Pay Off Debt Like You're Training For A Marathon
How is paying off all your loans and becoming debt-free like training for a marathon? JD, a personal finance blogger who is training for a marathon shares his tips. For instance, running first thing in the morning is a lot like the idea of "paying yourself first." To wit:
I run first thing in the morning. I get it done early so that I can spend the rest of my day on other things without the need to run hanging over my head. And having done this, I feel great. When I'm done with a 12-mile run on Saturday morning, I feel like the king of the world. I'm filled with confidence. In the same way, I felt empowered when I learned to pay myself first, to save and invest for my future before I paid my bills.
Other comparisons include forgiving yourself and getting back on track if you skip a day, and removing passive barriers (JD goes to bed with his running clothes on to make it easier for him to get into the mode of starting his run the next day). Even if you're not a runner, there's sure to be some debt-reducing concepts in his post that can help you out.
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Debtor [Get Rich Slowly] (Photo: Paul Keleher)
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Comments:
Hey... I already go to bed with all my bills!
Marathon training can be equated to some degree with any accomplishment of note. Any Joe without a disability can sacrifice a little train hard and finish in the top 10% of any marathon. It isn't easy, it takes many years of hard work, following a plan and saying no to distractions.
Follow the same principle in your career, studies or another goal, and you are well on your way.
The people I see when in America (as opposed to traveling abroad) would have no idea how to train for a marathon. A better analogy is needed here.
I wish I could wake up early for a run. I try, but it is soooo hard.
@William Brinkman: I see what you did there. All Americans are fat and everyone everywhere else isn't.
"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that." --Fred Lebow
The part of the mediocrity of America.
It does matter, if you think of running as a sport. I guess you could say as long as you show up on the court and play tennis, that is just as good as practicing everyday, doing drills, learning how to focus and doing well in a tournament? Is banging the keys on the piano just as good as learning how to read music and play properly?
And that philosophy would go against the point of the author.
"I found that anything that takes a lot of effort isn't really worth trying for anyway"
Homer Simpson(paraphrased)
I've ran six miles before..but 12? Man that's crazy. I should try it sometime.
@Zclyh3: If you can do 6 just add 1-2 miles once per week and in 3 to 6 weeks your there! Build up slow. It won't feel much harder than the 6 if you do it right. Just take twice as long.
=@HungryTuna: "I play real sports... not trying to be the best at exercising." - Kenny Powers/"Eastbound and Down"
@frank64: Not everything needs to be competitive against the masses. There is always someone better then you, that will show up someday. Even World Records in running are still broken decades later. That doesn't mean to just give up because someone beat you.
Exercising is about yourself. Whether for leisure, or for a purpose (ie: weight loss), should not be lumped in being competitive unless you want to be competitive.
"I run first thing in the morning. I get it done early so that I can spend the rest of my day on other things without the need to run hanging over my head."
You DO realize that this is because the endorphin rush provided by running is suprisingly addictive right? It IS called a runners high.
You could validly rephrase that using the words
"get my fix" instead of "run" and be entirely truthful.
But that doesn't sound quite as healthy and appealing does it?
(ex-runner who's knees gave out due to running enough to be stupid)
@Jonbo298: Well, since I was equating marathons with life accomplishments, I think my analogy of tennis and piano works in the same vain and my point about marathons and any accomplishment. It is not about being competitive with others. It is if you have an important, difficult goal, most can be accomplished by following the rules that training for a marathon(or any sport) entail.
That there is always someone better than you is a reason not to try to do your best, in anything?
Do you really think just showing up for life is as good as having a plan, pushing through the hard times? I think life is more enjoyable if you do more than just show up.
@Jonbo298:
"Exercising is about yourself. Whether for leisure, or for a purpose (ie: weight loss), should not be lumped in being competitive unless you want to be competitive"
Sorry, I missed this point. Yes, but running a marathon is a little more than exercising, and if exercising is the goal, than there are many more beneficial things you can do. My main point is that actually training very hard for the years it takes to run one at your best IS not the same as just jogging one. There is SOMETHING to be said for actually putting in the effort.
Finishing one is all well and good, but the analogy breaks down for the main points.
I can't run. My knees quit on me when I was a teenager. But I like to walk. And skating doesn't bother them, unless I fall on them. But I could never do a marathon.
I see the point of this article, but EVERYTHING you do doesn't have to be approached like training for the Olympics or something. Sometimes it's fun just to mess around.
Sometimes a tennis racket is just a tennis racket. |:-{)>
(that emoticon is supposed to be a portrait of Sigmund Freud)
@cnc1019: Day in and day out I have people complaining to me because they litterally have to walk 100 feet from parking to the entrance of our building.
Americans are lazy, which is why Americans are fat. I agree, running a marathon is not a good analogy.
Maybe something having to do with a buffet would be more appropriate.
Great. There goes my blog on how paying off my credit cards seems like running a marathon.
Actually, as someone who just finished paying off all my old student loan debt and has run 6 marathons, I have to say the two things are nothing alike at all. I feel good after running a half marathon in the morning too. But then I fall asleep on the couch at 3:00pm after a couple beers, put off doing yard work, end up ordering out for dinner, and suddenly I've wasted my day. But at least I got that run in.
This is probably entirely more sound than the Mall Walker program of the last few years.