Have you ever met or known people who run marathons and ultra marathons? Well, I have.  He's been running half marathons and full marathons now for almost 5 years. 

He once shared with me that he trains about four or five times a week.  He gets up early and makes sure he gets his short runs in before work.  Then on the weekend, he makes sure he gets his long runs in, usually early in the morning so he can make time for his family. He cautioned me that if I wanted to train for a marathon, I couldn't train haphazardly or occasionally and expect to make serious strides in reaching my goals.   

His advice about running a marathon is a lot like the advice I'd give to someone trying to manage their finances effectively.  You can't just handle your finances haphazardly and expect it to accomplish much.  You have to be disciplined, consistent, and realize that it takes time to start seeing significant results.

Have you ever seen the commercial that aired a few years ago about the overweight guy at the gym, standing on the scale?  After he reads his weight, steps off the scale, quickly runs around the room once, and steps back on the scale, hopeful that he just lost a few quick pounds.

Many people view their finances like that.  When asked if they write out a budget each month, I get answers like, "I did that a few years ago but it never seems to work out", so they stopped monitoring their finances.  As if not paying attention to their finances is a better solution.  My favorite is, "My income varies from month to month so I can't do a budget."  I want to scream, "It's the people in your situation who need to do a budget the most."

So let me encourage you that if you set out to start managing your finances more carefully, keep in mind that to win with your personal finances, the old adage applies today.  It's the slow and steady that wins the race. Keep writing down a budget each month, and use some envelopes with cash in them to help monitor and track your flexible spending in categories like eating out, entertainment, gifts, and miscellaneous. 

The little bit of discomfort that people experience when they discipline themselves with their spending, can't even come close to the thrill of victory when you finally start seeing that your well-planned budget starts giving you the freedom to buys things that you need, while you saved enough to handle those unexpected expenses.   The next time you see someone running or find yourself jogging down the street, let it be a reminder to yourself that with every little positive step you take to effectively manage your money, you keep moving closer and closer to the finish line of winning with your finances.

 Ed Finnerty

Finnerty Financial Coaching