Finances have definitely been a big source of stress in my life, a chain reaction of bingeing then withdrawal, denial and shame.
Money definitely has a lot to do with eating habits, doesn't it?
When I get stressed, I start splurging more, I stop making my own meals. I start spending 15$ a day at the cafeteria, I over-eat. I stop doing other things that make me happy because I realize I can't afford them.
I accumulated a credit card debt while I was unemployed (bills and groceries) , and then I got a job that made me unhappy - I just kept spending. I've been carrying a debt that's been 11% of my annual income the last year and a half - paying TONS of interest.
I've always been ashamed of my money managing problems. My family, my younger brothers, are much more disciplined than I am.
That is now over, and with enough money left to pay some bills, buy some groceries, emergency money, etc., to boot.
I feel so happy that I don't have to live paycheque to paycheque anymore.
Money really is so much like out our weight loss, isn't it? Requiring a little bit at a time, regularly, consistently, with discipline. And of course, the maintenance is the most challenging aspect in most ways...
If you haven't tried Mint.com, I highly recommend it. You load all your accounts, so you can see charts and graphs of your spending, and see how much you are actually saving or spending each month. I'm so much calmer about money when everything is visual. And I realized that I should never buy food at Whole Foods.
Funny thing is that yesterday and today I was thinking the exact same thing. I have been working towards paying off my debt and especially focused on it this past year. I still have a little bit more to go but I am way better off than where I was when I first started. And boy the discipline sure needs to be there otherwise you'll just keep charging. It hasnt been easy, but so worth it.
The sad part is, most of my credit card debt is because of my food binging. I can't believe I wasted so much money buying junkfood, fast food, candy, soda, etc. I work part-time and in the past most of my paycheck went into binging. I think about it sometimes and feel so ashamed for being this irresponsible. It's amazing how much I've been able to save since I became more health-conscious.
I'm definitely going to give Mint.com a try. I've heard a lot of good reviews on the internet but it still makes me a little uncomfortable giving out my personal information out there, although many say it's safe.
Way to go getting out of debt! It must be a huge load off of your shoulders!
I've fortunately been able to avoid going into debt, but I found last year when I was unemployed and attending school, I wasn't curtailing my spending to recognize my lack of incoming cash. I blew through the $2000 in my account in no time flat. The big ticket items I was blowing my money on? Fast food, fast food, and more fast food. Occasionally I would stop at the grocery store, but even then I wasn't getting really healthy stuff. Most of the time I stopped at KFC or Subway, or a convenience store and got pop and chips, and donuts. It's no wonder I went broke and gained 30lbs.
So I totally get how controlling cash is a lot like controlling weight, and for me, they're even more linked, because so much of my cash was being spent on my out-of-control eating habits. I'm usually a saver rather than a spender. I rarely buy new clothes, I use the library instead of buying books and movies, I don't go to the movie theatre, I weigh almost every purchase by thinking, "Do I really need this?" but I wasn't doing that with food. I just saw what I wanted and ate it without thinking of how much money it was wasting. I feel sick thinking about it now.
My eating and my spending are under control at this point, but I actually had to cash in a GIC last year because I had no money left. Yikes.
Sadly our debt really had nothing to do with our own mistakes. We bought a house at JUST the wrong time (now our payment is 50% of our income) and I had some medical bills that couldn't wait so we had to credit card them. We're working on paying off that debt, but it's hard. Extra hard because we basically DID get into debt overnight (house, car died and had to buy another, medical bills all within a span of maybe 3 months a couple of years ago) and we can't get out of it overnight. We'll get there, but it's gonna take time. I guess I CAN be thankful because we have not lost the house or hubby's job and my medical issues are over for the most part (I have fibro but can't take meds so at least I wont have any more medical stuff to pay for!). That I CAN be thankful for.
For me debt and diet are about control. Some things in life I can't control, but what I put into my mouth I CAN!! I'm so glad all of you are getting where you want to be financially, physically, all of it! WOOT!
Finances
