Thank You

[photo: stylepill.files.wordpress.com]

Lest anyone think that the feedback I receive from you guys is not taken seriously, listen to this:

As some of you might recall, in my last draft budget I allocated $70 a month for gym expenses. A couple of regular readers (Miss Scorpio, Nebula, several Anons) suggested that I cancel my gym membership and focus on alternative exercise methods. Now, you have to understand that I’ve always considered a gym membership to be an absolutely necessary expense. I assumed that I could only get a proper workout at a gym stocked with a variety of free weights and exercise machines. Boy was I wrong. I’ve since fallen in love with these nifty resistance bands:

[photo: leanandfit.com]

If used properly, these super cheap bands can give a person a truly awesome workout. And while I’ve already had one break on me, it only took about $12 to get it replaced. And, in the process, I have already cancelled my membership, something that will save me over $800 a year.

Note that I will probably have an updated budget to share sometime next month. It will reflect additional cuts following advice from many of you.

Bottom line, I wanted to thank all of you for your comments, thoughts, criticisms and assorted feedback. It continues to keep me on my toes and challenges me to seek additional simplification where it counts. Thanks everyone.

A Day in the Life (part 2)

Jack mounts his bike, adjusts his bike helmet and turns on his ipod. No matter how things are going at work or in his personal life, this is always his favorite time of the day. There is nothing like putting on your “40-Year-Old-Virgin” bike helmet while you ride down the streets of the big city and vibe to some Led Zeppelin. And hey, let’s not forget the occasional Johnny Cash or Eminem.

Jack glides down Pennsylvania in a happy trance, avoiding cabs and delivery trucks intent on splattering him all over the payment. He gets to the gym at 7:30 am on the dot.

Jack is big on exercise. He used to be a bit obsessed with weight training back in college, to a point that he started neglecting other aspects of his life. One day he looked in the mirror and realized that he was unhappy with the intensity he saw in himself. There was a compulsion to be “big and muscular” that was clearly unhealthy. Seriously, what was Jack trying to compensate for?

So he simplified his approach. His focus now is on being healthy, on exercising his body as well as his mind. Jack typically does cardio 3 times a week with some weight training sprinkled in between. Gone is the need to be an extra in "300." Jack is just happy to feel healthy. The beauty of simplification wins again. :)