Finance and Fat

Where’s My Debt Emergency?

Eden — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:09:31 +0000

From the Mr. Money Mustache blog: News Flash: Your Debt is an Emergency!!:

Your Debt is not something you “work on”. It is a HUGE, FLAMING EMERGENCY!!!

I’m buried deep in a serious debt problem. But why don’t I feel like my debt is an emergency? I know that it is, and I certainly don’t feel good about it. Yet I’ve somehow not been uncomfortable enough to take emergency measures.

As I wrote last week, I have way too much credit card debt and the worst of it is more than $5,000 between 20% and 25% interest.

The correct response to this sort of debt is, “AAAAAUUUUUUGGGHHHH!!!! THERE IS A CLOUD OF KILLER BEES COVERING EVERY SQUARE INCH OF MY BODY AND STINGING ME CONSTANTLY!!!! I NEED TO STOP IT BEFORE I AM KILLED!!!”

When I really think deeply about the amount of debt I have I start to feel the cloud of killer bees come over me. Yet I don’t feel that way most of the time. Perhaps I’ve become so comfortable with lying to myself about my debt that I simply don’t comprehend the severity anymore.

Intellectually, I know what needs to be done. I guess what’s lacking is discipline. I have to remind myself every day that this debt is in fact an emergency and that’s how I need to treat it. I built a habit of living with debt over many years and now I have to build a habit of hating debt.

I shouldn’t be spending any extra money on anything other than true living expenses. And I should figure out how to make some greater structural changes to my life in order to free up more money — bigger ideas like living somewhere cheaper and closer to work and cutting way back on car use and expenses.

Fortunately, there is hope for the future:

And there is more good news, since this is an Advanced blog: your debts are tiny.

I always have a little chuckle when people talk about a $10,000 debt, or even a $70,000 or $200,000 one as if it is insurmountable.

Sure, these sums of money are big when measured against the cost of groceries, and they are not sums of money to be wasted. But this is an early retirement blog. Here we are learning how to rake together much larger sums of money to allow us to live our lives free from mandatory work. For most of us, that means somewhere between $400,000 and $1.5 million. Beginners to Mustachianism find these sums unimaginable, but after a few years, the same people find their net worth spreadsheets increasing at over $100 grand per year due to investment returns and reduced spending.

If you’re dealing with a debt emergency, definitely go read the whole post from Mr. Money Mustache — it’s much better than anything I’ve written here. And anyone who has struggled with facing up to a debt emergency like me, please share how you overcame it.

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Where’s My Debt Emergency?

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Current Progress and Restarting the Blog

Eden — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:15:01 +0000

It’s been a while and, despite my good intentions, I simply haven’t kept up with the blog like I want to. But I miss writing. When I was writing regularly, this blog really helped me improve myself. Even though I don’t know most of you personally, I feel a real sense of accountability for what I write here. The numbers I share are real, and even though I’m sure no one out there is keeping track of every little detail, I feel an extra sense of responsibility to make wise decisions as if that was the case.

So here we go. My plan is to write occasional updates on my personal progress, and focus more on sharing what I’m learning from books and blogs. I’ve read a lot that I haven’t written about yet, so I have a backlog of quality information ready to go. And I’m learning a lot about myself — which I think is useful to some people, at least those of you who struggle with debt and fat like I do.

Since I started this blog, way back in 2007, I paid off all my credit card debt and two car loans (but this story doesn’t have a happy ending). However, I never had any real success with weight loss. The best I managed to do over the past 5+ years was to lose about twenty pounds, but I always gained it back — and eventually added even more. I finally peaked at an all time high of 278.6 pounds in February of last year.

So as things stand today, I’m actually worse off than I was in the beginning. After having paid off my original credit card debt, I’m now back in deeply. Fortunately, I’ve managed to make some progress with my weight over the past year. I’m still too fat, but I’m down almost forty pounds from my high. So there is hope. It really sucks that I racked up debt while really knowing better, but I don’t feel overwhelmed because I know I can fix this mess again. All that matters is finally learning the lessons and never letting it happen again. And that’s where I think blogging will help.

The Horrible Details

How I got here is a long story. As I write this, my credit card debt is $40,062.89. It’s painful to write that, but I’ve stopped using the cards and the balance has actually gone down this year. Getting under $40,000 next month will actually be a nice milestone.

For my weight, as of last week, I weighed 240.28 pounds with 26.63% body fat (I average my weight weekly to track progress). That’s painful to write as well, but I’m hopeful for the future because it’s a lot less than I weighed last year.

The Plan

This is a big mess I’ve created over many years and I know there aren’t any quick solutions. Lately I’ve put a lot of effort into understanding my behavior and why I’ve made the decisions I have. I see my debt and fat as symptoms of bigger problems. Maybe it could all be blamed on simple stupidity, but I think it’s more complicated than that.

My goal for 2013 is to get my weight down to 215 pounds and my body fat under 16%. For reference, I’m using my Withings WiFi scale for both measurements. I know the body fat measurement probably isn’t truly accurate, but it’s good enough for a point of reference.

For my debt, there’s too much to try to tackle in one year. My goal for 2013 is to pay off my highest interest credit cards. As of today, I have $5,456.30 of credit card debt at over 20% interest. That’s just an absolute killer and paying it off is my top priority.

So that’s a quick look at where I stand today. I hope that sharing this will help me get my act together and I hope there’s someone out there who will benefit as well. It feels good to be writing again and I’ll have a lot more to share soon.

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Current Progress and Restarting the Blog

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What Coke Contains

Eden — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:50:26 +0000

Great description of the amazingly complex process required to produce a product that provides no value to anyone.

→ What Coke Contains

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What Coke Contains

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Weekly Weight Loss Update: October 3, 2012

Eden — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:33:32 +0000

I missed an update last week, but I didn’t stop exercising or getting on the scale. I had some important things come up which took the free time that would have otherwise gone to writing this blog. It was for a good cause though, and I’ll have some good news to report soon. Anyway, on to the updates…

My weight is basically unchanged three weeks in. I kept up with exercise in week two, exercising 6 of 7 days. But week three dropped off a bit due to an injury — I only exercised 2 of 7 days. Not good, but it couldn’t be helped in this case. I’m going to get back on track with exercise soon.

I think that leaves my diet as the explanation for lack of results. It’s been better in general, but not good enough. I should have lost at least a pound or two by now if I was following a low-carb or Paleo diet. I aspire to eat that way — and I do more often than not — but I don’t do it consistently. Making that change is what I need to focus on now.

Week of	Average Fat %	Average Weight	Weekly Change	Left to lose (by 12/31/12)
9/26 – 10/2	29.36%	265.12 lb.	- 0.51 lb.	16 lb.
9/19 – 9/25	28.8%	265.63 lb.	+ 0.17 lb.	16 lb.
9/12 – 9/18	29.78%	265.47 lb.	N/A	16 lb.

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Weekly Weight Loss Update: October 3, 2012

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Weekly Weight Loss Update: September 18, 2012

Eden — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 14:03:32 +0000

I’m actually back with a progress report after my last post. Week 1 went pretty well. I exercised on 4 out of 7 days and my weight averaged a bit less than what I started with last week. My diet was okay — mostly low-carb, but I had a few cheat meals over the weekend. I feel so much better after exercising — that’s something I need to remember to tell myself when I don’t feel like doing it.

Week of	Average Fat %	Average Weight	Weekly Change	Left to lose (by 12/31/12)
9/12 – 9/18	29.78%	265.47 lb.	N/A	17 lb.

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Weekly Weight Loss Update: September 18, 2012

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Here We Go Again

Eden — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 13:07:48 +0000

I’m back again, after more time lost and no progress made. In February I posted Super Fatty Fat Fat — or Why it’s Time to Get Serious. The day of that post, I weighed in at 278.6 pounds. I wrote:

As far as I can tell, the only thing stopping me is me. And maybe I don’t know how to fix that problem yet, but I have to try.

I think I have a clear answer now — I did not know how to fix the problem. It’s easy to say I know I need to eat better and exercise more, but what is really causing me to not do those things? I’ve read enough books and blogs to know what I should be doing. But I guess I haven’t read enough books and blogs to know why I don’t do those things. I don’t recall what I did after that post — apparently I didn’t keep any records — but I guess it didn’t last long.

So here we are again. Yesterday I weighed in at 267.9 pounds — better off than I was in February but not by much. I’m still far away from where I need to be (I think 200 – 215 pounds is ideal). But losing 67 pounds is a big goal — too big to take on at once. So my first goal is to reach 250 pounds. More specifically, to weigh, on average, less than 250 pounds for one week — before January 1st, 2013. I believe that is attainable. Not easy, but not so difficult I’m afraid of failure. We have about three and a half months left in 2012. I need to lose about 18 pounds, which is around five pounds per month. As heavy as I am now, that really isn’t that much weight to lose.

Here’s my baseline:

267.9 pounds, 30.5% body fat (according to my Withings Scale)

And I took some measurements:

shoulders: 47″
chest: 45″
waist: 49″
hips: 47″
thighs: 31.5″
biceps: 14.5″

I’ll be updating my weight weekly and my measurements monthly. Weight loss is my goal, but I don’t want to focus only on weight — which is why I included measurements this time.

I’ll be back with regular updates (at least I think I will).

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Here We Go Again

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Simple

Eden — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 18:05:13 +0000

I’m happy to report I finally get to try BankSimple, now just called Simple. I signed up for an invite back in March of 2010 and received one about two weeks ago (I believe they started the invite process near the end of 2011). Technically, Simple is not a bank — Simple partners with banks and becomes the friendly layer of customer service in between (we hope). While there is a distinction, for me as an end user it doesn’t really matter much.

Simple has yet to roll out all planned features, but I’m happy with what I’ve seen so far. I transferred a small amount of money to my account to give Simple a try. The transfer time was in line with what I’m used to with other banks. A few days later I received my Visa debit card in the mail. The packaging was nice — definitely had a human touch — and it reminded me a bit of FieldNotes brand packaging.

So far I’ve only used my card for a few small transactions around town and everything has gone smoothly. I’m primarily using the iPhone App to manage my account, and of course you can do it all on Simple’s website too.

Speaking of websites, I use Mint to manage my money. Unfortunately, Simple is not yet integrated with Mint. I added the account, but Mint says it’s in BETA and currently being worked on. That’s unfortunate, but I’m hopeful it won’t be long until it’s available.

As for the features still to come, there will be an Android app but that’s not out yet. Same for joint accounts and mobile check deposit.

If all continues to go well — and mobile check deposit works as expected — I just might make this my primary bank. At the very least, I expect Simple to replace the other ‘online’ banks I use.

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Simple

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Americans Drink More Soda Than Anyone Else

Eden — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 20:26:46 +0000

I’m sure America’s 30% obesity rate is just a coincidence.

→ A map of soda consumption in 80 countries

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Americans Drink More Soda Than Anyone Else

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Fit to Fat to Fit

Eden — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:38:10 +0000

Great article at CNN on a fitness trainer who gained 70 pounds and lost it in one year.

The part that really jumped out at me was how fast someone can go from the pinnacle of fitness to about my (current) size:

He gave up the gym and started consuming junk food, fast food and soda. In just six months, he went from 193 pounds with a 34-inch waist to 265 pounds with a 48-inch waist.

Of course he wrote a book too.

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Fit to Fat to Fit

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Super Fatty Fat Fat — or Why it’s Time to Get Serious

Eden — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:25:21 +0000

I don’t know what’s going on lately, but every time I get on the scale I’m heavier than the last time. Today I looked on in horror as I saw 278.6 pounds displayed on the screen (and lovingly tweeted by my scale for me).

Once I recovered from the shock, I sat down and spent a little time looking over my recent weight loss efforts. Just last year, as of March 30, I was down to 248 pounds. That was a loss of 20 pounds from the start of 2011. Not record-breaking, but certainly very respectable progress by any standards. Looking back at what I was doing then, my success was all about eating a (mostly) Paleo diet and walking. I wasn’t doing any weight lifting and I didn’t stop drinking alcohol. If I had kept it up, and even if I had only lost another 20 pounds the rest of the year (that would have given me another nine months to lose 20 pounds when I had already lost 20 in three months), I’d only weigh 228 pounds today — 50 pounds less than I do right now! Sure, we can play what-if games all day long, but it’s pretty amazing to me what a huge difference a few bad choices where I let myself get derailed from doing what was working changed my life so drastically.

I guess the lesson I’m taking away from all this is diligence — I have to keep working the plan every day and not let one failure turn into another and another and snowball into nine months of failures and regrets. I have a plan. I’ve demonstrated that this plan can work. I have the resources to carry out the plan. As far as I can tell, the only thing stopping me is me. And maybe I don’t know how to fix that problem yet, but I have to try. At least I’m aware of it now, or not in denial about it anymore, and that’s where I have to start.

So that’s how I got here. Learning from the past is important, but I can’t dwell on it too long. So what are my next steps?

I put two week’s worth of my workout schedule in my calendar. Taking the time to do this really helps. I have to be realistic about my schedule and work around meetings and whatnot. I like knowing from the start of the day that I have this thing to do and I can work through the day with that in mind. It’s not magic, but it’s certainly better than just letting the day happen and thinking how I should throw in some exercise somewhere.

I’m going to purify the refrigerator and pantry today and make sure I have the ingredients on hand to eat Paleo approved meals for the next few days.

I’m going to re-read all my highlights from The Primal Blueprint, the awesome book by Mark Sisson from Mark’s Daily Apple. I highlighted a lot, so that’s no small task.

I think that’s enough for today.

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Super Fatty Fat Fat — or Why it’s Time to Get Serious

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