Friday's Progress Update - 2019 Shaping up Nicely

Things are progressing well as the year comes to a close.

Financially, the final numbers on the year should be in soon - there are two more pay periods left - and 2019 target goals will be determined.

There is some good family news to share - L will be starting a new job in 2019. Not only will it benefit the family by her not working nights and weekends any longer, but I'll be able to remove her from my health insurance and lower my weekly premium withdrawal, only helping the financial goals.

Workout intensity dropped the first few weeks of the month, but I'm back and really looking forward to get where I want to be early in '19. I logged 23.2 miles on the mill this week, and have chipped away the few Thansksgiving pounds I had put on. Holiday eating has been minimized, but not fully avoided.

Grinding. Trying to improve daily. Onward.

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Frugal Dieting

As talked about yesterday, Americans spend a lot of money on food and drink. If you eat outside of your home often, you spend even more. Two weeks in to this 30 day budget cycle, and I'm already at my budgeted amount for food/groceries/house items. After seeing this I need to make two changes. The first change is adding another line item to my budget for household items (think paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning products), because right now it's getting lumped in with my grocery dollars. The second change is an effort to eat more frugally. I've begun to do this, but efforts will be increased. Here is my plan: I need to get to a point where I make a list and shop once a week. I've been known to stop by Hannaford 3-4 times per week and this alone will lead to buying too much. I want to stick to a simple eating plan: Delay my first meal as long as possible in the morning. I think there are benefits to the combination of intermittent fasting/calorie restriction

Time and Money

The past four years have been a realization that there exists two main commodities in life, time and money. In this post I talked about the fact that when you spend your money, you're mortgaging your time. This was most evident a few weeks after Christmas 2014. The girls reached an age where their Christmas list was quite large; a lists of desired toys influenced by the culture they find themselves growing up in. L and I obliged their many desires that year, leading to a fairly expensive Christmas. A mere two weeks after Christmas those many wants, which were now haves in their very hands, no longer held the same meaning to them. I didn't and don't blame them for this. I feel it's a "luxury" of their generation, and if I'm honest, each generation between theirs and my own. Under that tree that year existed many hours L and I spent at work. I dare say time that would have rather been spent as a family, doing any number of things that cost little to

Find a Tribe

With most goals, I always suggest people find a small accountability group for support. It's often said that our behaviors can be strongly influenced by the 6 closest people in our lives. According to a survey done by the investment app Acorns, talking about money isn't something that people like to do. I dare say many find it taboo. A statistic shared by Acorns is that 68% of people would rather talk about their weight than talk about their financial situation . One side benefit of sharing this journal, is I have found others that are on a similar journeys. Having people to discuss things with and hold you accountable (whether directly or passively) can help with motivation. Finding someone who has practiced the behaviors you're working on for a good duration of their life can serve as a great mentor, whether you actually designate that person with such a title or not. Whatever life goals you have, find a tribe of like minded individuals. Guard against people who co

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