Selective Self Control Can Lead to a Thick Wallet but an Even Thicker Waist
March 8, 2007
Have you ever been accused of having a selective memory? Only remembering the things that you want to? Well I think I have something even worse, selective self-control.
Using Money Responsibly
I like to think of myself as the Stonewall Jackson of frugality, no offer or ad can get past my staunch defense. I hate spending money and I thoroughly enjoy accumulating and growing it. Thanks to my parents’ upbringing, I have a talent that many people in our country do not. I can spend less than I make without breaking a sweat. Credit cards balances, home equity loans, 90-day same as cash, and tech gadgets galore stand no chance against my will to grow our net worth. Unfortunately, this iron-clad self control doesn’t exhibit itself in all areas of my life.
Eating in Moderation
My teens and early twenties were a smorgasbord of eating. Thanks to regular exercise and healthy food choices, I could eat, and eat, and eat while maintaining a trim figure. My friends still give me a hard time for a legendary seafood buffet experience in Fort Lauderdale. I epitomize the ad that says, you can’t have just one. Unfortunately for me I think the party is over. Career circumstances and the arrival of a new baby have led to a drastic reduction in exercise and a surprising increase in garbage food intake.
Practicing What I Preach
Self-control, consistency, and patience have been the secret to my success thus far with personal finance. Anyone could follow the same formula; it’s mostly a matter of willing your way to constant growth. However, I ask myself, how can I expect my readers to follow suit financially, when I am practicing selective self-control? If I can’t throttle back on the eat-o-meter, why should I expect them to scale down the spend-o-meter and up the save-o-meter?
My Commitment
I’ll keep on writing about smart personal finances as long as I can maintain smart personal health. If my health habits slide, I’ll stop writing until they bounce back. I very much enjoy maintaining this site so that should be good motivation for me to strive to be both healthy and wealthy. As far as being wise, I’ll have to leave that for another day.
All posts by Ben Edwards
I am still on the eat a lot of calories diet. Of course, I can easily burn 5000 calories in a single day, and for much of the year those days happen at least once or twice a week. On marathon weekends, I will consume somewhere on the order of 18-20,000 calories over a three day span.
It is not cheap, but since I cook all of my own food and rarely eat out it is a little better.
I do have one advantage, though. When I stop exercising, my caloric intake drops. In fact, I have trouble keeping weight on when I stop running and it takes me much longer to put weight that I lose back on than it took to shed it. If I am not active, I’ll forget to eat. While what I do eat will still be balanced, I often will not eat enough.