If any of you have been following what Iâve been up to, then youâll know I was supposed to get married in September 2020. Coronavirus screwed that up, as it did for our next date of April, so now weâre going for October 2021. Third timeâs the charm!! And if youâre like me, you may have put on a little weight in lockdownâŠ.
I have had to eat excessive amounts of chocolate and drink lots of wine to keep me going through home schooling, but now my wedding dress doesnât zip up.
Oops.
Facebook has come to my rescue and has suggested I try Noom. This is a new plan (not a diet) that uses psychology!! And so far it is working. Iâm 2 weeks in and Iâve lost 2.3 kilos. Only another few (cough, 8) to go.
And why is it working for me? Because I have to weigh in every day, I have to log my food, so I think about everything I eat, and it tells me how many calories Iâm allowed to eat. The more exercise I do the more calories Iâm allowed, and I have an online coach who helps keep me on track. Plus, I have 5-10 mins of lessons everyday keeping me motivated through my journey, giving me tips to be better and no food is out of bounds with no judgment!!
Just like financial advice from Blueberry!!
Any intelligent person can lose weight if they choose to. Just like any intelligent person can look after their own finances.
But why donât we?!
Because we need encouragement, we need to be taught / reminded of what we need to do and somebody to keep us on track and stick to the plan.
Somebody who looks from the outside who says âhave you thought of this?â, someone who questions your thinking and makes you stronger. For financial advice it is also keeping up with the legislation, regulations, and product innovation which can be very time consuming.
Do you need that new car? New house? Have you made a will or done a lasting power of attorney so if you start on the road to dementia your finances are all sorted? Are you making use of all of the tax efficient things you could be doing? Has the market dropped and youâre about to sell everything? đ± Are you reviewing your plan regularly to make sure that you are still on track or have you fallen off your path?
Good financial advice is about education, risk management, tax efficiency and being there for you to keep you on track towards your future goals. You may not be aiming for a certain weight, like with Noom, but you are aiming for a retirement that suits your lifestyle, not a mud hut in Peru, whilst having fun along the way.
Accountability is key, rather than just hoping it will all work out ok. I know that my wedding dress still wonât zip up if I just cross my fingers, it takes some work to get back to where I should be. I need somebody to keep me accountable. But it doesnât have to be hard. Just like your finances. We make it fun and there are plenty of jokes along the way!!
