Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Which train are you on??

So, you're on the healthy train. You KNOW when you're on it. You're sleeping a solid 8+ hours a night, leaping out of bed in the morning because you're brimming with energy. You have a healthy, low GI breakfast, grab the super healthy packed lunch out of the fridge on your way to work where you drink herbal tea, snack on almonds, eat your sensational healthy home made lunch and don't think about being tired all day. You go to the gym after work, doing a Step Class followed by some weights. You have a healthy dinner when you get home, read a health magazine, pack tomorrow's lunch and gym bag and set the alarm early because you want to walk to work...

So, you're on the frugal train. You KNOW when you're on it. You're sleeping a solid 8+ hours a night (properly covered so no heating/cooling req'd), leaping out of bed in the morning because you're brimming with energy. You have a healthy, frugal breakfast, grab your super frugal packed lucked out of the fridge on your way out and walk to work where you drink herbal tea (brought from home) and snack on a frugal snack. You walk home, where you feed your chickens and tend to your veggie garden. You make a batch of home made bread and muffins, call your loved ones during your phone company's free time, read some PF blogs and set the alarm early because you want to check the chooks for eggs in the morning...

So, you're NOT on either train. You're not frugal. You're not healthy. You wake up exhausted, with dry mouth, and incredibly thirsty because you left the heater on all night. You're running late so you throw on your clothes and rush out the door forgetting breakfast. You stop at the petrol station cursing yourself for not filling up on the cheap days. You buy a breakfast sandwich ($5) and coffee at the cafe($3.50), as well as an extra red bull ($4) because you are just that tired. You get to work, go to the vending machine for a mid morning snack ($2.50 chocolate bar). You don't have lunch so have to buy a $8 sandwich and a $3.50 iced tea. You also buy a magazine ($8.50) because there's an article on the front about setting a budget. You read the magazine and realise you already know everything, you're just not doing it. You get 3:30-itis and buy a coffee ($3.50) and muffin ($5.50) from the cafe. You realise you forgot your gym bag but that's okay because you're exhausted. You go home and your house is freezing so you turn up the heating and then veg on the couch until you realise you didn't defrost anything for dinner. You dial for take away ($14), and then watch TV until you fall asleep. You wake up at 3:30am and realise every light in your house is on, along with the TV. You crawl to bed, forgetting to turn off the heating on the way... Day's total spend is $58, exercise achieved ZILCH.

Which train are you on?

I'd like to catch one train to work and the other one home.... some how...

I'm currently on neither. I'm not really living like that last version of the story but I'm not far off! BUT...Can you be on both trains? Are you on both?

Tell me your story. How do you balance a frugal lifestyle, and a healthy lifestyle, along with a career, relationship and friendships?

3 comments:

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

I'd like to think I'm on both.

I have a tea in the morning, go for a bike ride (weather permitting), eat a fairly frugal lunch (made at home with raw ingredients).. am going to start doing a bit of yoga before lunch.. and I do all the PF stuff during the day

Of course.. I should mention that I am not currently on a contract right now :P

When I AM on a contract, I am more of the frugal train minus the chickens and the baking. I cook once for the whole week.

paranoidasteroid said...

The trick for me is making it easier to do right than to do wrong.

I keep frozen meals at work so that it's harder to go out and get something than it is just to eat what I brought.

My most direct route home takes me by the gym.

When I meet up with friends, it's usually for something cheap/free (homemade dinner, or going for a walk/hike). Chad is like me and we enjoy spending time doing nothing together, my legs thrown over his as we watch a movie.

I also try not to be too extreme with anything. I spend when I need to, I work out a few set days a week, I am not going out every night, and I eat junk food when the mood strikes. Trying to be the best at everything is a good way to be the best at nothing.

KB said...

Considering I ate McDonalds twice today - definitely the unhealthy train. Seriously, if I stopped buying lunch and junk food, I would save a whole lot of money and lose some weight!