Yesterday I was walking in the snow to get my Quiznos sub and I thought to myself that I should have had my Quiznos delivered.  However, I save money by walking to get my food because I could have paid $10 plus the delivery charge and tip to have it delivered, or I could just walk to pick up my Quiznos and pay $6 for my sub in total.  Not only is takeout cheaper than the cost of delivery, but I always feel better about eating out if I actually walk to pick up my food instead of having it delivered.  I started thinking that food and finances are related in more than one way. 

Here are some tips to help us treat our money like our diets:

If you binge, make sure it’s worth it.  It is ok to eat a lot for one meal or to eat when we aren’t hungry but it should be the best meal that we ever ate.  The same rule applies for our money.  If we are going to splurge it should be on a high quality item such as a great pair of boots that will last us for the next 5 winters.  We can also splurge on large items such as our cars and our homes.

We must compensate for over consumption.  If we spend a little too much one day, we should spend a little less the next day. The same rule applies to our diet.  We have to make sure that we stay within our budget, whether it is regarding our money or our daily calorie intake.

It is not ok to skip a meal…or a bill payment.  If we skip a bill payment, it could end up costing us more later on.  If we skip a meal we will be extra hungry later, and therefore we will eat more.  Late bill payments could cost us more money in late fees and accumulated interest. It is definitely better for our bank accounts to pay our bills on time.

Our Intake vs. Outtake is very important.  In this category our diets versus our money is actually the total opposite, although they are both very important. We want the amount of money coming into our bank accounts to be higher than the amount of money going out to ensure that we are saving money.  For our diet, we want our burned calories to be higher than our calorie intake to ensure that we are losing weight.

It takes a total commitment.  We don’t get a day off from earning money or managing our money.  When we decide to become financially healthy our whole lifestyle will change.  We must actively manage our budgets, and watch our spending.  The exact same rule applies to our healthy eating.  If we eat healthy 70% of the time and eat junk food the other 30% of the time, our healthy eating will not be worth it.

Photo By Mike Baird

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