Sixty-Two Sixty-Two

This Friday was an end to a 30 day budget cycle, and also marks an achievement for me. When the dust settled, I had paid off $15k in principle on all debt accounts since starting this journey. I've hesitated to share real numbers, but not only was I excited by this, I wanted to document this number to help deal with the personal ups and downs that can come with most life goals. Most Some days feel like it's nothing but an uphill, never ending journey. I can become fixated on what I'm looking to achieve, and less on what I have achieved. We humans don't often stop and give ourselves credit for what we've done. I'm proud of what I've achieved over the last 7 months. It's taken quite a bit to achieve this - I looked at my budget and notice that over 60% of my take home pay is dedicated to this goal.Worthwhile sacrifices. I've never stopped even once to consider what I could have done with this money if it wasn't going towards debt. Not once...add

One common challenge in promoting wellness is each individual's perception of what "wellness" is. If you polled the average person on the street and asked them what comes to mind when they hear the term wellness, I'm assuming an overwhelming number of the responses would be physical health. I'd guess the most common action points would be "exercising" and "losing weight". Many individuals do not consider the other dimensions that contribute to the overall "wellness" of an individual. There are many variances to how many dimensions complete an individual's total wellness. You've probably learned I enjoy simplicity, so I usually get on board with the following six dimensions: Found at https://grad.msu.edu/dimensions-wellness Let's stay within the physical realm. Many people often set goals to improve their physical health - diets, exercise programs, etc. Many spin their wheels, some make gains to be lost in the near f

Good Friday morning to you, reader. Early mornings this week are starting to feel like fall, which is my favorite time of the year. I've been lacking on posts that aren't progress updates. Maybe that will improve, maybe not. This week had some heavy hitters that were outside normal spending - I dipped into the "emergency" savings to fix my wheel situation, which ended up being a $352 after buying the new wheel, two new tires, and getting an alignment. Nice to have a little cash sitting there ready to take care of the issue, which highlights the importance of having an emergency fund while paying down debt. I'll have to restock that in the near future. L and I also took the girls out to dinner with us while we celebrated our anniversary. That eclipsed the budget line for entertainment/recreation, and that's ok. It was a great evening. Next week will be the end of another 30 day budget cycle, where I'll show progress charts. I've broken my progre

If nothing were to change in my lifestyle, 1. Pay off all debt. 2. Run 20 5k races 3. Get my weight to 190 lbs That's all. Let's keep up the good fight.

Financial I'm currently dealing with getting my wheel situation behind me, and had to order a used wheel online which cost $125. I'll soon have to get 2 new tires, and an alignment to finally to put the impact from the pot hole behind me. Positive of the situation - I'll now have a full sized spare when I had no spare (not even a donut) prior. Other than that, things are still rolling. Slowly watching balances shrink, looking forward to that final payment. Fitness I totaled 12 miles running this week, and 10 miles on the bike. I ran my first 5k in a very long time as I slowly stretch out my distance running. I'd be lying if I said I don't fear 13.1. Weight is around 213, striving to get to 205 in the next few months. 28 pounds lost since the spring. A vanilla update post today; have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Budgeting - nothing too exciting to report. Things are still in a nice flow. Most of my non-mortage/student loan debt is in 0% interest vehicles, so I'm really motivated to get it paid off. Every dollar is going towards debt, no interest. The catch, I'll need to pay them off before the 0% offer period runs out. Without a budget, it's a risk. With a budget, I'm confident I can make it happen. They'll be no repeat of $6262 again. Minimal fitness 9 miles in for the week. Didn't cycle any, but didn't have much for opportunity time wise. I posted the changes to my blood work with my recent dietary changes. I'm motivated to be even more consistent with my food intake. As I start adding more miles per week, I really think being 15 pounds lighter is important for improving my running and preventing injury. That's it. It appears the weather in Maine this weekend is going to be perfect. Get outside and enjoy it. Have a great weekend.

I've been pretty open about what I've been trying to accomplish regarding my overall wellness; financial, physical and spiritual. I want to share some results from a health test I've had recently that even shocked me. Part of my approach to physical health for the past 4 months has been to *almost* completely remove land animals, eggs and dairy from my diet. I would describe my diet as Mediterranean or Pescatarian 95% of the time. Social gatherings and a little beef (when the kids tired of bean tacos) was perfectly acceptable, in my opinion, for me to eat outside my diet. I used to eat a diet high in eggs, meat and dairy. I'd often eat low carb to manage my weight. I had my cholesterol checked twice while following a low carb approach, in 2009 and 2011. My weight then, and my weight now, is between 215 and 220. I want to share the results of those tests compared to my cholesterol results from this past Monday. 2009 Total cholesterol = 216 HDL = 63 LDL = 138 2

17 months. By using my budget/debt numbers to calculate an end date, without variations to my current budget (either bad = emergencies, or positive = tax returns), I'll be down to mortgage debt only in 17 months. People keep asking me why I'm so motivated to complete this. I am most motivated to do this because of how limiting debt can be. I considered myself to be in severe debt; I still am. Debt keeps my life choices limited. I've used the phrase "it mortgages my time". Right now, I'm locked in to my lifestyle for at least 17 months if I want to continue this path to becoming debt free. Removing my debt burden will not only relieve background stress, but also be a potential gift. A gift of opening up a new way to choose how I spend and perceive the time I have. I'm not the same individual I was when that debt was created, and I want the freedom to continue exploring myself and life in general. 17 months. Budgeting continues to go well. Frugal fitnes