Which do you hate more, dieting or budgeting (or, if the d-word turns you off, replace that with "having responsible eating habits and having responsible spending habits," if you prefer)? Aren't they really pretty much the same thing? I am very good at planning for both of them (setting up spreadsheets, figuring out realistic goals) and very bad at following through with either one. Which explains quite a bit about my station in life, actually (i.e. why I am 30 lbs overweight and have way, way less money saved than I should have). Both of them are things that make you feel virtuous if you actually do them and guilty when you don't. Both of them are responses to over-indulging in activities that you can't logically just quit cold turkey. Both of them are about moderation, which has to be one of my least favorite words. I read magazine articles and books and websites about how to do both of them better ravenously, and yet don't do either in any real way. They even have similar languages ("allowances," "splurges").
Bottom line is that both of them are things I really need to be doing and I'm just not. No matter how many programs I join (Self's get fix program, at least three Fitday accounts, the new food pyramid thing, you name it) or how many spreadsheets I set up (one in Money, one in Quicken, at least 10 in Excel), I just don't follow through. I think about seeking a dietician, or a financial planner, but know that ultimately either would be wasteful, because not knowing what to do isn't my problem--doing it is. I know I should write down every penny I spend, put myself on a cash-only economy with a weekly allowance, cut up my credit cards, drink more water, eat five servings of vegetables a day, cut out sugar and refined carbs, exercise 5 times a week...but knowing isn't doing. And since I haven't yet reasonably mastered either, the chances of doing both seem especially slim.
So you tell me--which is worse, dieting or budgeting?
Comments (8)
Definitely dieting. It feels much more punitive and restrictive to me than budgeting does. I get more satisfaction from being frugal with money than I do with calories.
Posted by Siobhan | April 27, 2005 6:07 PM
Dieting, here, too. Easier to leave the credit/debit card at home than is my stomach. :P
Posted by Shan | April 27, 2005 9:42 PM
Just wanted to add that I wouldn't be surprised if another reason I feel that dieting is harder is that it only benefits me, but my frugality benefits T and H. And it tends to be easier for me to make sacrifices for others than for myself
Posted by Siobhan | April 28, 2005 9:44 AM
I think this may depend on your upbringing. Food in my family is a big deal, it is the center of social interactions, and dinners have a way of lasting several hours and involve discussions, debates and sometimes arguments. This means I view food as important, and by extension I view how I eat as important. By contrast, a comfy middle class upbringing does not tend to instill any particular respect for money. Sure, we had to earn our allowence, but we, the kids, never had any concept of being on tight budget, even when my mother was. One friend from college put it this way, I never had to witness taking food off your purchase at the grocery store due to lack of funds. This gives me what can only be discribed as a cavalier attitude about money. I fight it, but I think it will always be there.
Posted by wiley and elusive | April 28, 2005 11:55 AM
The despair i feel at the thought of giving up cheese, say, probably indicates that changing diet is more difficult. It is definitely true that they involve the same kind of activity- To successfully do either requires making long-term structural changes in how you live. The point about how a lot of these patterns are set when we’re children and are hard to change when we’re adults is a good one- I find myself taking after my folks quite a bit in both respects.
Posted by howl | April 28, 2005 2:19 PM
Dieting, all the way. Budgeting is second nature. And i never feel that i'm budgeting just to fit in!
Posted by Nella | April 29, 2005 9:15 AM
Definitely dieting for me. Saving money isn't a problem--I'm frugal (perhaps overly so) by nature. But I try not to restrict food, because it just makes me eat more of it. Rather than eliminating things from my diet, I try to just start paying more attention to my body and what it wants/needs/doesn't want, and limiting calories is usually a by-product of that.
Posted by Scand79 | May 1, 2005 8:44 PM
Y'all are going to hate me for this, but I actually mostly like managing both my food and my money. The trick, for me, especially with food, is to write it down in my spreadsheet (food) or review the budget (money). W/ money, I used to do it every single week, because I had a very tight budget, but additional income has loosened that up a little. I don't necessarily judge, mind you, or criticize, but I know that, if I have goal x, I have to chip at it each day. It's like writing a dissertation, or any other long-term project, at least for me: doing it a little at a time, but steadily, is way more manageable. I think, to get back to the heart of your question, though, I would love to be able to eat the way I did when I was 20.
Posted by Emma Goldman | May 2, 2005 10:20 AM