Lose Weight or Save Money

What Would Your Life Be Like…
…if you had no debt; if you possessed vibrant health; if you did what you wanted to do; if your relationships were amazing; if you were focused and driven; if you celebrated life everyday; if you made meaningful contribution; if you had authentic happiness; if you lived your life like you only get one?

Hi I’m Dr. H. K. Holevinsky, and as a college professor for over 28 years, I’m constantly challenged to create ways to help my students to think rather than just read, memorize and learn by experience. One of these ways is to use comparative questioning such as: “Which do you think is easier; losing weight or saving money?” Usually they say something like, “Oh that’s easy… it’s saving… wait… no… I mean it’s losing… hmmm… let me think about that…” I enjoy watching their expressions, because I can almost see the wheels turning. For most people, both of these are difficult; for others, nearly impossible. Perhaps an examination of the math behind the questions will help: intake or income must be compared to burn rate or spend rate. You like math, right?

Precluding a medical condition, to lose weight, a person must have less intake (in calories) than burn rate (in calories). Or they must burn more calories than they take in. To save money, a person must have more income (in dollars) than spend rate (in dollars). Or they must spend less dollars than they take in.

Sounds simple enough. So why are both so difficult? One reason is the norm in our culture is to spend more than we earn, and to eat more than we burn. In either case, a departure from the norm is required. And both require a change in behavior, which requires a change in thinking. Finally, we may be lacking the skills, tools and motivation to help us make fantastic choices.

Unfortunately, statistics tell us that over half of us have no savings, and two-thirds of us are overweight. Not so good. I think back to conversations with my father when I faced a challenging dilemma, and can almost see him nodding and listening to me, thinking, and then saying something like, “Well buddy, if it was easy, everybody would be doing it.” Pretty good advice from a guy who didn’t go to college, but who could run circles around most of my professors. And he was right – again!

Well, let’s tackle one problem at a time. We’ll begin with money, since about 75% of us can identify with that one. Think about what your life would be like if you had no debt, and you were moving towards financial independence. Would you smile more? Would you have less stress? Would you celebrate more? Of course you would. So next week we’ll start with some basics to help you get a better grip on your money. If you’d like to ask a question, I’d love to hear from you; email me: drh@justimagineseminars.com. Until then, I’m Dr. H. K. Holevinsky for www.justimagineseminars.com.