Did you read the article going around the papers this past week on “Australia’s Tightest Man”. If you missed it then it can be read here Australia’s Tighestest Man Article. Why would anyone on earth want to be like this guy suggests? Sure, he is a multi-millionaire but his suggestions aren’t for those who want to ‘live and enjoy’ life. Sure, there are people in situations that have to be frugal and are literally living on crumbs, but what this guy suggests doing is just not living. And who knows if he really does what he says and is really that miserable with his money, maybe he’s being extreme just to get publicity which is obviously working! After all, he has just written a book on being tight with money. For me, this is not what life is about, I wouldn’t ever want to be like Paul Squires and I’ll tell you why…

be smart with your savings, NOT extreme!!

Life Is About Having A Healthy Balance!!

My site promotes a healthy balance in life when it comes to both finances and fitness and not going to extremes with either. I don’t want people becoming so obsessed with their body type/size that they spend too much time in the gym, and likewise don’t want people stressing all day about their finances. There is a healthy balance in between where you can get on top of your finances and get in amazing shape and still have time to enjoy life!! We want to control our fitness and our finances so we can do the things we really want to do in life!…

You Need To Enjoy Yourself!!

How does this guy enjoy himself? By turning off his lights once a week?? Come on! What does that save you, like 5 cents?? Let’s look at some of his other suggestions: limit your friends, don’t buy jewellery, don’t buy toys for your kids, don’t buy new clothes for your kids, avoid your family…just to name a few. Is he for real?? If this guy is for real then really I feel sorry for the people around him. He must give off such negative energy! Friends are one of the most important things in life, why would anyone want to limit their friends??? This is idiotic!!

Saving is important!

I totally agree that a lot of people live outside their means and need to focus on cutting back and saving! However I would never recommend to the extremes that Paul Squires does. And ironically, he has become rich out of being tight! But personally, never in a hundred years would I ever be like this! If you want a way to find extra savings then see a good tax accountant! Friends, family, entertainment, luxuries etc.. are all part of life and a very important part of life! Life is about living and you must enjoy every day while you can, with your friends and family!! And not just save for a rainy day in 20 years time because you may not be around!! And if you are, you probably won’t have anyone to enjoy it with!!

Address your situation and set goals for improvement!

Being frugal is being negative which in turn causes stress! I believe having a healthy mind and body rewards you with discipline in other areas of your life including finances and everything else. I don’t believe you need to go to these extremes to achieve large savings or financial independence. I want you to enjoy life and have an amazing balance of fitness, travel, friends, career success, and family. It’s about finding your passions and going after them, not being frugal and wrapping yourself in cotton wool or living underground, you may as well not get out of bed in the morning!! Enjoy life today and enjoy a healthy balance going forward in everything we do!!

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.”(Vincent Van Gogh)

Everyone has an ‘end goal’, a place of financial independence with all the time in the world to exercise and do the things we always want to do! So, how do you go from here to there? Well, you need to crawl before you can walk! You need to make a start with small steps…Make the start today by including these 7 simple steps in your everyday life!!

get started today towards your ultimate lifestyle!!

1. Lose The Fat!!

I don’t think there’s one person out there who doesn’t enjoy being in great shape or want to get into great shape! The first part of getting into amazing shape is usually to lose body fat and trim down and really is it NOT ‘easier said than done”! It just takes a little discipline with working out and your diet. Focus HARD on cardio and High Intensity Interval Training. Give it 3 or 4 months for your body to make adjustments and don’t give up on it!! Losing body fat is going to give you extra energy and make you feel great both mentally and physically!!‏

2. Add Lean Muscle!!

Adding weight/resistance training as part of your workout routine is important as muscle requires more energy to exist than fat does. Thus your body requires and uses more of its ‘stored energy’ when muscle exists! The muscle I want you to concentrate on is ‘lean’ muscle. This is muscle that is built up slowly over time and has the nice ‘defined’ look, not the big ‘puffy’ look. Work out hard in the gym but lift lower volumes and compliment weight training with cardio to get the more natural athletic looking figure. You want to look like you play a lot of sports, NOT spend all day in the gym!

3. Clean Up Your Diet!!

Diet is the building block we must utilize if we want to make changes to our bodies!! Train all you want but if your diet is poor, then the results will follow. I stick to a relatively low calorie diet, but am not fanatical about counting calories!! I believe in balance and will NEVER be completely anal about calories or working out. If you deprive yourself of something, you’ll tend to binge on it! In saying that, it’s important to get to what I call the ‘maintenance

eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables!!

phase’ first. (look out for an upcoming post on this). When you’re in the maintenance phase, you’ve done the hard yards and know how your body reacts, it’s more about maintaining your fit body 12 months of the year! Anyway, back to diet..I eat the normal 3 meals a day but pretty much just cut out the crap and eat fresh natural foods! Lots of chicken, meat, salads…just beware of quantity and calories.

4. Set SPECIFIC Goals!!

‘I want to lose weight’
‘I want to travel’
‘I want to meet somebody nice’
‘I want to purchase my first property’

etc…

These are NOT specific goals and you will not reach them!!

Be CLEAR & SPECIFIC!!

‘I am going to lose 5kgs within the next 2 months’
‘I am going to save $200 per week and travel to South America in November 2008’
‘I am going to make myself more available and meet 2 new people everyday’
‘I am going to do my research, use my savings, and buy my first property within the next 3 months’

Notice the difference? The second list is assertive and specific!!

5. Write Down Your Goals!!

Once you’ve set specific goals you need to write them down!! You need to drill them into your head, over and over!! Place them somewhere where they’re always in your face!! I have some goals that I’ve placed on my fridge so every time I go to open the fridge I am forced to read them over and over!! These goals should be specific and attainable but also hard to reach…set the bar high for yourself! Go over your goals with a friend and be held accountable for them if you slack off!

6. Sort Out Your Finances!!

There is no excuse for paying a higher interest rate on your home loan than what you need to! There is a lot of competition out there and a lot of products that will apply to your specific situation and help reduce your payments or pay off your loan quicker! Get motivated and discuss your situation with a professional and sort out your mortgage!
Be mindful not to run up too much personal debt such as personal loans and credit cards and if you have a few of these along with a mortgage then think about consolidating them into your home loan (there are pros & cons to this) and then make sure you cancel that debt completely. Credit cards also have zero percent balance transfer from one lender to the next, it’s just a matter of doing a little research…And there is nothing stopping you from doing this over and over and over again every 6 months!

7. Take Some Risks!!

Ok, every one has a different situation you are currently in whether it be married with children or just out of University. My posts are written from the point of view of a early thirties, single, sporty guy but that doesn’t mean if you are older and settled that you shouldn’t look at creating opportunities for yourself! If you are happy and content then that is great but keep challenging yourself to do better…you can ALWAYS do better! As we get older it’s more difficult to stay in great shape but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done! A saying that I enjoy is ‘Risk and Reward’, take some risks and enjoy the rewards! Start a business, take that overseas trip, get that promotion, get in fantastic shape!!…life is short remember!!

BE A LION!!!!

“To pursue your passion and never achieve is far better than never having a passion and living with regret forever” (Keith Abraham)

Achieving your goals, whether they are finance goals or fitness goals takes the right mental attitude to get where you want to be!! It’s not just enough to write your goals down and hope you can reach them. Writing your goals down is the first step, but then you need to believe in yourself and believe you can reach them! The words “I Am” are probably the two most powerful words in the English language and you can use them to reach any goal you set for yourself! “I Am” defines who you are!!

use strong powerful thoughts to go after your dreams!!

If you tell yourself you are something, you will become that something!!

Everyone has an inner voice, everyone suffers from self doubt at times and unfortunately for most of us, the inner voice portrays our negative thoughts and through this voice we often create a fear of doing something…and usually it is the fear of the unknown!! How many times do we tell ourselves we ‘can’t’ do something?? We need to control the inner voice and replace the thoughts with positive ones by using the words “I Am”!! Let’s take losing weight for example, if you keep telling yourself you are overweight and fat, then that’s what you are always going to be!! Exercise all you want but until you take control of the inner voice, you will always be overweight! We need to replace those thoughts with “I am fit and healthy” or “I am slim”!! You see, if you tell yourself “I am NOT fat” or “I am NOT going to quit this run”, your brain doesn’t recognize the ‘not’ and you have pretty much told yourself that you are fat and that you are going to quit the run!!

Use “I Am” everyday in all aspects of your life!!

“I am confident”, “I am fixing my finances”, “I am going to get this job”, “I am the best I can be”…etc etc..”I am” is such a powerful tool. Honestly, I find a lot of the whole self-help/motivational/become a better person/Anthony Robbins thing way too overwhelming but I do believe that what stops someone from doing something for the better, is usually only themselves and the fear that they have created!!

Don’t stall when it comes to making a decision!!

When it comes to making a decision, people often dwell…“should I or shouldn’t I do this?” etc…Excuses for not doing something are therefore being created, people are looking for reasons for not getting out of their comfort zone! A decision should be made promptly and by using “I am” you have already made a decision and thus the first step towards being a better person, and having a more balanced and healthier lifestyle!! In one of my earlier posts 30 Days To A Healthy Toned Body I talked about not taking several jobs a few years years back because I wasn’t sure they were what I wanted. I really needed to remove that fear that I had created and been much more focussed with my thinking!! Faced with the same decision today, I would have no hesitation in testing the waters!

Shift your way of thinking and take control!

The theme of my site is mortgage and fitness tips to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle, these are two things in life that we can control and to what extent is up to us! I think most people would like to maximize their health and level of lifestyle which is what finance and fitness come under right?? They are a part of our everyday life! By using positive thoughts, by using “I Am”, by controlling the inner voice, you can gain control of your lifestyle, you can get in amazing shape, you can create wealth, you can do anything!…give it a try and go after your passions in life!!