The weight loss industry is a huge $£multi-billion success, launched on the back of our inability to lose weight. We’re surrounded by images showing the latest celebrity who’s lost weight and stories about the latest diet, guaranteed to shift those unwanted pounds.

It’s an industry that taps into our dreams, our desire to lose weight, our longing to be that perfect size, the perfect weight. As we read the ads telling us about the latest miracle diet, inside, we secretly hope that we’ve found ‘the one’. We know there is no magical cure, yet somehow as we part with our money, we cross our fingers and hope, maybe this time, it will be different.

The debt industry (like the diet industry) has grown at an incredible rate with their advertising aimed at our deep desire, our wish to be debt free. There are now thousands of companies offering a myriad of solutions, a variety of quick fixes promising to help us clear our debts.

In truth, obesity and debt are both situations that need fixing, they are a result of over indulgence on our part. We’ve put on weight because we’ve taken in more calories than we’ve used. We’ve got into debt because we spent money we didn’t have.

Despite all the promises, the truth is there is no quick fix. But, you can lose weight and you can get out of debt.

These simple tips will help you on your way, whenever you are ready to lose those unwanted pounds or clear that debt.

Step 1 Ask yourself

• Why do I want to lose weight/get out debt?
• Who do I want to lose weight/get out of debt for?
• How much weight/debt do I want to get rid of?

Step 2 Create Your Plan. Decide when you will begin your weight loss/debt reduction plan. Take into account these things when planning;

• The foods you can’t resist/The items you just have to have i.e. the ones that will make you take out your credit card
• The time of day when you feel most likely to overeat or overspend
• The situations that will make you over eat or overspend
• Identify what types of exercise you like to do and then plan to do it.
• Identify what will keep you on track in terms of people, resources, inspirations.
• Set Short term goals, decide what you need to do each day, each week, each month?
• Identify the things/people that will keep you motivated and inspired.
• when putting these elements into your plan remember creating the plan is part of the process. Make the plan fun to look at and use, make it something you want to go and look at each day.

If you have any difficulty providing the information in step 2, you may find it useful to keep a journal for at least a week. If you are planning to lose weight write down all details relating to what you ate, how much and when. I would also recommend that you make a note of the emotions you felt when eating food. If you are planning to reduce your debt, in your journal write down how much you spent, what you bought, who was with you, describe the emotions you were you feeling when you made your purchase.

When you’ve gathered the information in your journal go back and answer the questions in step 2 before you go any further.

Step 3 Communicate

• Tell the people who matter to you what you are doing, and elicit their support.
• Identify people who will help you to stick to your plan and then tell them what you need from them.
• Are there people around you who are who are likely to steer you away from your goals? If yes, work out what you need to do to stop them sabotaging your efforts.

Step 4 Away you go

• Put your plan into action.
• Celebrate your successes along the way.

Whilst it was easy to put on weight/get into debt, it takes a lot more effort to correct the situation. Willpower, discipline and focus are needed and so too is fun. This change in habits is not a temporary thing, it’s for life. Take it one day at a time, if you stumble, pick yourself up and get back to your plan.

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The mini-app web page is very simply laid out. You fill out the details of the email address to send it to and the date you would like to be it to be sent. When that date arrives, it sends the email out. It doesn’t ask for too many details, like even who it’s from, so… How could it possibly be useful?

It’s advertised as something that could be used to remind you of an event in the future (I already use a schedule for that) or to send someone else a Happy Birthday message that you may forget later, that could be of some use, I guess.

So I gave it a few minutes of my time and thought about how it could really be useful. I came up with a few ideas, but here’s one that specifically relates to debt…

I’m really in favour of finding a buddy when you are changing anything in your life. Someone who will support you when it gets tough, yet challenge you if you start to goof off or slow down. It could be someone going through the same thing, or it could be someone who’s already done it. For myself, I prefer champions, that keeps me on track best and I don’t like to fall short in front of them.

So here’s how to use the time machine emails.

1. Set activity goals for the week or month and send emails to yourself and your buddy/champion. Use them to check yourself against.
2. Set your accomplishment goals for the year and send the emails to come out once a month to see if you are on track.
3. Set the final date that you intend to be debt free. Get reminder emails set up along the way, with benchmarks, if possible.
4. Send your future Self a congratulations email on the final date! If you don’t feel ready to do that, ask if you truly believe in your ability to reach your goal by that date.

What date can you comfortably put on that final date? This will tell you a lot. Go on, climb inside the tardis in your mind, visit that date beyond debt, enjoy the view and see the possibilities – then look at a calendar. Come back and send yourself that email!

This post appears in The 13th Money Hacks Carnival.

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I came across an article about shopping addiction, and it describes in some detail the associated behaviours. The article was short, interesting and a real eye opener. It made my think about my own shopping behaviour.

I went from being a level headed responsible shopper who spent within my means to someone who could shop for England. For me shopping was a joy, I loved it. I loved being able to come home with bags of new things, I loved bargains, and I loved the joy of buying things for others. As my love of shopping grew, I didn’t consider whether or not I could pay for my treasure – I just shopped. I loved how it made me feel good and I had little regard for the debt I was building.

Then, one day, I heard myself justifying my out of control spending and I knew I was in trouble. I sat down and looked at the extent of the debt I had created and made a decision to do something about it – and I did.

However, I recognised that If I didn’t understand why I had got into debt in the first place there was a strong chance I would create the same situation in the future.

I took a look at myself and saw what others saw; a strong, confident, self assured, honest and reliable woman. I was someone who knew my stuff, I was successful and popular. On the other hand some people thought I was controlling, always right and way too generous. For some people, I was an object of envy. What they didn’t know and I would not let them see were the insecurities that drove me.

Shopping for me was a way to mask what I was feeling inside. I thought back to school days and the kind of person I was, and then the woman I became. I realised that I used shopping as a way to be popular, to earn respect, to be lovable. It wasn’t easy to acknowledge that;

• No amount of shopping was going to make anyone love me more.
• Lending money I didn’t have wouldn’t earn the respect of others, and,
• No matter what I gave away, if people didn’t like me they never would.

I know now that I am lovable and people love and respect me for who I am, not for what I give them. So now I shop and enjoy it, I find it easy to lose myself in the window shopping I enjoyed as a child. I spend only what I have and think carefully about the purchases I make. I no longer use shopping as a means to validate my self worth.

Shopping can be a public display of what you feel about yourself and a sure fire way to get into debt if you are not careful. What does your shopping say about you?

Image from www.bigfoto.com

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I have a 3 year old daughter, and she’s starting to become financially aware. As an example, only a couple of days ago she was playing with my wallet (as she is wont to do) and pulled out a five-pound note, and said:

“Hmm, I don’t have one of those. I need to put this in my boot-bank…”

I was just pleased it wasn’t a twenty! But what is the right response? How to deal with situations like this?

She has her own purse (and many handbags!) and 2 boot-banks that were given to her. Occasionally, when we run errands in town, she will tell us earnestly that she needs to take her purse to buy something. And she does. Usually something extravagant like soap bubbles or a new set of stickers…

Conversely, you should see the look of pure delight when she gets given some money and the chance to run upstairs and stand on tip-toes on the chair in her room and drop the coins into her piggy-banks. One is now full.

Which brings me to the question:

“Should a child be allowed to spend the whole dollar?”

Here is a very approximate paraphrase from Jim Rohn – a great speaker I heard a few years ago. He was challenging the audience to think about money and influence… my apologies to Jim for any inaccuracies, this is how I remember his words:

“If you give a kid a dollar – should you let them spend the whole thing?

…only if you want them to grow up poor!

Hey, if you want to teach your kid good financial habits, don’t let them spend the whole dollar. Teach them about savings. Let them see the value in compound interest.

If you want to give your child a good education – take them across town to where the poor people live who spend the whole dollar…

If you already live there… well, just show them around!“

Let’s leave the idea for a moment, that in reality, ‘poor’ people are all around us. People who not only spend the whole dollar – they spend more than the whole dollar, because credit extends to them that ability. They might not seem poor. They might actually have fairly lavish lifestyles… all hocked on credit and the promise of paying it back.

I digress.

How soon should you start teaching your child about finances? How soon should you start learning good habits yourself, so you can teach your child more effectively? When is too young to start learning this stuff? When can you start teaching your kids about entrepreneurship – the ability to make money in a fast-changing world, to give them more options than just ‘getting a job’…

My daughter understand that it feels good to save money and to spend money. I think that’s healthy. Let’s hope I can help her feel equally good about making money as well as giving money.

I’ll leave you with a few more words from Jim Rohn:

“Get your kids 2 bikes. One to ride and one to rent!”

This post appears in the carnival of education on April 9th.

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He volunteered to go to Iraq.

Sloan, 26, a captain in the US Air Force, was stationed in Colorado Springs and could see a series of bad decisions in his financial life. So he decided to do something about it. In May he arrived for duty in Baghdad.

“I came to the realization that I was so far over my head, I had to do something drastic to increase my cash flow,” Captain Sloan said in a telephone call from the Green Zone, where he received extra pay and had minimal living expenses. “Iraq did that.”

In the US, coverage of debt issues is at an all-time high. And for good reason. “I hate to make it seem like I’m here just for money, because it’s not true,” he said. “There’s many worthy things about being here. But if I can use this to my advantage, I definitely should.”

Since arriving in Baghdad, he has managed to reduce his debt to less than $4,000. “I’ve met people who’ve gone on to one or more tours just to get out of debt, with jobs much more dangerous than mine,” Captain Sloan said. “One soldier in Afghanistan said, ‘That’s why I’m here, to get out of debt.’ ”

All his income is tax-free under the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion and he gets an extra $225 a month imminent danger pay and $100 “safe” pay to improve his living conditions. “The real benefit is that it’s tax-free money,” he said. “I really don’t feel in imminent danger on a day-to-day basis, but there have been times my heart did skip a beat or two.”

Apart from an occasional haircut, or dried fruit, he said, “every paycheck I get goes straight toward my debt.”

Financial counsellors working with military families say that volunteering for deployment to get out of debt is rare. But debt is a problem in the armed services, as it is in the country at large. In 2005, military charities for all branches of service provided over $87 million USD in emergency no-interest loans or grants to over 100,000 service personnel in financial distress.

Captain Sloan’s debts began at the Air Force Academy, with a low-interest loan of $25,000. “It was this awesome loan at 1 percent interest, and I just squandered it,” he said.

Captain Sloan borrowed another $35,000 last year to buy a 2005 Nissan 350Z, bringing his debt above $68,000. He was using one credit card to pay off another and considering a payday loan to meet his regular expenses. He also said he kept his debts hidden from most of his friends and relatives.

“When I look back, I feel somewhat ashamed that I got myself in this position,” he said. “But at the same time it was necessary for me to learn to manage my finances. When you can’t pay your monthly bills, you need to make some changes.”

He also sold things and simplified his life. He eats at the chow hall rather than Pizza Hut and uses a Sony Reader to scan free books on the Internet.

Changes, indeed. I have to applaud his courage to take such drastic measures. And I think that even for a military person, opting to go to a war-zone is a pretty daring move.

What are you prepared to do to get out of debt? Because action is so much more powerful than words alone…

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