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The PF Diet

Do you get as frustrated as I get when you see an overweight person excuse their obesity by saying “I tried dieting and it doesn’t work for me.” They are convinced that their genetic makeup is completely different from that of the majority of the human population, and that their DNA somehow gains weight even if all they eat is diet lettuce (hey maybe I could sell that?)

Can you believe there are some people that subscribe to a similar belief with respect to their financial life? They “try” saving or budgeting, but after realizing they aren’t millionaires by weeks end, they give up. These people are straight up wacko. It’s like they are trying to run a sprint without knowing they signed up for a marathon. News Flash: Your financial situation wont change overnight.

Personal Finance is about endurance. In reality, it’s a lifelong race, that only ends once you find yourself in a casket. It’s about continually bettering your situation so that, over time, your overall quality of life is improved. When you look at PF with a short term perspective, chances are very little will change. You can’t eat a salad for lunch and expect to weigh 20 pounds less at the end of the day…can you? NO! So don’t can’t expect your budget to make you millions over night.

The big life lesson I have learned because of personal finance: Patience. That’s right mother truckers, PF is all about patience. I want so badly for my student loan to disappear, but I know I have 400 more days before that dream becomes reality. If you aren’t willing to focus your attention on managing your money better, it’s not even worth trying. Quit now, run up your credit card bill, and find a friend to complain to about how difficult your life is.

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10 COMMENTS

  1. I agree, but you can also be raised with the tools or have certain advantages from the start with both of those things. Though, this isn't an excuse for either.

    I'm just beginning my personal finance journey and your advice is sound and motivational. Thanks.

  2. Patience! What even is that?!

    Good post… it's important to remember that change takes time and financial freedom (whatever that means to each individual) takes time.

  3. Don't hate on obese people. In my case, my DNA really did let me down. I have hypothyroidism, which my dad's side of the family has. Does my DNA directly make me gain weight? No, but my hypothyroidism does. It was hypothyroidism that ruined Victoria's Secret model Karolina Kurkova's body and made all those Brazilians call her a fatty after the June 2008 show. My pediatrician just thought that I was eating too much and eating unhealthily, but I was a really active kid, and she sent me to a dietician and yelled at me at my yearly checkups for years. My parents are the kind of suburban parent that believes that their kids should only eat organic food. So, I was already eating a small amount of uberhealthy food and my parents couldn't understand why I was so fat. My mother weighed 95 pounds when she married my dad and my cheerleading sister was too skinny to donate blood all through high school. And they thought that I was somehow eating or sneaking in junk food, because I was eating about half to a third of what my sister ate. My aunt, who has hypothyroidism like my dad, finally took me to her doctor who immediately diagnosed me with some blood tests, finally recognizing that 65 pounds in 6 years on a 4' 11" body was extremely unusual when someone eats like I do. I dropped 5 pounds in the first two weeks of being on medication for it. I'm not obese now, but I still know how it feels. Yes, your DNA CAN play a role in making you fat.

  4. @camorra:
    You think that your exceptional case is true for the huge number of obese Americans? Most of them do.

    I always feel like the "my case is special" crowd are utterly pissing on the genuinely disabled, who often enough function at very high levels. The freaking governor of NY is BLIND. Sweets are tempting, but the rest of the world can deal.

  5. I'm lucky, I eat quite a bit and I am a normal weight, but I still think that just eating less is not as easy as you say. I am sure you have a problem or two of your own, eating too much just happens to be the problem many people have and since you don't have this particular issue you think it's easy. It's not. Don't be a jerk.

  6. Apparently, according to a comment on IWTYTBR, I vilified fat people in this post. My article was not about a persons weight. I know some people have medical conditions that make losing weight difficult.

    This post was about the people that don't give things an honest go. You can't expect to lose weight over night, and you can't expect budgeting to make you millions in a week. My article was about discipline, not weight. To those that were offended, I would apologize, but I think you should just be less sensitive 🙂

  7. Just wanted to say that I your blog Ninja. I love the fact that you (we're) young but not trying to sound all dignified like the older people who post financial blogs.

    I like your style and love this blog. As for fat people and weight loss, I'm not exactly dieting but I've lost 30 lbs in 2 1/2 months. I'm working my ass off and eating less but I still do what I want and pay the consequences.

    If I want a greasy burger and then decide not to work out, hey that's another 5lbs on me that I was actually trying to get rid of.

    Sorry, I wandered off. My point is, you can do what you want but be prepared for the results.

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