IMAGINE YOU ARE IN CROSSFIT
For many people, exercising is uncomfortable, boring, and ultimately frustrating. Knowing they’re supposed to get at least 20 minutes of cardio in their workout, they pedal the stationary bike at the required pace, counting the seconds until they can get off.
Or they dutifully work their way through a circuit on the weight machines, feeling worn out by the end, but not really seeing any progress.
No wonder gyms like Planet Fitness can sell memberships at 10 times their capacity.1
For many people, sticking with a financial plan—including keeping within a budget and saving for retirement—is about as fun as a 45-minute session on a stairclimber.
Writing for The Financial Diet, Madison Clark has a different suggestion on the exercise/budgeting analogy. Why not make planning and saving more like going to CrossFit?2
You might have the impression that a CrossFit gym is place where crazed fitness fanatics work out with the intensity of a gladiator school. In actuality, the vast majority of CrossFit members are not elite athletes and were not in great shape when they started. But many CrossFit devotees have seen dramatic changes in their bodies because the gym has figured out a way to make extremely intense workouts fun.3
First, the routines have been “gamified,” allowing participants to measure their personal progress in numerous ways. Every time you go to CrossFit you can get a “win.”
Second, the gym provides a strong support system. Rather than a room full of strangers with earbuds in, trying to ignore each other, CrossFit sessions are like team events. You can more easily endure a tough workout when you’re going through it with a supportive group.
Third, the workouts are what Clark calls scalable. You can alter any part of them to fit your current ability. Instead of giving up, you do what you can that day. Clark, whose bad knee has prevented her from doing a few of the exercises the standard way, has been able to replace them with modified movements so she doesn’t have to quit going regularly.
Clark writes that she appreciates this scalability principle so much, that she began to apply it to her finances. She gives the example of saving up for a trip while staying within her budget. Instead of looking at the total cost and being discouraged, she suggests beginning by saving for a part of it.
“Flight cost may feel too daunting to begin with,” she says. “Instead, research the costs for lodging for the duration of your trip, and hit that goal first.”
Like with CrossFit you make the process rewarding by getting small wins and not letting setbacks be an excuse to derail the whole plan.
Your trusted advisor can help you break down your big financial goals into more doable steps, give you the planning tools you need to move forward, and most importantly, offer the encouragement you need to stick with the plan.
Citations:
1 – https://www.wsj.com/articles/planet-fitness-must-come-down-to-earth-11565532000
2 – https://thefinancialdiet.com/scaling-method-money-fitness-goals/
3 – https://time.com/2890075/crossfits-primal-appeal/
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