Parallels I've Made Between Achieving Financial and Physical Health

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It's no secret that I'm a hardcore money nerd. I was obsessed with saving coins in my piggy bank as a child. I'm generally on top of my savings, love tinkering around with my "money ecosystem," and try to stay on top of my retirement and investments. Oh yes, not to mention I write about personal finance for a living.

And while I feel like I am pretty good with my money, I've long struggled to maintain my physical health. I was diagnosed with prediabetes and high cholesterol in my late 20s.

In my journey to becoming more physically healthy, I've found financial health and physical health share many of the same stumbling blocks. Plus, the tactics for developing positive habits for both can be similar.

Here are a handful of parallels between staying on top of my financial and physical health and what I've learned along the way:

Understand the psychology behind your behaviors

The basic tenets of eating well and staying fit are pretty simple—eat lots of veggies, stay hydrated, and keep processed foods, salty snacks, and sugar to a minimum. The basic tips on reaching financial wellness are also pretty basic– don't spend more than you have.

That said, we know how hard it can be to stick to a budget or save for a vacation or long-term goal, such as retirement. And we all know how tempting it can be to eat an entire bag of potato chips while lounging on the couch for a binge-watch fest.

That information and advice—no matter how solid or well-meaning–will be brushed aside until you connect it to your psychology and story.

It wasn't until I dissected the psychology of my eating and exercise habits and my money personality that I could better understand myself and slowly make positive changes. For instance, as a "carbivore" who leaned on cheddar crackers as my emotional support snack, I tend to stress eat and disassociate, eating way more carbs than I should.

And just like how we might indulge in retail therapy to feel better about ourselves or quell our anxieties, understanding the why behind our habits and beliefs can help us start to make small changes.

Start with joy

I often felt overwhelmed with everything I needed to change—exercising more and cutting out the "bad stuff" from my diet. In turn, I did make some dramatic dietary and exercise shifts, such as eating the same thing for a year straight, attempting extreme diets such as no sugar or eating nothing but eggs for a month, and trying to turn working out into a seven-day-a-week commitment.

As you might imagine, that didn't last long. I quickly fell off the bandwagon. Instead, what worked for me was starting with things that I enjoyed and brought me joy. For instance, I gradually folded healthier options into my diet instead of going for a restrictive diet. And a few years ago, I started attending water aerobics classes a few times a week. Fast forward to the present, and I sometimes exercise several hours a day, just for fun.

So, with your finances, consider that it may not be a good long-term strategy to tackle what is most difficult, stressful or overwhelming. While paying off your credit card balance might be top of mind, you might want to work on another small goal first to give you a motivational burst.

It starts with joy. So, if you can find a modicum of pleasure in coming up with a budget, saving a little bit each week and seeing the money pile up, or chatting it up with your friends about any aspect of cash, begin there. It will help you build momentum for the long haul.

Start small

As they say, Rome wasn't built in a day, and nor are long-term habits. Interestingly, there's no magic number to form a habit. But it's also known that it does take time and consistency.

When I tried to do too much at once with my physical health, I was being unrealistic and setting myself up for failure. Similarly, suppose you're trying to boost your financial well-being, trying to save aggressively for a big-ticket goal, or working on investing and saving and paying off debt all at the same time. In that case, it may not lead to fruitful, long-term changes.

By swapping a carb with a veggie snack, auto-saving $5 a week, avoiding snacks, or taking an online shopping break, you can gradually develop better habits.

Expect to lapse on occasion

There have been countless times when I fell off the bandwagon, and my dietary restrictions felt so constraining that I just wanted to go hog wild and eat whatever I wanted. You know what? That's perfectly okay—and to be expected.

My good friend Jennifer pointed out that the goal is not to never to lapse into old habits. The goal is for those lapses to be shorter and farther in between. And by "budgeting in" those cheat days, whether it's a small splurge or a few slices of pizza, those changes are more sustainable in the long term. And you know what? Over time, those lapses have been shorter.

Embrace trial and error

I love playing around with different budgeting techniques, getting my head around investment basics, finding ways to improve my credit score, and researching insurance options. It took me a lot of trying out new methods and tinkering around with processes and systems to arrive at a way of managing my finances that works for me.

Along the same lines, figuring out the best mix of physical activities, what to eat, how much and when feels like a constant work in progress and experimentation. And it's constantly changing and evolving.

As you can see, nobody has a "perfect" relationship with their finances or physical health. Obtaining knowledge while understanding your money narrative and slowly implementing small changes can lead to long-term, sustainable, and positive changes.

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Jackie Lam

Jackie Lam is a personal finance writer whose work has appeared in Salon, Business Insider, and GOOD.