How to Get Fit and Financially Healthy

On the surface, these two topics seem very far apart. Dear Reader, nothing could be further from the truth. We wanted to break down how they are linked, how one affects the other, and all the things you can do to improve in both areas, simultaneously!

A lot of our lives are spent pondering fitness and finances, and we consume a lot of media and products trying to fix either of them.

There are more than a few links between them, and you’ll see what makes them more similar than not.

On the superficial side of things, both of these can make us more attractive to the opposite sex.

A fit body and a fat wallet are very aesthetically pleasing so to speak. That is a huge reason why we strive to have both. This drives us to improve ourselves so that we may become more attractive to the opposite sex.

That doesn’t mean a potential mate will only look at your fitness or financial situation, but it can be a strong indicator that things in your life are going well.

How do fitness and finances correlate? What can we do to succeed at both? Below you’ll find our guide to get you started in making both of these a priority and how they relate to each other.

The Stress Test

Our fitness usually breaks down when stressors cause us to not eat well or stop exercising.

The same can be said for finances as well, we start to lose track of expenditures and life gets in the way of budgeting.

Whether its’s kids, school, job, or even spouses, these stresses lead to us not giving as much of a shit anymore. We lose the balance of life and resolve to do it better next time or make resolutions, but the longer we put things off the more our lives suffer.

Stress isn’t an excuse. Stress is something we all must deal with. Don’t allow the pressures of life to change your goals in fitness or finance. These are the areas we seem to slip the most, and that is one of the reasons they are closely related. Here are a few tips to help with stress.

Work out more often. Working out helps to reduce and even eliminate stress. Your body begs to move and do things, so give it that opportunity.

Prepare meals ahead of time. Preparing your meals sometimes a week in advance, will not only keep you healthier, but will save you money. Think about not stressing over lunch or having to run out for dinner. Plan ahead.

Get a hobby. Keep your mind engaged on other things instead of the stress of the world. It’s difficult to let go of things, we know, but you must f you want to be happier and healthier.

Being Rigid and Inflexible

You’re thinking to yourself that being inflexible doesn’t have anything to do with being fit!

That is very true, but it does have everything to do with making a schedule and sticking to it. Do not allow yourself to stray from the path you set forward for yourself.

Once you create a plan, whether it’s losing weight or saving money, you must stick to that plan. Both finance and fitness are about consistency and staying on top of your goals.

Here are a few tips to keep yourself consistent in money and fitness.

Set small goals first. Whether it’s get a gym membership or start a savings account, the first actions will lead to bigger ones.

Determine a schedule. We are creatures of habit, and if you hit Starbucks everyday, you’ll notice when its taken from the schedule. Change your current schedule to fit your newly made goals.

Make time. Watching Netflix 4 hours a day and then complaining you don’t have time to do things is keeping you from your goals. Use time wisely, make meals for the week, hit the gym, and then work on your new hobby, all in the time you were binge watching shows before.

Set long term goals. Once you have hit a few small goals it’s time to push for the larger ones. Whether you are saving for a home or getting a six pack, use these to inspire you to continue on your path. Consistency is key.

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

The American Psychological Association shows research that exercise benefits the mind in many different ways. Post exercise we get a mood enhancing effect that contributes to a feeling of well being.

We propose that being financial well off can have a similar effect on mental health. Imagine having enough money to walk away from work for a year or two, what kind of an effect would this have on your mental state? What if you could retire for good?

Let’s propose a scenario where you retired, very early, say at age 35. In this scenario, you are now able to do the things you always wanted. Without the 8-5 grind, you can go to the gym at midday, avoiding the evening rush and allowing you no distractions. You could focus intently on a hobby, like writing, reading, or art.

We believe the effects of financial fitness will compound into other parts of your life. Maintaining physical fitness will help you relieve the stress and give you the mental clarity to make the financial part a reality.

Being healthy and wealthy feed off of each other and can help to make you a better person. Try to be driven at both, but they aren’t the only things that matter in life.

The Family Equation

Are your kids heading down the path of fitness and fiscal stability or are they sitting in front of Fortnite every day? How do we get them on board with our goals and make them less of a stressor and more of a helpful influence?

Your kids, whether you like it or not, are mini versions of you.

They will follow and emulate a lot of what we do as parents. That means that we must teach them the foundations that we are trying to learn ourselves. It almost goes without saying that your spouse should be a huge part of your goals as well. Here are some tips that will make your family positive towards your transformation.

Bring your kids to the gym. Once you get them there, don’t have them sit in a corner or in the daycare room. Help them to discover what activities they like and want to excel in.

Involve your family in your hobby. Let your family drive your choice of what hobby you want to pursue. They will be excited to be a part of it if you give them the ability to help in the deciding process.

Bring them into the kitchen. Make meal preparation a family event that teaches about how to eat well and why we don’t hit the drive thru as much anymore.

Taking your family with you while you are on the path to health and financial success will help to make these life changes easier for you. Ultimately, that is what the goal of being fit and financially fit are all about.

Financially Fit

Keeping a clear vision on what you want out of life helps you to realize the goals you set.

This clarity can make losing weight or investing easier by keeping you focused on what truly matters ahead. The distractions and lack of schedule may have hampered you before, but mastering health and money is not going to happen overnight.

These two topics are linked very closely and doing well in one will inevitably help with the other. Look at it this way, as we said before, prepare meals ahead of time.

This means you aren’t eating out, saving money, and most likely eating fewer empty calories from fast food or fast casual restaurants.

Wear your progress on your sleeve and show others what you are doing.

If you are vocal about how you are saving money you’ll notice that others won’t expect as much spending from you. If you are vocal about getting in shape, you’ll have a similar response from others about eating out. Mostly, put yourself out there so that others can help and congratulate you on progress and goals that you’ve hit.

The Priorities

Building a future starts with foundations.

Foundations are made today, in fact right now is the best time to lay those foundations. Investing for retirement is about the long game and planting seeds of cash that will compound and become large trees of wealth.

The same goes for fitness, if you lift zero weights today, how can you build upon the success and gains of nothing.

You have to start now to get the results you want in either fitness or money. While reading this is great start, if we don’t get you moving to action, then we aren’t doing our job.

Our lives are about making yours better, whether its losing the first 10 pounds or saving the first $100, our mission is to help you.

Conclusion

As you can see, fitness and finance are tied together in many ways.

Being goal driven and consistent can lead to success in both.

Waiting for both to hit you over the head isn’t the answer, you must take action and seek out what will get you to where you NEED to be. Make small goals today, and keep making small goals until the large ones don’t seem so large anymore.

Get an investment account and go for a bike ride today, you’ll thank yourself for it!

We would love to hear about your connections between finances and fitness. What inspires you and what goals have you set recently?