I had a sobering realization a few months ago. I realized that I care more about money than I do my body.
YIKES!
While I never walked around tapping strangers on the shoulders to say, “Excuse me, Miss, but I really don’t care as much about my physical fitness as I do my financial fitness,” all of my actions confirmed it. The data did not lie.
- I am in better communication with my financial advisor than my doctors.
- I balance my checkbook and online accounts every two weeks without fail. On the other hand, I keep a balanced diet when I want to…when time permits…and when I remember.
- I avidly read books on business and personal finance yet I have only managed to skim blogs about health, nutrition, and exercise.
- I set financial goals for myself and meet them without fail. As for my health goals… not so much.
Expanding the Meaning of “Pay Yourself First”
As a personal finance coach and founder of personal finance and lifestyle blog The Frugal Feminista, I encourage my readers and coaching clients to pay themselves when it comes to their finances. In particular, I tell them to view their savings goals as bills. When they view their savings goals as bills, they put money aside for their future each month.
With a big birthday coming up in the next few months, I have been really reflecting on how I could make progress on my health goals and commit to healthy eating and living in a real way. When it comes to living a life that is full of life, wellness, and longevity, I have to redefine how I will pay myself first. Paying myself first now includes making time for exercise, educating myself on nutrition, and joining support circles to keep me accountable, engaged, and inspired.
But most importantly, I will meet myself where I am and be open to recovering from setbacks, which are inevitable when embarking on any journey of meaning. I will give myself the same level of support and kindness that give my coaching clients as they try to make sense of their new financial identity.
I will be wealthy not only because of the money that I saved and invested. I will be wealthy because I will be healthy.
BMWK: What about you? Do you have to redefine “paying yourself first” so you can live the life that you want? In what areas do you need to “pay yourself first?”