and improve on as you go. It will help you add strength a bit quicker and you can use it as a stand alone workout, or in conjunction with other workouts you may do to help get to your goals. We had considered using it as a jumping off point build strength/endurance so we could ACTUALLY do the Buff Dudes' Challenge that we didn't finish before, but we're not sure what we're going to do yet. (But that is the nice thing, we have possibilities and find something that works well for us.)
Do you have any workouts that have been working really well for you and the goals your reaching toward? Please share in the comments below.
The 5x5 workout (which stands for 5 sets of 5 reps) is a weight training regimen designed to help you build strength at a faster pace than if you were to do the "traditional" 4 sets of 10-12 reps routine. The idea is to make those 5 sets challenging enough that you feel as though you DID do the full 10-12 rep routine, and since it is compound muscle workouts, you are getting more "bang for your buck", so to speak, in both muscle strength and time spent at the gym. Since we lift weights on opposite days of each other, the routine takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour (though that is with waiting for weights on occasion, so could be less.)
We do 5 sets of 5 reps of Bench press, Squats, Deadlifts, and Shoulder raises on alternating days with the goal of lifting 3 times per week. (Goal, being the key word at the moment since we have not done the workout in a couple weeks right now.) Most articles or resources that talk about 5x5 routine suggest that you start at lower weights for your first set and add weights throughout the sets, but we find that that brings us too close to the kind of failure that can lead to injury (instead of just exhaustion and not finishing the set), so we instead switched it to be the heavy/max weight on the earlier sets and find that it is very helpful for us. We work toward adding one more set of the high weight each time we go, until all 5 sets are at the highest weight-then add more and start the process over again. Between sets, you would rest about a minute or so, so you can power through the next set.
Here's what a typical workout looks like, using some of my most recent numbers, with the high(er) weight sets at the beginning:
Bench press: 3 sets at 75 pounds, 2 sets at 65 pounds.
Deadlift: 3 sets at 115 pounds, 2 sets at 95 pounds.
Squat: 5 sets at 155 pounds.*
Shoulder Press: 2 sets at 20 pounds each hand (40 pounds total), 3 sets at 15 pounds each hand (30 total).
-We'll also do about 15-20 minutes of cardio to help burn fat, or in my case sometimes, I will walk home from the gym, which is about a mile from our apartment. (Though when we get back to the workout and get consistent again, I am really going to work on doing more actual high intensity cardio to help burn these last few pounds before goal weight faster.)
*For the squats, I started at 135 and tried 155 for a few sets and the next workout felt like the 135 didn't offer as much as a challenge as it could have, so did the 155 for all 5 sets. This is one way the workout helps build strength faster.
So there you have the 5x5 workout, which in addition to helping us build strength even when we have been inconsistent, is a workout that is easy to master and improve on as you go. It will help you add strength a bit quicker and you can use it as a stand alone workout, or in conjunction with other workouts you may do to help get to your goals. We had considered using it as a jumping off point build strength/endurance so we could ACTUALLY do the Buff Dudes' Challenge that we didn't finish before, but we're not sure what we're going to do yet. (But that is the nice thing, we have possibilities and find something that works well for us.)
Do you have any workouts that have been working really well for you and the goals your reaching toward? Please share in the comments below.
Friday, March 13, 2015
Book Revew: Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes
I finished reading the book Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them; Lessons from the New Science of Behaviorial Economics By Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich about a week and a half or two weeks ago and wanted to share some thoughts. This was the book that I was trying to get from the library when I checked this one out, but the latest version wasn't available so I got the other one. Then I decided that it would be a worthy read even if it is not the latest edition, then it became a matter of waiting for it to become available, which is always the hardest part.
As the name implies, this book talks not only about some money issues that people face, but also tries to offer some practical advice on how to change your behavior or habits to resolve those issues. I found the book to be a pretty easy, and quick, read with some interesting insights. Here are some things from the book that may be helpful:
One quote that I liked in the book's introduction was "Sometimes people make mistakes because they behave like sheep, and sometimes they err because they behave like mules." In context, the authors say this because they are talking about how they will discuss both blindly going with the crowd on decisions, and how to avoid stubbornly going against things, even if would be good to go with it. But this line stuck with me because it really can apply, like many concepts in the book overall, to more than just money decisions.
Here are some concepts that were discussed, and their relevant tips that may help you if you do any of these:
-Mental Accounting, which is the tendency to treat money differently based on the source it comes from or what it is intended for, or to spend more on credit than you would with an outright cash purchase. As the authors point out, this can be very beneficial when it comes to making sure bills get paid because you have money set aside that won't get spent on random things, but not so beneficial when you treat windfall money differently than money you earn. (An example they give is a fictional woman who was a savvy investor with her own money who got an inheritance from her grandmother and refused to invest because her mental accounting viewed "Grandma's Money" as more sacred than her own. Her lack of investing that money would cost her thousands in gains over the years.)
I know that I personally do some creative mental accounting (such as multiple savings accounts for different goals), but I try to keep it to the positive form of it (since all bills ARE paid, savings and investments are being funded, etc.), but if you do this and it's the not-so-positive version, they give recommendations like remembering that every dollar spends the same (so don't hold onto money from one source more than another), and using mental accounting to your advantage by using payroll deductions/direct deposit for savings, etc.
-Decision Paralysis- I've also seen this called Analysis Paralysis before, which I think sounds more interesting, and we ALL know what that is: Too much information means it's hard to make a choice or decision, and often we end up not doing anything for a while, if at all. Not like I would know anything about that... In addition to discussing some methods on how to deal with this (Like Automated investments, and reframing things in your mind to be more about what to REJECT rather than SELECT), they also started the chapter that discusses this by quoting Rush's Free Will; "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." And, really, how can you go wrong by quoting an awesome Rush song?
The book also discusses and attempts to help on several other things like Loss Aversion Mentality, Overconfidence, Confirmation Bias and more. Overall, I think this is a very worthwhile read. I really like that the authors give easily digestible, and more importantly, actionable ideas on improving money situations (and as you read it and think about it, other areas of life, too).
This was the first version of the book, from 1995, so I don't know how much is different in the newer edition(s), but I am sure it would be just as beneficial (if not more so) as this one. If you are interested in this sort of information, I would recommend giving this book a peek.
As the name implies, this book talks not only about some money issues that people face, but also tries to offer some practical advice on how to change your behavior or habits to resolve those issues. I found the book to be a pretty easy, and quick, read with some interesting insights. Here are some things from the book that may be helpful:
One quote that I liked in the book's introduction was "Sometimes people make mistakes because they behave like sheep, and sometimes they err because they behave like mules." In context, the authors say this because they are talking about how they will discuss both blindly going with the crowd on decisions, and how to avoid stubbornly going against things, even if would be good to go with it. But this line stuck with me because it really can apply, like many concepts in the book overall, to more than just money decisions.
Here are some concepts that were discussed, and their relevant tips that may help you if you do any of these:
-Mental Accounting, which is the tendency to treat money differently based on the source it comes from or what it is intended for, or to spend more on credit than you would with an outright cash purchase. As the authors point out, this can be very beneficial when it comes to making sure bills get paid because you have money set aside that won't get spent on random things, but not so beneficial when you treat windfall money differently than money you earn. (An example they give is a fictional woman who was a savvy investor with her own money who got an inheritance from her grandmother and refused to invest because her mental accounting viewed "Grandma's Money" as more sacred than her own. Her lack of investing that money would cost her thousands in gains over the years.)
I know that I personally do some creative mental accounting (such as multiple savings accounts for different goals), but I try to keep it to the positive form of it (since all bills ARE paid, savings and investments are being funded, etc.), but if you do this and it's the not-so-positive version, they give recommendations like remembering that every dollar spends the same (so don't hold onto money from one source more than another), and using mental accounting to your advantage by using payroll deductions/direct deposit for savings, etc.
-Decision Paralysis- I've also seen this called Analysis Paralysis before, which I think sounds more interesting, and we ALL know what that is: Too much information means it's hard to make a choice or decision, and often we end up not doing anything for a while, if at all. Not like I would know anything about that... In addition to discussing some methods on how to deal with this (Like Automated investments, and reframing things in your mind to be more about what to REJECT rather than SELECT), they also started the chapter that discusses this by quoting Rush's Free Will; "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." And, really, how can you go wrong by quoting an awesome Rush song?
The book also discusses and attempts to help on several other things like Loss Aversion Mentality, Overconfidence, Confirmation Bias and more. Overall, I think this is a very worthwhile read. I really like that the authors give easily digestible, and more importantly, actionable ideas on improving money situations (and as you read it and think about it, other areas of life, too).
This was the first version of the book, from 1995, so I don't know how much is different in the newer edition(s), but I am sure it would be just as beneficial (if not more so) as this one. If you are interested in this sort of information, I would recommend giving this book a peek.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Some Recent Smart Decisions In the Buff Millionaire House
Recently, the husband unit and I have been going through things and making changes that eliminate waste or will save us money, or both. (Well, mostly me and he just goes along with it, because try as he does, when it comes to finances, his eyes glaze over and he cannot focus/absorb it. But he does other things to help.) Here are some things that have been changed around or refocused to help cut things down, in no particular order:
-I set up a non tax-tax advantaged joint investment account for us in addition to the Roth IRAs I had set up previously, so that our money can start to grow for us. I funded this with $25 just to start because I have not yet decided from which of our savings account this will be funded. But, as with anything, the most important part is getting started since things can always be tweaked or streamlined later.
-We ditched our Hulu Plus account. We realized (or rather, re-realized as we had come to the conclusion before but didn't do anything about it) that we watched MAYBE three shows through Hulu Plus, and those shows were available through the free version so we could just use the HDMI Cable to watch them when available. So long, $8/month wastefulness! I currently have this amount auto-transferred to our main savings account on the day of the month that it usually debited from. After all, what is the point of saving an expense if you are not actually Saving the money?
-I realized that since the car is paid off, and it was only the lien holder that required comprehensive and collision coverage, I went online and changed coverage to eliminate those, which will save us approximately $15/month, starting on the April 20th billing. (I assume it's so far from now because of the renewal cycle...) And, like above, once it starts deducting less, I will have the savings auto-transferred on the day the bill hits. The next thing will be to call up the insurance company for renter's insurance (since changes can't be made online) and see what changes can be made there, if any.
[Related Side Note: Changing your insurance coverage or deductibles is a very easy way to save money, and one I would recommend very highly. If, for example, you have a $250 deductible for car insurance, bumping it to $500 or $1000 could help save you some serious money over the long term. And this can apply to all insurance that you carry. As you save more money and have enough in savings to cover those eventual (and usually unlikely) deductibles, change as many as you can and the savings should start to add up.]
-Not yet implemented, but I had the idea that instead of depositing checks into checking and transferring things to savings, that I would instead reverse it and deposit every thing into the main savings account and then once a month, transfer the monthly bill/expense budget to checking. The Other Half worried that since his unemployment checks get direct deposited, and they were not exactly speedy in getting it right the first time, that it would mess that up. I initially agreed with this sentiment, but I think it may be worth looking into again. Especially since, as it currently stands, a certain amount is direct deposited into checking for bills and what's left over gets deposited to savings, but because the way bill cycles work, some things have to come from savings as a debit and then when the weekly check that covers it comes through the money gets transferred back to savings. By changing everything to savings and then just a flat amount once a month to checking, it should help eliminate the confusion and time spent transferring money BACK to savings, and allow me to see at a glance where things stand and less math involved. (What can I say? I am lazy and anything over 5 minutes a month spent balancing numbers is excessive.) So we'll have to see what we can do on that. Worst case scenario is that we just deal with the weird back and forth for a bit longer and just start fresh when he gets a new job.
So those were some small changes and reductions in wastefulness we made recently. For the two service changes, we'll save at least $22/month, for less than 15 minutes total work. Now THAT is a nice return on investment.
Have you made any "small" changes recently that will turn into big results, or any other smart decisions for your finances lately? Comment below with your experiences!
-I set up a non tax-tax advantaged joint investment account for us in addition to the Roth IRAs I had set up previously, so that our money can start to grow for us. I funded this with $25 just to start because I have not yet decided from which of our savings account this will be funded. But, as with anything, the most important part is getting started since things can always be tweaked or streamlined later.
-We ditched our Hulu Plus account. We realized (or rather, re-realized as we had come to the conclusion before but didn't do anything about it) that we watched MAYBE three shows through Hulu Plus, and those shows were available through the free version so we could just use the HDMI Cable to watch them when available. So long, $8/month wastefulness! I currently have this amount auto-transferred to our main savings account on the day of the month that it usually debited from. After all, what is the point of saving an expense if you are not actually Saving the money?
-I realized that since the car is paid off, and it was only the lien holder that required comprehensive and collision coverage, I went online and changed coverage to eliminate those, which will save us approximately $15/month, starting on the April 20th billing. (I assume it's so far from now because of the renewal cycle...) And, like above, once it starts deducting less, I will have the savings auto-transferred on the day the bill hits. The next thing will be to call up the insurance company for renter's insurance (since changes can't be made online) and see what changes can be made there, if any.
[Related Side Note: Changing your insurance coverage or deductibles is a very easy way to save money, and one I would recommend very highly. If, for example, you have a $250 deductible for car insurance, bumping it to $500 or $1000 could help save you some serious money over the long term. And this can apply to all insurance that you carry. As you save more money and have enough in savings to cover those eventual (and usually unlikely) deductibles, change as many as you can and the savings should start to add up.]
-Not yet implemented, but I had the idea that instead of depositing checks into checking and transferring things to savings, that I would instead reverse it and deposit every thing into the main savings account and then once a month, transfer the monthly bill/expense budget to checking. The Other Half worried that since his unemployment checks get direct deposited, and they were not exactly speedy in getting it right the first time, that it would mess that up. I initially agreed with this sentiment, but I think it may be worth looking into again. Especially since, as it currently stands, a certain amount is direct deposited into checking for bills and what's left over gets deposited to savings, but because the way bill cycles work, some things have to come from savings as a debit and then when the weekly check that covers it comes through the money gets transferred back to savings. By changing everything to savings and then just a flat amount once a month to checking, it should help eliminate the confusion and time spent transferring money BACK to savings, and allow me to see at a glance where things stand and less math involved. (What can I say? I am lazy and anything over 5 minutes a month spent balancing numbers is excessive.) So we'll have to see what we can do on that. Worst case scenario is that we just deal with the weird back and forth for a bit longer and just start fresh when he gets a new job.
So those were some small changes and reductions in wastefulness we made recently. For the two service changes, we'll save at least $22/month, for less than 15 minutes total work. Now THAT is a nice return on investment.
Have you made any "small" changes recently that will turn into big results, or any other smart decisions for your finances lately? Comment below with your experiences!
Friday, February 27, 2015
Fitness Check-In
I recently did a check-in for the financial side of my quest, and realized that it had been sort of a while since I had updated on the fitness side, so I thought I'd do a quick rundown:
Current weight: (as of last weigh in on Sunday 2/22) 180.4 pounds--Just a mere 10 pounds from my originally stated goal weight of 170! So I am very excited about that. I had, due to holidays and general less-exercise-than-usual, had been stuck at 181-184 for a while, so it's nice to finally break that, if even by a little. I expect that if I stayed consistent and maybe even work just a bit harder, I could be around 170 by Mid-March or so. Since I am happy/comfortable when my old clothes in my closet fit, and this doesn't require an exact number on the scale (after all, that number doesn't account for muscle anyway), I am confident that I will be there very soon. (And I guess I better start trying on said clothes semi-regularly to see how I am doing...)
Fitness Levels compared to goals:
Running: ehhhh... it's been a while since I have ran consistently, so I am not sure what it would be. I know that six months ago on my birthday, I said that by 29, I'd like to run 10 miles, but I haven't been working on that. Hmmm. I wonder if I could get to that level in time. That's 6 months (give or take a few days) away, so maybe. Though, lately I have taken to a mindset to not set such specific goals because I get very upset when I don't meet (or beat) them, which can cause me to get demotivated and lose sight of the bigger picture that being healthy and strong will be a lifelong journey and accomplishment. Not to say that goals are not important, they definitely are, but I feel it's also important to not beat myself up over it as long as I am working on it. (Sitting around being lazy and not working on anything, on the other hand, is fair game for me to beat myself up for....)
Weights: (Current Max weights)
Squats: 135 Pounds
Deadlifts: 115 Pounds
Bench: 75 Pounds
Pushups: I am up to about 40 wall-based pushups, though have not worked on it in about 2 weeks.
Shoulders: 20 Pounds each hand (40 total)
-Not currently working on pull-ups/lat pull downs, clean and press, or isolated muscles (other than shoulder press) as husband and I are currently working on a 5*5 program to up our strength. (Which will be it's own post here in the future.)
So that's where I am currently--making some pretty decent progress all told. How are you doing with your goals. Please weigh in (no pun intended) below in the comments!
Current weight: (as of last weigh in on Sunday 2/22) 180.4 pounds--Just a mere 10 pounds from my originally stated goal weight of 170! So I am very excited about that. I had, due to holidays and general less-exercise-than-usual, had been stuck at 181-184 for a while, so it's nice to finally break that, if even by a little. I expect that if I stayed consistent and maybe even work just a bit harder, I could be around 170 by Mid-March or so. Since I am happy/comfortable when my old clothes in my closet fit, and this doesn't require an exact number on the scale (after all, that number doesn't account for muscle anyway), I am confident that I will be there very soon. (And I guess I better start trying on said clothes semi-regularly to see how I am doing...)
Fitness Levels compared to goals:
Running: ehhhh... it's been a while since I have ran consistently, so I am not sure what it would be. I know that six months ago on my birthday, I said that by 29, I'd like to run 10 miles, but I haven't been working on that. Hmmm. I wonder if I could get to that level in time. That's 6 months (give or take a few days) away, so maybe. Though, lately I have taken to a mindset to not set such specific goals because I get very upset when I don't meet (or beat) them, which can cause me to get demotivated and lose sight of the bigger picture that being healthy and strong will be a lifelong journey and accomplishment. Not to say that goals are not important, they definitely are, but I feel it's also important to not beat myself up over it as long as I am working on it. (Sitting around being lazy and not working on anything, on the other hand, is fair game for me to beat myself up for....)
Weights: (Current Max weights)
Squats: 135 Pounds
Deadlifts: 115 Pounds
Bench: 75 Pounds
Pushups: I am up to about 40 wall-based pushups, though have not worked on it in about 2 weeks.
Shoulders: 20 Pounds each hand (40 total)
-Not currently working on pull-ups/lat pull downs, clean and press, or isolated muscles (other than shoulder press) as husband and I are currently working on a 5*5 program to up our strength. (Which will be it's own post here in the future.)
So that's where I am currently--making some pretty decent progress all told. How are you doing with your goals. Please weigh in (no pun intended) below in the comments!
Friday, February 20, 2015
Book Review: Nudge
I recently finished reading (yesterday, actually) Nudge: Improving Decisions for Better Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein. Here are some of my thoughts on it:
If you are unaware, Nudge is about, as the back cover says, "Choices-how we make them and how we're led to make better ones." It addresses common problems, such as savings rates for retirement, making better health decisions, reducing environmental impacts and a few other things where choices could be made better. They talk early on about nudges come from what they call "Libertarian Paternalism" and "....Influencing Choices in a way that will make the choosers better off, by their own judging." In other words, they want to make it easier for people to make better choices.
Some interesting points made in the book:
If you are unaware, Nudge is about, as the back cover says, "Choices-how we make them and how we're led to make better ones." It addresses common problems, such as savings rates for retirement, making better health decisions, reducing environmental impacts and a few other things where choices could be made better. They talk early on about nudges come from what they call "Libertarian Paternalism" and "....Influencing Choices in a way that will make the choosers better off, by their own judging." In other words, they want to make it easier for people to make better choices.
Some interesting points made in the book:
- No matter how much we believe otherwise, we are all "Sheeple" (my words, not theirs) and are prone to being influenced by other people or outside factors, even if unconsciously.
- Because we do crave approval from others or want to do what others are doing , if people are doing something that is good/better than others, it is best not to tell them so. A line from the book that I liked on this subject was: "If you want to nudge people into socially desirable behavior, do not, by any means, let them know that their current actions are better than the social norm." An example they give on this, is people in a certain city/neighborhood being given information on their energy use in comparison to their neighbors', and those that were told their use was lower than the average use, their consumption went up but those who were told that their use was higher than average brought theirs down. But when given either a smiley face or frownie face for good/bad usage, those with good usage didn't tend to change to a higher consumption. So, overall, don't tell people if they are doing better than average or normal.
- For Increasing people's retirement savings rates, they propose employers have automatic enrollment into retirement plans for employees, with an opt-out option instead of the current opt-in that most employers have currently. The authors also talk about an idea, "Save More Tomorrow", which automatically increases the contribution account at a set time frame (e.g every 6 months). I think this is a great idea, and if implemented by more companies (some already do), it could really help reduce the crises of people not being prepared for retirement and not having enough from social security.
- Speaking of Social Security, the authors talk about how Sweden had semi-privatized Social Security by setting aside part of the fund into investment accounts for individuals and allow them to select the investments or to use the default fund that was selected by experts. I think this idea is really interesting. People have to pay social security tax anyway, so to have a chance to have a say in how it is accumulates/grows is quite a concept. I would really be interested in learning more about this...
- One other Nudge that I found interesting was, in relation to increasing organ donorship, the authors talk about a mandated choice program (being required to choose whether your answer is yes or no), and mentions how Illinois has a similar program in place already where when at the DMV you have to select if you are a donor or not before the license can be renewed/etc. If you say yes, they will advise you that family cannot override this and if you would like to reconsider. I find this to be an interesting concept because it helps for the greater good (more organ donations) without intruding on people's right to decline to be a donor, and makes it convenient--which is the entire point of a NUDGE.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Financial Check-Up
Last week, I FINALLY set up both mine and hubby's Roth IRA, with automatic funding of $50 each monthly. Why in the holy hell did I not do this before? Well, to be honest, I was in the "I know I should do it but don't know what to do, so do nothing" phase. Which, when I think about it, is very interesting, considering I set up the 401Ks and set them with lifecycle funds so that it at least could grow while I/we figured out what we should do with it, but for some reason that same logic didn't carry over to setting up the IRA account.
But the important thing is that it is at least set up NOW, and that it will be (with $50/month) an extra $600/year for each of us ($1200 total) that will go towards investment and savings. Of course, every little bit adds up, and we'll be looking for ways to add even more to it as we go on. But now we have to figure out what we'll do with the accumulated funds. I guess that will be my next reading material or quest.
I figured since that is finally set up, now is as good a time as any to do a progress report and see where I stand, at least financially. So, here we go:
Savings (between all accounts): ~$2500
401k: Mine is about $1100, but was transferred by previous employer to a rollover IRA. (And I need to set up 401k with current employer, even though it doesn't offer a match, but need to call because they had trouble finding my info in the online verification system.) Hubby's is about the same, but has not yet been rolled over that we are aware of.
Car Payment: $0 as I mentioned recently in the end of year check in, here. Woohoo!
Roth Ira: $50 start in mine, $50 start in hubby's.
Credit Card: $150ish. Wait...what? I thought that was taken care of already. (Small charge of buying tickets to a play and needing to transfer the funds from the fun account.) Looks like I'll be shifting funds from one savings account this week. Ooops.
Net Worth: $3650 if counting only mine/$4800 total including Husband's. Minus $150 for that Credit card, means $3500/$4650. This is about $1700 more than the total in the Starting Numbers, and that included the money in checking (which I intentionally didn't include in this one since it is so fluid in and out). So while progress may be somewhat slow so far, the important fact is, progress is definitely being made. Now to find some ways to add even more to savings and investments.....
So that's where I currently stand. Not too bad, but can definitely be improved upon. We've been thinking of ways we can cut costs and get rid of wastefulness, but things can be hard when it's only me working right now (and making just about $23,000). So since husband is still unemployed, and all things considered, we're doing really well. So I just know that when Shaun is employed, we will be socking away even more and doing even better, and I am excited to see things grow and can't wait to see where the journey takes me.
But the important thing is that it is at least set up NOW, and that it will be (with $50/month) an extra $600/year for each of us ($1200 total) that will go towards investment and savings. Of course, every little bit adds up, and we'll be looking for ways to add even more to it as we go on. But now we have to figure out what we'll do with the accumulated funds. I guess that will be my next reading material or quest.
I figured since that is finally set up, now is as good a time as any to do a progress report and see where I stand, at least financially. So, here we go:
Savings (between all accounts): ~$2500
401k: Mine is about $1100, but was transferred by previous employer to a rollover IRA. (And I need to set up 401k with current employer, even though it doesn't offer a match, but need to call because they had trouble finding my info in the online verification system.) Hubby's is about the same, but has not yet been rolled over that we are aware of.
Car Payment: $0 as I mentioned recently in the end of year check in, here. Woohoo!
Roth Ira: $50 start in mine, $50 start in hubby's.
Credit Card: $150ish. Wait...what? I thought that was taken care of already. (Small charge of buying tickets to a play and needing to transfer the funds from the fun account.) Looks like I'll be shifting funds from one savings account this week. Ooops.
Net Worth: $3650 if counting only mine/$4800 total including Husband's. Minus $150 for that Credit card, means $3500/$4650. This is about $1700 more than the total in the Starting Numbers, and that included the money in checking (which I intentionally didn't include in this one since it is so fluid in and out). So while progress may be somewhat slow so far, the important fact is, progress is definitely being made. Now to find some ways to add even more to savings and investments.....
So that's where I currently stand. Not too bad, but can definitely be improved upon. We've been thinking of ways we can cut costs and get rid of wastefulness, but things can be hard when it's only me working right now (and making just about $23,000). So since husband is still unemployed, and all things considered, we're doing really well. So I just know that when Shaun is employed, we will be socking away even more and doing even better, and I am excited to see things grow and can't wait to see where the journey takes me.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
14 Ideas to Start Your Nest Egg
(This post comes at the beginning of the New Year which is when people are making resolutions, but that was not my intent. Just a happy coincidence there, so... Happy New Year! Hope your 2015 is going well so far.)
I was thinking about the processes of saving money and how people struggle with doing so, so I wanted to share some tips/ideas on how to get started. Granted, now that I have an understanding of more financial things than I did, I still believe that "Big Wins" (investing well, automating, etc.) are a great way to do things. But on the same level, I understand that sometimes, working on something like that can feel like a stretch at best and impossible at worst, if you can't even get some basic money in the bank-believe me, I get it.
So if you need a few Small Victories to help you feel like it is possible to get started, here are some things I find to be helpful to get STARTED in your savings goals, in no particular order. A lot of these I have used personally, and some of them I have seen around that I think could work for people.
Use as many or as few as your tolerance allows (allowing you to still enjoy life, and not spend every waking moment obsessing about the next thing to cut), and soon you'll find that you're starting to build a nice nest egg. I'd even wager that you'll start to see your own creative brand of saving money emerge and come up with other ideas, all your own. Good Luck!
1. Starting very basic: Save $1/day. At the end of a year, you'll have saved $365. (Or, more accurately, $365 and some random change if you have the savings in an interest-bearing account.) I truly believe that ANYONE can save one dollar a day. Mastering the idea of saving small amounts when you don't have money or are just getting started is extremely important too-because if you are not in the habit of saving and managing finances with nothing, having money won't change that, and can lead to some very bad money habits that are harder to correct when you DO have money. $1/day is a great way to start a good habit in a sustainable way.
2. Conversely, there is the Savings Money Jar idea that people have been using. In this, you save progressive amounts each week, starting with $1 the first week, then $2 the second week, etc., to the point where you save $52 in the last week, so at the end of the 52 weeks, you'll have saved $1378. That's a nice chunk of change to add to the nest egg, and of course, if you're able, you could always ramp it up to save more each week, as well. One thing though: While most/all of the links that talk about this use a Jar, PLEASE put the money in a savings account and not on your counter/in a jar where it's too easy to be tempted to spend it...
3. Round Your Funds. One Thing I have always is to round up and down on funds, down on deposits and up on expenses. For example, if a purchase is $3.50, I will say it's $5 in my tracking. Conversely, if I make a deposit of $100, I will note it as $95. If you use this method, it will create a cushion for your account, in amounts that may be a pleasant surprise for you. After a certain period of time (once a month, once every week, whatever works for you), transfer the cushion amount to savings.
4. Brown bag your lunch. This seems like an obvious choice, but one that many people don't take advantage of. Of course, bringing your own lunch is definitely less expensive than buying it every day. This also has the advantage, from a fitness standpoint, that you can control what is in your meal and the portions. Win, win if you ask me.
5. Do you shop at a grocery store that puts the "You saved XX Today" on the receipt? Transfer that amount to savings when you get home. True, it may only be a few dollars, but every little bit adds up. This also works well with the rounding technique I use above for things. If your budget for groceries is $50/week and you only spend $46, that $4 could be transferred to savings to help add up.
6. When I finally automated finances (in a better way since it had always been auto pay, etc.), I set up Separate bill/spending accounts and 7. Separate savings/spending accounts. So Three Accounts total (in reality, more than that because, as I've mentioned before, I have at least 3 saving accounts for different goals)- one for the bills, one for savings and one for the spending money that I allotted to us. You don't have to get as complicated as that if you choose not to (or, you can get more complicated if you choose to), but I would recommend at least having separate accounts for everyday and for the savings so the savings you're building don't accidentally get spent on regular things. And, if you can keep your savings so that it's harder to access, even better.
8. Automate Savings. Yes, this is a "Big Win", and I was giving ideas on smaller victories you can do, but this is probably the easiest way to save. Use Direct Deposit and set aside part of your pay directly into savings account. The amount is up to you and your situation, but even $10/paycheck ($5/week) adds up. And If you don't have to worry about transferring money each time you're paid because it is direct deposited, you're that much more likely to stick to it.
9. Find ways to spend less on things you already buy. This one is a bit more broad, but leaves a lot of possibilities. For example, with few exceptions, store brand items are just as good as their more expensive name brand counterparts. (But you should double check the per-unit pricings, because some things are grouped as if they are savings, but aren't. 3/$5 on an item for store brand is not as good as $1.50/each for a name brand.) It also helps to buy from the bulk section of grocery stores so you can get just the amount you need. (Bonus: Better for the environment since there's less useless packaging.) There's also the dollar store for many, many things. I've never been one for coupons, really, unless I have one for something I am already buying, but many people use them to great effect. Since this option breeds creativity, I bet you can find other ways to shave off expenses and save.
10. Define why you are saving. This, perhaps, should have been tip number one, but these things happen when you are working from random parts of your brain. But the point stands: Defining why you are saving or what you are saving for is an important step. I have mentioned this before, and many (if not all) finance experts agree. Defining your goals in clear terms will help you reach them because it gives you something to reach for-like a house down payment-rather than just saying you need to save. It also can help prioritize and stick to the plan when other things come up or give you motivation, so it's a good mental boost.
11. I am not one to tell you to cut back on your mochas or coffee if that is something that you value, but are there things you can cut out that you don't value or that may be costing you? As an example smaller coffee, or getting one less a week saves not only a few dollars here and there, it also saves hundreds of calories a week. (Another win-win for the fitness and finance marriage.) Or Cable subscriptions you don't even use? (Watch one channel, anyone?) Look at your own spending and ask yourself: Are you spending within your VALUES? If not, can it be axed? This is a very personal choice in one's habits, but if you can find things you've been mindlessly consuming and get rid of them, it opens a lot of possibilities on where to find that extra money you are working to save.
12. Did you just get a new cost of living raise? 50 cents an hour is $20/week before tax. Maintain your current spending levels (with direct deposit, of course so you don't even know it's there anyway), and you'll start to see your savings grow a little bit faster with each paycheck.
13. Does your grocery store have a gas rewards program? If you're shopping there anyway, you may as well take advantage of the savings on gas that you can get. For many stores, you can save up to $1.00/gallon off, just for having the free grocery store key which definitely adds up. Just remember the golden rule: Transfer the amount of savings to your savings account(s) when you get home. (See item 5.)
14. Walk/Bike more often. Of course, as another way to save at the pump, you could always use your car less. And again, this is a win-win for the fitness and finance super-duo. (Yes, I just made it sound like it's a super hero. Deal with it.) Walking and biking keeps you fit, and the less you drive, the less you pay in gas, maintenance, and (in many cases) insurance.
There you have it! 14 ideas on how to START saving. Pick even one of them, and you should see your savings grow and, hopefully, have developed a habit of saving. This is nowhere near a fully comprehensive list, but some ideas to get started, so let your imagination run wild and watch the nest egg grow! Good Luck!
I was thinking about the processes of saving money and how people struggle with doing so, so I wanted to share some tips/ideas on how to get started. Granted, now that I have an understanding of more financial things than I did, I still believe that "Big Wins" (investing well, automating, etc.) are a great way to do things. But on the same level, I understand that sometimes, working on something like that can feel like a stretch at best and impossible at worst, if you can't even get some basic money in the bank-believe me, I get it.
So if you need a few Small Victories to help you feel like it is possible to get started, here are some things I find to be helpful to get STARTED in your savings goals, in no particular order. A lot of these I have used personally, and some of them I have seen around that I think could work for people.
Use as many or as few as your tolerance allows (allowing you to still enjoy life, and not spend every waking moment obsessing about the next thing to cut), and soon you'll find that you're starting to build a nice nest egg. I'd even wager that you'll start to see your own creative brand of saving money emerge and come up with other ideas, all your own. Good Luck!
1. Starting very basic: Save $1/day. At the end of a year, you'll have saved $365. (Or, more accurately, $365 and some random change if you have the savings in an interest-bearing account.) I truly believe that ANYONE can save one dollar a day. Mastering the idea of saving small amounts when you don't have money or are just getting started is extremely important too-because if you are not in the habit of saving and managing finances with nothing, having money won't change that, and can lead to some very bad money habits that are harder to correct when you DO have money. $1/day is a great way to start a good habit in a sustainable way.
2. Conversely, there is the Savings Money Jar idea that people have been using. In this, you save progressive amounts each week, starting with $1 the first week, then $2 the second week, etc., to the point where you save $52 in the last week, so at the end of the 52 weeks, you'll have saved $1378. That's a nice chunk of change to add to the nest egg, and of course, if you're able, you could always ramp it up to save more each week, as well. One thing though: While most/all of the links that talk about this use a Jar, PLEASE put the money in a savings account and not on your counter/in a jar where it's too easy to be tempted to spend it...
3. Round Your Funds. One Thing I have always is to round up and down on funds, down on deposits and up on expenses. For example, if a purchase is $3.50, I will say it's $5 in my tracking. Conversely, if I make a deposit of $100, I will note it as $95. If you use this method, it will create a cushion for your account, in amounts that may be a pleasant surprise for you. After a certain period of time (once a month, once every week, whatever works for you), transfer the cushion amount to savings.
4. Brown bag your lunch. This seems like an obvious choice, but one that many people don't take advantage of. Of course, bringing your own lunch is definitely less expensive than buying it every day. This also has the advantage, from a fitness standpoint, that you can control what is in your meal and the portions. Win, win if you ask me.
5. Do you shop at a grocery store that puts the "You saved XX Today" on the receipt? Transfer that amount to savings when you get home. True, it may only be a few dollars, but every little bit adds up. This also works well with the rounding technique I use above for things. If your budget for groceries is $50/week and you only spend $46, that $4 could be transferred to savings to help add up.
6. When I finally automated finances (in a better way since it had always been auto pay, etc.), I set up Separate bill/spending accounts and 7. Separate savings/spending accounts. So Three Accounts total (in reality, more than that because, as I've mentioned before, I have at least 3 saving accounts for different goals)- one for the bills, one for savings and one for the spending money that I allotted to us. You don't have to get as complicated as that if you choose not to (or, you can get more complicated if you choose to), but I would recommend at least having separate accounts for everyday and for the savings so the savings you're building don't accidentally get spent on regular things. And, if you can keep your savings so that it's harder to access, even better.
8. Automate Savings. Yes, this is a "Big Win", and I was giving ideas on smaller victories you can do, but this is probably the easiest way to save. Use Direct Deposit and set aside part of your pay directly into savings account. The amount is up to you and your situation, but even $10/paycheck ($5/week) adds up. And If you don't have to worry about transferring money each time you're paid because it is direct deposited, you're that much more likely to stick to it.
9. Find ways to spend less on things you already buy. This one is a bit more broad, but leaves a lot of possibilities. For example, with few exceptions, store brand items are just as good as their more expensive name brand counterparts. (But you should double check the per-unit pricings, because some things are grouped as if they are savings, but aren't. 3/$5 on an item for store brand is not as good as $1.50/each for a name brand.) It also helps to buy from the bulk section of grocery stores so you can get just the amount you need. (Bonus: Better for the environment since there's less useless packaging.) There's also the dollar store for many, many things. I've never been one for coupons, really, unless I have one for something I am already buying, but many people use them to great effect. Since this option breeds creativity, I bet you can find other ways to shave off expenses and save.
10. Define why you are saving. This, perhaps, should have been tip number one, but these things happen when you are working from random parts of your brain. But the point stands: Defining why you are saving or what you are saving for is an important step. I have mentioned this before, and many (if not all) finance experts agree. Defining your goals in clear terms will help you reach them because it gives you something to reach for-like a house down payment-rather than just saying you need to save. It also can help prioritize and stick to the plan when other things come up or give you motivation, so it's a good mental boost.
11. I am not one to tell you to cut back on your mochas or coffee if that is something that you value, but are there things you can cut out that you don't value or that may be costing you? As an example smaller coffee, or getting one less a week saves not only a few dollars here and there, it also saves hundreds of calories a week. (Another win-win for the fitness and finance marriage.) Or Cable subscriptions you don't even use? (Watch one channel, anyone?) Look at your own spending and ask yourself: Are you spending within your VALUES? If not, can it be axed? This is a very personal choice in one's habits, but if you can find things you've been mindlessly consuming and get rid of them, it opens a lot of possibilities on where to find that extra money you are working to save.
12. Did you just get a new cost of living raise? 50 cents an hour is $20/week before tax. Maintain your current spending levels (with direct deposit, of course so you don't even know it's there anyway), and you'll start to see your savings grow a little bit faster with each paycheck.
13. Does your grocery store have a gas rewards program? If you're shopping there anyway, you may as well take advantage of the savings on gas that you can get. For many stores, you can save up to $1.00/gallon off, just for having the free grocery store key which definitely adds up. Just remember the golden rule: Transfer the amount of savings to your savings account(s) when you get home. (See item 5.)
14. Walk/Bike more often. Of course, as another way to save at the pump, you could always use your car less. And again, this is a win-win for the fitness and finance super-duo. (Yes, I just made it sound like it's a super hero. Deal with it.) Walking and biking keeps you fit, and the less you drive, the less you pay in gas, maintenance, and (in many cases) insurance.
There you have it! 14 ideas on how to START saving. Pick even one of them, and you should see your savings grow and, hopefully, have developed a habit of saving. This is nowhere near a fully comprehensive list, but some ideas to get started, so let your imagination run wild and watch the nest egg grow! Good Luck!
Friday, September 5, 2014
Pom-Cran-Bluberry Smoothie Recipe
Last year when I was doing a fruit and vegetable cleanse with juicing, smoothies and fruit/veggies as my only source of food/nutrition for a week, I went to Emerald City Smoothie near us, and got an all fruit version of their Eternal Energizer. (So, no soy milk or alternatives, as their menu offers.) Since the first time I had it, I loved it, and had several more (of course) here and there. I wanted to recreate the recipe at home, but had forgotten to look for cranberries for the longest time. I finally had some cranberries a few weeks ago,and after some experimentation, I've come up with a pretty good emulation of it, and wanted to share it with you.
Ingredients:
-1 cup frozen blueberries
-1/2 cup frozen cranberries
-1/4 cup concentrate (100%) pomegranate juice (I used POM Wonderful)
-3/4 cup water (you can use less if you'd like a thicker smoothie)
Toss everything in your blender and mix until it's your desired consistency.* Pour into a glass and enjoy!
Nutrition Info:
150 Calories, 0.4g fat, 4.3g fiber, 38.1g carbs, 5.1mg sodium, 1.1g protein
* You may need to use less or more water, depending on your preferences. I also use frozen fruit, so if you use fresh fruit, you'll probably need to forgo the water since you'll add ice.
Ingredients:
-1 cup frozen blueberries
-1/2 cup frozen cranberries
-1/4 cup concentrate (100%) pomegranate juice (I used POM Wonderful)
-3/4 cup water (you can use less if you'd like a thicker smoothie)
Toss everything in your blender and mix until it's your desired consistency.* Pour into a glass and enjoy!
Nutrition Info:
150 Calories, 0.4g fat, 4.3g fiber, 38.1g carbs, 5.1mg sodium, 1.1g protein
* You may need to use less or more water, depending on your preferences. I also use frozen fruit, so if you use fresh fruit, you'll probably need to forgo the water since you'll add ice.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Fitbit One Review
My husband got me a Fitbit One for my birthday 2 weeks ago, and after more than a week of wearing it and debating about it, here are some of my thoughts on it.
If you're not familiar with it, Fitbit is a company that makes various body trackers. They come in various styles, including bracelets and, like mine, one you clip to yourself via a holder, and they track things like steps, stairs, calories burned, and sleep.
Pros:
-Sleek, compact design makes it so I don't notice when it's clipped to me. (I keep it clipped to my bra, but you can wear it at your hip, etc.)
-It does keep me moving since I am always trying to get at least the daily goals (10k steps, etc.) or badges, and will find creative ways to do so. I have been known lately to walk around and around and around my kitchen to get more steps, or run up and down the stairs, and have also started taking walks on my breaks at work. So this is very, very good.
-The Fitbit interface makes it very easy to track calories in and out. So easy, in fact, that I actually care and remember to do so every day (so far), as opposed to my maintaining my ideal of "not counting calories, but make each calorie count". (Which, by the way, I think is very important for people who are not trying to lose weight, but maintain. You don't need to stress about every single calorie, but you should work on making the calories you consume count and be productive.) Fitbit interface keeps track of most logged food and recently logged food, so if you are a creature of habit like me and can eat the same thing every day, it is right there and easy to click on to log it. It also allows you to create meals to track multiple foods at once-for example, husband makes turkey wraps for me and after I created the meal and logged the food the first time, I no longer have to find/click every ingredient when I need to log it.
-As mentioned above, the Fitbit awards badges for activities, such as 10,000 steps or 10 flights of stairs, and increases the amount you need to earn the badge as you keep earning them. So, if you like to make a game of things, this is a great way to get extra movement.
-Syncs very easily, as long as all things are working correctly. It syncs approximately every 15-20 minutes when you are within 15 feet of the USB and have internet connection. I have sometimes had to refresh the dashboard once or twice to see the new steps, but otherwise had not had problems.
Updated 09/05/2014 to add: Last night, I could not get it to sync automatically. I followed the trouble shooting steps in the help, including removing USB and reentering, etc. I was able to finally manually sync it by reopening the main platform and "Restarting" it, and then it did automatically sync on it's own after that. So I am glad for that, but it does make me a little twitchy that it had to have that done so early on. We'll see how it goes.
Cons:
-It sometimes has questionable accuracy. There was an instance last week that, from 6:30pm to 8:15pm, it said I took zero steps. I knew this was inaccurate because I had just come from an hour long cardio class, and to get home required walking down stairs, to my car, out of my car, up apartment stairs, and I was walking around the apartment during that time (grabbing dinner, using bathroom, etc.) So it should have tracked at least 200-300 steps during that period. It occasionally also goes in the opposite direction and, depending on where you wear it, may pick up extra steps than actually occurred. I mostly see it pick up less than actuality though, which is OK. For the most part, it seems accurate within reason. (No device will ever be 100% accurate 100% of the time.) But when it's off, it seems to be off a bit, as demonstrated above.
-Stairs are not accurate. There is no way around this, at all. Since it is elevation based, and not actual stairs based, it will record flights very differently than what stairs you actually climb. In the Help/FAQ for Fitbit, it shows that it equates 1 flight to 10 feet in elevation gained. So if you are walking in a hilly area, you get credited with flights of stairs, which is awesome. But it's annoying when you spend time climbing up and down stairs over 20 times in a row, which I have done, and get credited with only one or two flights. So, realizing that, I kind of of gave up on the stairs thing. If I see that I am close to the goal (10 flights/day), I will still go climb a few times to get those in, but don't really rely on the stairs part.
-It is very inconvenient to have to put the tracker in the bracelet it came with at night to track sleep, and then back into the carrying clip in the mornings to track steps, etc. It requires finagling with Velcro wrist strap at night, which occasionally falls off during the night, and then fidgeting with it in the morning to get it back in the clip in the morning. This is specific to my device, but there are others, so if you get a bracelet style (which I believe is named Fitbit Force), you don't have to worry about this issue.
-Sleep tracking is not accurate. While it is kind of fun to set the timer and then see the numbers, it is not an accurate way to determine sleep patterns. Nor can it be. The Fitbit devices "track" sleep patterns by movement. So if you toss and turn in your sleep, it will track that as restless, which can be good to know, but does not actually have a way to track sleep vs. awake, since you can be wide awake but if you are lying perfectly still, it will count it as asleep. I do not know if you stopped and restarted the timer each time you awoke, if it would count it as awake. I was thinking that I would test this soon to find out, but is a matter of remembering to do so during the night. If I ever test this, I will update this post with that information. In the mean time, I will say it's good to get a general idea of sleep times, but would not recommend someone with sleep problems to rely solely on the information you get from the Fitbit devices.
Overall:
Though it does have some things that are...quirky...about it, I did decide to go ahead and keep it. It did, after all, get me moving more and help me track calories in a convenient way so I knew I wasn't taking in too few or too many. And because of those things, it allowed me make this exciting statement:
I finally broke my 2-month long Plateau and lost just over 5 pounds last week! Hooray!!!
So that's where I stand on the Fitbit One. I hope this helps if you are deciding if you should get one or not. Do you have any cool fitness tools that have been helping you? Please share below!
If you're not familiar with it, Fitbit is a company that makes various body trackers. They come in various styles, including bracelets and, like mine, one you clip to yourself via a holder, and they track things like steps, stairs, calories burned, and sleep.
Pros:
-Sleek, compact design makes it so I don't notice when it's clipped to me. (I keep it clipped to my bra, but you can wear it at your hip, etc.)
-It does keep me moving since I am always trying to get at least the daily goals (10k steps, etc.) or badges, and will find creative ways to do so. I have been known lately to walk around and around and around my kitchen to get more steps, or run up and down the stairs, and have also started taking walks on my breaks at work. So this is very, very good.
-The Fitbit interface makes it very easy to track calories in and out. So easy, in fact, that I actually care and remember to do so every day (so far), as opposed to my maintaining my ideal of "not counting calories, but make each calorie count". (Which, by the way, I think is very important for people who are not trying to lose weight, but maintain. You don't need to stress about every single calorie, but you should work on making the calories you consume count and be productive.) Fitbit interface keeps track of most logged food and recently logged food, so if you are a creature of habit like me and can eat the same thing every day, it is right there and easy to click on to log it. It also allows you to create meals to track multiple foods at once-for example, husband makes turkey wraps for me and after I created the meal and logged the food the first time, I no longer have to find/click every ingredient when I need to log it.
-As mentioned above, the Fitbit awards badges for activities, such as 10,000 steps or 10 flights of stairs, and increases the amount you need to earn the badge as you keep earning them. So, if you like to make a game of things, this is a great way to get extra movement.
-Syncs very easily, as long as all things are working correctly. It syncs approximately every 15-20 minutes when you are within 15 feet of the USB and have internet connection. I have sometimes had to refresh the dashboard once or twice to see the new steps, but otherwise had not had problems.
Updated 09/05/2014 to add: Last night, I could not get it to sync automatically. I followed the trouble shooting steps in the help, including removing USB and reentering, etc. I was able to finally manually sync it by reopening the main platform and "Restarting" it, and then it did automatically sync on it's own after that. So I am glad for that, but it does make me a little twitchy that it had to have that done so early on. We'll see how it goes.
Cons:
-It sometimes has questionable accuracy. There was an instance last week that, from 6:30pm to 8:15pm, it said I took zero steps. I knew this was inaccurate because I had just come from an hour long cardio class, and to get home required walking down stairs, to my car, out of my car, up apartment stairs, and I was walking around the apartment during that time (grabbing dinner, using bathroom, etc.) So it should have tracked at least 200-300 steps during that period. It occasionally also goes in the opposite direction and, depending on where you wear it, may pick up extra steps than actually occurred. I mostly see it pick up less than actuality though, which is OK. For the most part, it seems accurate within reason. (No device will ever be 100% accurate 100% of the time.) But when it's off, it seems to be off a bit, as demonstrated above.
-Stairs are not accurate. There is no way around this, at all. Since it is elevation based, and not actual stairs based, it will record flights very differently than what stairs you actually climb. In the Help/FAQ for Fitbit, it shows that it equates 1 flight to 10 feet in elevation gained. So if you are walking in a hilly area, you get credited with flights of stairs, which is awesome. But it's annoying when you spend time climbing up and down stairs over 20 times in a row, which I have done, and get credited with only one or two flights. So, realizing that, I kind of of gave up on the stairs thing. If I see that I am close to the goal (10 flights/day), I will still go climb a few times to get those in, but don't really rely on the stairs part.
-It is very inconvenient to have to put the tracker in the bracelet it came with at night to track sleep, and then back into the carrying clip in the mornings to track steps, etc. It requires finagling with Velcro wrist strap at night, which occasionally falls off during the night, and then fidgeting with it in the morning to get it back in the clip in the morning. This is specific to my device, but there are others, so if you get a bracelet style (which I believe is named Fitbit Force), you don't have to worry about this issue.
-Sleep tracking is not accurate. While it is kind of fun to set the timer and then see the numbers, it is not an accurate way to determine sleep patterns. Nor can it be. The Fitbit devices "track" sleep patterns by movement. So if you toss and turn in your sleep, it will track that as restless, which can be good to know, but does not actually have a way to track sleep vs. awake, since you can be wide awake but if you are lying perfectly still, it will count it as asleep. I do not know if you stopped and restarted the timer each time you awoke, if it would count it as awake. I was thinking that I would test this soon to find out, but is a matter of remembering to do so during the night. If I ever test this, I will update this post with that information. In the mean time, I will say it's good to get a general idea of sleep times, but would not recommend someone with sleep problems to rely solely on the information you get from the Fitbit devices.
Overall:
Though it does have some things that are...quirky...about it, I did decide to go ahead and keep it. It did, after all, get me moving more and help me track calories in a convenient way so I knew I wasn't taking in too few or too many. And because of those things, it allowed me make this exciting statement:
I finally broke my 2-month long Plateau and lost just over 5 pounds last week! Hooray!!!
So that's where I stand on the Fitbit One. I hope this helps if you are deciding if you should get one or not. Do you have any cool fitness tools that have been helping you? Please share below!
Friday, August 22, 2014
28th Birthday and Goals for the Upcoming Year
Today
is my 28th birthday (happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me :)),
and as such, I thought it would be a perfect time to come up with some
goals, see where I am on current goals. So here are my current numbers
and where I am hoping to be:
CURRENT:
|
GOAL, BY END OF THIS YEAR (DEC 31):
|
BENCH: 65 POUNDS
|
110 POUNDS (Doubling my recent 55 pounds)
|
SQUAT: ~95 POUNDS
|
200 POUNDS
|
DEADLIFT: 70-75 POUNDS
|
150 POUNDS
|
CLEAN/PRESS: 30 POUNDS
|
75 POUNDS
|
CURL: 25 POUNDS
|
60 POUNDS
|
TRICEP: 20 POUNDS (Behind Head)
|
50-60 POUNDS
|
LAT PULLDOWN: 75 POUNDS
|
160-170 POUNDS (Or be able to do pull-ups without weight assist)
|
PUSUPS: 0 PROPER (I am working off the wall currently)
|
50-75
|
Running: 3 Laps around park (without stopping), which equals ~.60 miles
|
10 laps without stopping, which equals ~2.1 miles
|
So these are my goals for the end of the year. I also started thinking last week about goals for by my 29th
birthday, but all I could come up with was “Run 10 miles (or more)”.
It “bothered” me for a bit that I couldn’t think of anything else, but
as I thought on it more and more, I think, maybe that’s a good thing. I
could list high numbers for goals for weightlifting, but as I am trying
to get, and maintain, lean muscle (as opposed to “bulking up”), there
would not be much point to that. Plus, it’s hard to predict where one
will be in a year, so by not defining anything other than a running goal
(that should be achievable), it gives me leeway to define goals as I
see where I’m at. It also helps to not set me up for failure or
disappointment—since there are few things more disheartening than to set
a goal and fail to make it.
Those are my goals for fitness, but what about finances? Well, those numbers haven’t changed much since my starting post where I said where I was, mostly because I haven’t done anything with
it (fixing my automation, setting up an IRA, etc.) so that will
definitely be a task to take care of right away. (I can’t become a
millionaire if I am not working on it!) As for actual goals, since it is
hard to define, I don’t have many. I would, however, like to see our
savings at $10,000 minimum (between all accounts), or at least on a path
to be there by the end of NEXT year, and to see our 401(k)/IRA and
other investment accounts growing. I can’t control how those accounts
grow (other than what I put into them), so I am not even going to try to
quantify it with a number, but as long as they are growing, we’re
headed in the right direction.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
ALS Icebucket Challenge
I was challenged by a friend to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Unless you've been living in a cave the last week or, you know what the challenge is: Dump ice on your head for ALS.
So here's my video:
I accepted the challenge, and in return challenge:
-Arnold Schwarzenegger
-My Husband
-My Roller Derby Hero, Scald Eagle, of Portland's very own Rose City Rollers
The Rules:
-You have 24 hours to either Dump ice on yourself AND donate $10 to ALS at alsa.org/donate OR you may forgo ice and donate $100. People have been failing to mention that is is Ice AND donate, or donate a larger amount, so some people have the impression that by dumping ice over themselves, they don't need to donate, which makes it seem as if people would "rather dump ice on themselves than donate" to a good cause. Don't do that, that's terrible. Please remember to do, and mention, both.
-You now have the privilege/responsibility to challenge OTHER people to do this task and join in on the madness. 2-4 people seems to be the ideal number. Remember to tag the people you challenge so they know. :)
That's all there is to it! Now get out there and...be cold for a few minutes for a good cause!
So here's my video:
I accepted the challenge, and in return challenge:
-Arnold Schwarzenegger
-My Husband
-My Roller Derby Hero, Scald Eagle, of Portland's very own Rose City Rollers
The Rules:
-You have 24 hours to either Dump ice on yourself AND donate $10 to ALS at alsa.org/donate OR you may forgo ice and donate $100. People have been failing to mention that is is Ice AND donate, or donate a larger amount, so some people have the impression that by dumping ice over themselves, they don't need to donate, which makes it seem as if people would "rather dump ice on themselves than donate" to a good cause. Don't do that, that's terrible. Please remember to do, and mention, both.
-You now have the privilege/responsibility to challenge OTHER people to do this task and join in on the madness. 2-4 people seems to be the ideal number. Remember to tag the people you challenge so they know. :)
That's all there is to it! Now get out there and...be cold for a few minutes for a good cause!
Monday, August 18, 2014
Change your mind, change your life. Or, some thoughts on a Positive frame of mind.
Sometime
last year, around or before my 27th birthday, my husband told me that
he had a dream about me being in really great shape with a firm/toned
body, wearing a Wonder Woman tank top, and completely dominating at the
gym. He said he saw me in the dream doing pull-ups without any weight
assistance like it was nothing at all; that he saw me benching and
squatting more weight than ever, and doing many other difficult feats
like a pro. (He had a very detailed dream, obviously.) I was very
inspired and said to him "By the end of the year, I will be that woman.
By my 28th birthday, I will make THAT woman look weak."
Well,
my 28th birthday is in a few days, and I have not officially met either
of those proclaimed goals/statements. However, I am making decent
progress, and am on a path to get there. I have been more consistent
this year than I had been previously-in both working out and eating
better- and have been getting some results here and there. Results have
been frustratingly stagnant over the last two or so months-I have stayed
at the same weight range the whole time despite working very hard- but
at least I know I am not going BACKWARDS (gaining weight), and that
helps keep me mentally on track.
The
fact that I can say that I have not reached a goal, but that it is OK
because I am making progress, is by far, the greatest psychological win
that could be asked for. My journey is no longer defined by a number on a
scale, but rather the numbers that I know matter more: Can I run
longer? Can I lift more weight? Can I do something that I previously
couldn't?
Last
year, if I worked out a lot but didn't see any change in the scale, I
would have breakdowns and "throw a fit", for lack of better words. Now,
when I see the same frustrating number on the scale for several weeks in
a row, I can accept it and move on because I know what work I put in
and what I am capable of and know that eventually things will turn. I
am more confident in my abilities and celebrate smaller victories, such
as gaining 2 seconds when running a lap around the park or running 10
feet farther than the last time. And my attitude in general has become
more positive.
But
these things didn't come from wishful thinking, nor did they happen
overnight. They came from constant, willful working on mental habits.
(And is STILL a constant work on it.)
If
I'd catch myself falling into negativity, or if my husband caught me, I
would work to find something positive to say or focus on in efforts to
change my attitude. At first, this was HARD and I'd really have to
think of something positive to say-which goes to show the depth of my
lack of esteem or positivity, I think. As time went on, and the habit
became more developed, it became easier to find things, and more
importantly, to believe them (instead of just talking the talk). I also
find that being more positive helps me work harder, and working harder
helps me be more positive-it's a circle of good.
I
believe that the mental aspect is as important as everything else when
making changes (to anything-not just finances or weight), if not the
most important thing. There is a quote attributed to Henry Ford (whether
that's true or not, I have no idea) that kind of goes along with this
idea: "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." I
think that hits the nail on the head. People who believe they can do
something, push through to do it-even if it takes a while or has to be
worked up to/done in steps. People who believe they can't do something
quit or procrastinate or make excuses to not do it, etc. I want to be in the first group, believing that I can do what I need to, and moving forward with mental fortitude to weather the storms.
So
what can you do to make some positive changes and defeat the negative
self-talk? While no list is going to be definitive or apply to everyone,
here are some things that have helped me:
-Replace negative thoughts with positive ones, and be specific.
Example: When I would say or think something about being fat, I would
then say out loud something that is better. "I did x better today"/"My
arms are shaping up", etc. This may be hard at first, and you may feel
insincere, but that is all the more reason to keep doing it. It will
become more natural as you keep doing it, and easier to find things.
This doesn't just apply to one thing. ANY negative thought you have can,
and should, be reframed with a more positive one.
-Have someone hold you accountable/hold someone else accountable. Such a simple, yet powerful, concept. If you notice a friend/loved one saying something negative, (gently) call them out and ask them to say something positive. Ask a trusted friend/loved one to hold you to the same standards and let them know you are trying to do better.
-Question the negativity. Sometimes the best/fastest way to start to turn the negativity around and embrace a more positive outlook is to question it within yourself. Ask yourself WHY you feel that way, or where it may have come from. This seems obvious, but many people do not do it, instead just accepting it as "the way things are". But, as the saying goes, the first step to resolving a problem, is to identify it. You may sometimes surprise yourself if you dig a little deeper in yourself and find that what you think about something, or where it came from, couldn't be further from the truth. Once you start to identify things, it helps you decide how you want to proceed and if something needs to be changed, and how.
If you are battling your own negative self-talk, I hope these ideas help you start to find some positivity. Do you have some ideas that worked for you, or a story about how you accomplished something once you changed your attitude? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Current Pictures
Here are the older pictures and the ones from today, for comparison:
 | |
| 06/15/2014 |
 |
| 08/03/2014 |
 |
| 06/15/2014 |
 |
| 08/03/2014 |
 |
| 06/15/2014 |
 |
| 08/03/2104 |
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Shin Splints and You: What You can do about these Pests
When
I run, I tend to get the dreaded, god-awful lower-leg pain that plagues
many runners, newbies and experienced alike. You know what I mean:
Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome, or as normal non-medical people call it,
shin splints.
Though
I do have all kinds of running goals as part of being healthy (races,
etc.), you will likely never hear me say I like/love running. I love the
power I gain from it (getting faster, gaining endurance, etc.) and the
physical benefit of helping me lose weight, but the running itself-meh.
I'm sure there are many people who feel the same. This feeling only gets
compacted when the elation of your hard-won victory (time or distance)
is short-lived because it is followed by pain. Would I like running
better if I didn't get shin splints? Maybe, maybe not.
But
since it is ultimately part of my long-term goals (to run a marathon
someday), and I want to do well at it even if I don't love it, I decided
to do some research on ways to help shin splints. It turns out, my
instincts were correct, and there a few basic moves you can do to help
them (which I already do, so I will need to remember to include them
more often). I will get to these in a minute, but first let's talk about
shin splints themselves.
What are Shin Splints?
Most
simply, shin splints are pain in the front lower leg during or after
activities such as running, dancing, etc. It can be towards the sides
or straight down below the knee cap. In my experience, it also sometimes
includes my ankles becoming tight. Different people experience
different things.
What Causes Shin Splints?
Mayo Clinic's very brief description states: "Shin splints are caused by repetitive
stress on the shinbone and the connective tissues that attach your
muscles to the bone." A more complete description can be found on this site, but the basic gist is that stress and pressure on your bones can cause them.
How can you help Shin Splits?
And
finally, what you may have come here for: How can you take care of
these irritating things? There are several ways you can help
treat/prevent further shin splints. A quick internet search will show
you dozens and dozens of different exercises and tricks you can use, but
here are some of the most common ones:
-Stretch:
It is common knowledge that stretching promotes flexibility and can
help alleviate pain in muscles because it expands muscles that have been
contracted by exercise. It is hotly debated and highly studied if you
should stretch before or after exercise, so I'll leave that to your
trainer or doctor to make recommendations for you, but the consensus is
that stretching is good for you. You should be doing this even if you
don't have shin splints.
-Toe-Taps are
a good way to exercise your shins to strengthen them. (I call them toe-taps, you may call them shin raises.) I find it easier
to do them when seated on the edge of a chair, but you can also do them
standing. With feet flat on floor, lift toes toward legs until you feel
it in your shin area, and return to flat. Think about the inverse of a calf raise. Instead of raising heels, you will raise toes. Here is a visual--this is not my image so I don't control if it will always be there. How many times you do this
depends on you and your abilities.
-Ankle Circles can
help loosen and strengthen your ankles. Make sure to rotate in both
directions to get the full benefit. Again, how many times you do this
depends on you and your abilities. If you need extra challenge, you
could always add in ankle weights.
-Strengthen Your Calves: There is a lot of information about strengthening calves and shin splints to be found. Here is a great article that covers it better than I can condense it or explain it.
-Rest: When experiencing symptoms, make sure to rest up. Use ice, elevation, and heat in a combination that helps you.
-Make sure you have proper gear.
What proper gear is, is relative to the individual, and it may take
some experimenting to find it. At the very least, you should have
well-fitting shoes that give you support where you need it most-which
also varies by individual. Some people also use things like braces or
wraps to help
.
-Change your stride/gait or form. This is a last resort option, if all else fails to work. That being said, it is CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT that
you do not attempt this on your own, and instead consult with a medical
professional such as a Physical Therapist. That point cannot be
emphasized enough. If you have tried everything else and still have
problems, there may be something entirely different than shin splints
going on. Consult with your Medical Professional to rule anything else
out and/or to work on changing gait or "strike pattern" (the position your foot is in when it hits the ground).
Above all else, Listen to your Body. While a lot of pain while working out can be psychological (mind over body), only you
know how much pain you can tolerate and if something doesn't feel
right. Listen to those clues that your body gives you--pain included--to
know what's going on and if you should do something about it.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Starting/Current Numbers
As
promised in my first post, here are all the numbers that I am starting
from, or are at currently. I will periodically update as things change,
but for certain things, I don't expect them to change very rapidly. So
maybe the updates will be infrequent for things like growing 401K, etc.,
but I will always be as complete as possible. As of today, 07/29/2014, this is where I am at:
Financial:
Predictable Income:
~21,000/year (Income from day job which doesn't include OT or anything
from side/personal projects that I may do), or ~42,000/year if you
include husband's income. (We work at the same place, and make the
same.)
Checking:
~600ish-- I don't actually expect this to change that drastically
because of the way savings accounts are set up and the cyclical nature
of getting paid and money going to bills. But you never know...
Savings: ~1800--I
actually have 3 accounts for savings, or rather, one account and 2 sub
accounts. Though, this number reflects the total of all of them because
since they are tied, if a big emergency happens, I could easily transfer
funds to use. But let's just hope that doesn't happen. I have one for
"Life's Hassles" or the emergency fund, one for "Down Payment" and one
for "Fun/Vacation Money".
Why
so many? I believe, and I think many would agree, that it's important
to have REASONS that you are saving to help keep on track. It's easier
to say "I am saving for Ireland" or "This will buy my house someday"
than to just vaguely say "I need to save." So, if you find yourself
struggling to save money, that's my first suggestion: Besides saving for
a rainy day, sit down and decide/define WHY you want to save, or what
you're saving for. You may just find that this step naturally makes you
more conscious of your spending and saving habits, and helps you add to
your savings.
401K Plan:
My plan account says ~400, but it takes a while to register
contributions, and my paystub says ~500, so we'll go with that./
Husband's is ~230. (We both just opened them this year, and he started
after me.) We both contribute 10% each check, and receive 4% match from
our employer.
Debt:
Aside from my car payments (of which I should be rid of in about 7
months), and perhaps a less than $200 cell phone bill that I forgot to
pay when I cancelled my previous service (which will be taken care of in
the next month or so), neither I nor my husband carry any substantial
debt-a fact that I am proud of, especially since at one point after
having some hard times after our move between states, we were paying off
a maxed out credit card of $1500. Thankfully, that hasn't been the case
in about a year or more. So, for the purposes of this blog, I say I am
debt free. Hooray!
Total "Net Worth": About $3130 between all combined accounts. So, I am a long way from a millionaire. But that's OK--Even Warren Buffett had to start somewhere!
Health:
Health:
Current Weight:
~195-196 Pounds. Despite being consistent in working out and eating
better, this number has not changed in several weeks. While I have been
experimenting with various factors that could be causing it, I do
realize that my body is changing and that I am getting stronger and
healthier, so I TRY to not focus on the number on the scale too much. I
think I will also go back to not weighing in more than once a week-that
seems to be a good number as opposed to the 3-4 times a week I do now.
Pictures
are always a good way to track, and husband and I had been doing about
every 2 weeks for a while, but haven't been consistent in months-So
that's one goal I'll be working on, to be more consistent about
pictures-especially since the scale can be a trickster, and a good
motivator to keep going is to SEE in a side-by-side comparison how
things change.
These ones below are about a month old. I will take some more current ones this week.
So now that we know where I am currently at, let's march forward and make some progress!
Friday, July 25, 2014
About Buff Millionaire
Hi! Welcome to my blog. This is the first entry, so I thought I'd lay my goals out and answer questions that may (or may not) come up soon:
----------------------------------------------------------
The Buff Millionaire? What? What is that?
Well,
that's me. Or, at least... it will be. Two of my goals are to be in
exceptional athletic shape, and to be financially independent-or, even
better, a millionaire.
Recently,
it has become sort of a positive mantra in my life. "I'm going to be a
buff millionaire." I say it randomly, in good moods and bad. In good
moods, it's a reminder to what my future holds. In bad moods, it
sometimes helps me remember the bigger picture or gives me a positive
thought to try and replace other negative ones. It doesn't ALWAYS work,
but then no one is perfect. More importantly, I have made it a mantra
in my life because I believe that the first step to achieving any goal,
is to first declare it and believe that you can.
What do I hope to accomplish with this blog?
Currently, this blog will track my progress as I work toward these goals. I don’t know how often I’ll update, or what the updates will consist of-maybe weigh-ins, things I learn about finance, etc. It
may evolve into something entirely different, but for the time being,
it will be a way for me to hold myself accountable, remind me to work on
things (hopefully), and will allow me to share progress with anyone who
may read. If you're currently working on your own fitness or finance
goals-or anything else for that matter-I'd love to hear from you. It's
always great to build community, and share journeys
Do I have specific goals?
Do I have specific goals?
Well, yes and no.
As
far as my weight/body goes, my first goal is to get back down to
165-170 pounds, as that is what I weighed roughly 5 years ago before
moving in with my now-husband and gained a lot of weight. At my highest,
I was 215 pounds, and while it has (thankfully!) been a long time since
I've seen that weight, I have been gaining and losing the same several
pounds and have been hovering in the same area for a while now. So I
decided it's time to break the cycle and get where I need to be.
Actually, I decided that a long time ago, and have already been working
out regularly lately, but now I have this blog to track where I am.
So,
after I hit the 165-170 goal, this is where the non-specific comes in, I
will continue to exercise, but will allow my body to get as small as
it's meant to, without a number in mind. So if I get to be a tiny 110,
or 140, or 170, it doesn't matter to me, as long as I am HEALTHY. I feel
like I'll know when I've reached my body's natural frame, and then from
there can work on perfecting my muscle tone.
For
the financial side, Well... it recently entered my mind to be a
millionaire by the time I am 40. So that's actually a reasonable goal.
That gives me 12 years and a few weeks to accomplish this. A lofty goal,
perhaps. But I think it can be done and I will work, work, work to make
it happen.
How will I meet these goals?
The
most basic answer is the best one, in this case: Continuing to work out
on a regular basis, and learning how to invest to grow wealth.
Where am I starting from, or where am I currently?
As
far as numbers for weight and finances, I will actually make a whole
post dedicated to just that. So be on the look out for that soon.
For
education and development to meet the goals, well, I am starting from
basically ground level and will learn as I go. Especially about
investing.
While
I have a background in fitness, and was actually very close to being a
trainer (just needed to take the certification test), this was many
years ago. I still know a lot, and the most important things, but
everyone can use some polishing here and there, including me.
About
Money... well, I know a lot of tricks I have employed to save money,
and they do help here and there. And one thing I will be doing as soon
as possible is to FULLY automate my finances (as opposed to what is now
just direct deposit to savings and checking and having bills on auto
pay) so that I can have that big win of not worrying about if XYZ will
come out before I get paid, or if I have to lose some savings to pay off
something else, etc. So this will help clear up funds for investing.
And
investing itself? Well, I know basically nothing. After reading a well
written book-Ramit Sethi's I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Which I highly
recommend as a starting point for anyone who may be confused about all
the finance mumbo-jumbo that's out there- I finally understood enough to
know how to get mine and my husband's 401Ks set up this year-so that's a
great start! I'm learning the rest as I go along through lots of
reading and searching. I fully expect I'll stumble and make mistakes here and there along
the way-it's all part of the process- but the most important thing is to
START, and get better as I go.
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