Why Saving is Like Dieting

Diets don’t work. By that, I mean that a sudden, drastic lowering of calories, usually will not help you lower your weight in the long-run. Eventually studies (what are these studies?) say 95% of dieters regain the weight, and have probably slowed their metabolisms a bit, so that the weight is even more difficult to keep off. However, what does work (the 5% of successful losers of excess weight) is a gradual series of healthier life-style changes that can be maintained over time.

Saving is similar. While a sudden slashing and burning of spending plans and offers to work overtime may have immediate results (and may be the thing for an emergency), what creates a sustainable plan is an earning, saving, and investment plan that has been re-shifted to greater financial health.

This brings me to another observation: most personal financial bloggers are male. I’m not referring to their gender (although I think the majority are male) but to the fact that they look at saving in a very analytical, follow the numbers way. They recommend a long list of bullet point of things to cut from your budget: cable, cell phone, spending on lattes, clothes; tally up the amount that you would save per month; multiply by 12, multiply by some number of years, and voila a large $$ amount is produced. It’s all quite clinical, and almost seems easy.

With respect to weight management, when our doctor recommended to my husband that he should lose a few pounds, he simply ate a bit less, walked a bit more, and over a few years, had dropped about 25 pounds to a very healthy weight. He suffered no late-night binges when he might raid the fridge for the last bit of Ben & Jerry’s (peanut butter cup). He didn’t linger and think about all of the different choices on the menu at our favorite restaurant; and after taking the obligatory first bites of birthday cake at a friend’s party (we never have cake in the house) he didn’t have secret pangs to finish the whole slice and go back for more. It appears for him, simply knowing that the Dr. recommended losing a few pounds, and having a few simple steps that worked when implemented, all added up fine.

As you might guess, I do not have this analytical approach to food. I have to recognize that physiologically, I think I have an addiction to carbohydrates. I keep this in check by having lots of healthy foods around and skipping bread altogether. I also recognize that there is an emotional and social element to food, one that I allow myself to partake in, within limits. After all, the steps that can be maintained over the long haul are the ones that lead to better health. And for this, motivation is extremely important.

This applies to saving. I find that one of the major challenges to saving more is more emotional and psychological, not simply implementing a strict formula. I enjoy many of the social components of spending money (like travel, going out to eat); and I will confess to experiencing envy when I see someone with a really nice house or fully decked out kitchen. It also took me a few months to transition out of the “shop as a hobby” mode after leaving the corporate world.

What I have found helpful are a few steps to help motivate me to save more, many of which can be applied to dieting as well:

Reduce, rather than eliminate expenses, that have a social/emotional component. We’ve done this with going out to eat and traveling.

Make a treat, a treat, not a regular occurrence. Like birthday gifts, after all birthdays happen only once per year.

Chart your progress, just as it is highly motivating to see the scale move in a better direction if you are trying to lose weight, it is encouraging to see the savings increase. Chart out your progress, either on a simple spreadsheet or with management software.

Most of all, like with dieting, don’t beat yourself up if you have a hiccup or two.

See Clever Dude’s clever roundup at this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance