Choosing to focus on the financial side of this:
I choose to focus on the paying off credit cards part of this. Reward credit cards are so fantastic for those who are rigidly paying them off every month and using the rewards as another form of compounded savings.
There are so many financial "instruments" that are just that - instruments. Some can be used to make beautiful music, while in the wrong hands, they'll create a cacophony of pain and sensory feedback loops that lead to less and less joy. :)
I have some kettle bells at home, but I still prefer the gym, nothing beats a bar for heavy squats. But, there's an opportunity for me to save some money in the future - money saved is a revenue stream, after all - provided that money doesn't go anywhere else.
The first day I was redundant from my old corpo job (I'm still searching for a new one!) I converted my budget spreaadsheet into a web app so that I could lessen by dependence on Excel.
Time is money. Money is time, therefore, why didn't any budget tool do that?
I've got a runway, and aa "worst case scenario" calc (not expecting future income) which tells me how long I can last without anything new.
I wrote a post about it a little while ago.
Hopefully others can find the tool useful as well.
What you say about credit is so true. It's all in how you use it. Cash back rewards can be a pretty good revenue stream. Just paying for monthly expenses with my cards I can usually earn between $50-$80 a month in rewards and I roll that into BTC at the end of every billing statement. I'm astonished by how quickly it's grown—partially because I began at the beginning of a bull market.
I don't do much heavy lifting at my age but used to love my free weights when I was younger. I do goblet squats with my 50lb kettlebell and that keeps the legs strong enough.
That sounds like a wonderful idea for a budgeting app—one that takes into account the time factor. Thanks for the links! I'll be sure to read your post and check out the other link later today. Speaking of building leg muscles...I have to carry 70lb boxes of floor tile from the garage into the house. Lol.
I hope the tiles didn't de(feet) (heh) you too badly. We have a bunch of spare tiles in the garage, and those boxes are the best - they're full of heavy, fragile stuff, the carboard is fickle, and they're often stored in environments were the glue holding the box together is likely to fail due to the ingress of heat or humidity.
A perfect exercise in anxiety and risk management.
I too, will be ageing at some point (probably sooner and faster than I'd like) - I am curious, do you have any resources you used when starting out with kettlebell exercises?
I'd love to benefit from your research as opposed to doing my own :P
Thankfully it worked out great yesterday! No smashed toes! : ) A few boxes had almost disintegrated and were coming open though. This tile was made in Indonesia so the boxes were worse for the wear.
If you've never delved into the research on benefits of kettlebell exercises I'd highly recommend it. It gives you the advantage of cardio and strength training at once.
When I started I used this video:
Then I worked up to this one (when I have more time):
What I would advise is to start lighter (25-35lbs) in the beginning so you can concentrate on form. Form is everything when using kettlebells but I'm sure you already know that from using free weights. Even the basic kettlebell swing is deceptively simple—it's easy to get distracted and lapse into improper form.
What surprised me most about these workouts is how much real-world strength they give you and how quickly you begin to see results. My Vo2 Max score has also gotten way better since starting. I hope this helps!
Thank you! I've done a bit of kettlebell stuff in circuits / classes years ago, but it will definitely be a cheaper option than an ongoing gym membership in future (and one that takes up far less space than a rack and a bench)
The real world strength is exactly what I am after :)
My pleasure. I like the simplicity of the kettlebell too. If you go on an extended road trip all you really need to bring is that one piece of equipment.