Comments on: Of Money and Marathons

By: DINKs Featured on Man Vs. Debt | DINKS Finance

DINKs Featured on Man Vs. Debt | DINKS Finance — Mon, 03 May 2010 04:53:49 +0000

[...] Guest Post on Man Vs. Debt [...]

By: Samuel

Samuel — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:49:08 +0000

You have made excellent comparisons between two quite unrelated things that most people would never compare or look at as having anything in common. Being able to stay committed to improving your financial situation requires as much discipline as preparing to run a marathon successfully.

You did a great job here.

By: Credit Card Chaser

Credit Card Chaser — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:57:50 +0000

I really like this analogy because I find it extremely helpful when I set goals both financially and when working out. Nice job! .-= Credit Card Chaser´s last blog ..Think You Could Go Into Massive Debt While Making $10 Million/Yr? =-.

By: Jack @ Master Your Card

Jack @ Master Your Card — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:48:46 +0000

Great post – and some good philosophy mixed in. Reading this makes me want to start running… though I think starting right before winter isn’t the best way to develop a habit (I’ll probably wuss out as soon as it gets cold…).
.-= Jack @ Master Your Card´s last blog ..Credit Card Review: Changes for Chase Freedom =-.

By: mbhunter

mbhunter — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:07:45 +0000

>>> I wanted to feature a post with a hint of fitness or health and this one was a great fit.

A great FIT!! Get it? Hahahahaha …
.-= mbhunter´s last blog ..More discussion on charging your tithe =-.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:58:43 +0000

Writer’s Coin – I just read your post comparing investing and marathons and I loved it. Two points of yours that I wish I had thought of were “Break Through the Pain” and “Try Not To Compare Yourself To Others”. Not comparing myself to my fellow runners would have been sage advice when I found myself being passed by two guys in Hot Dog uniforms (sad but true).

Cindy makes a great point about being able to compare running a marathon to a variety of long-term tasks that end in a major goal. It helps me to make those comparisons; any time I can apply what I’ve learned in one domain to a new task in a different domain, I feel like I have a bit of a head start.
.-= Michael´s last blog ..DINKs Featured on Man Vs. Debt =-.

By: Casey

Casey — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:57:44 +0000

Congrats on finishing. I did a 10k Mud Run with no training (I play volleyball & basketball a couple of times a week, but nothing long distance) and was sore for 2 weeks. Like Adam wrote, I can't imagine 26.2 miles. I really enjoyed the parallels with personal finance & running/training. I find it much easier & enjoyable to think about finance, blogging, life, etc., with comparisons to sports & exercise. .-= Casey´s last blog ..Backpacking: What to Bring =-.

By: Writers Coin

Writers Coin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:33:09 +0000

Good luck! It's funny because I just ran a race and wrote something similar that deals with marathons and investing, but I took a totally different route. Interesting to see the points where we matched up and the ones where we focused on different points. .-= Writers Coin´s last blog ..I’m a Swiss Army Knife: Are You a Hammer? =-.

By: Cindy Antenucci

Cindy Antenucci — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:41:10 +0000

Running a marathon is a great metaphor for just about any endeavor that ends with a major goal– saving money, finding a job, losing weight. Just keep ticking off those mile markers, bit by bit, and lo and behold, before you know it you’ve run 26.2 miles or saved $3,000. I didn’t like training for marathons, initially, nor did I like the sacrifices necessary to save money, but something happened along the way and now I enjoy the processes of both! Running and saving…they just get in your blood after awhile. Great post.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:12:43 +0000

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your support a great deal. And well, I didn’t gorge myself on hotdogs and cheeseburgers afterwards specifically, but I might have ordered a pizza the next day as a celebration. I am going to focus on my diet now (except for the whole pizza incident) so hopefully I can successfully bring those two together.

What I liked about the marathon training was how it broke a large goal into a series of smaller goals, much like what Daniel was talking about. The overarching goal always hung in the background, but I had to focus on the smaller, more manageable daily runs if I wanted to be successful. Just like with your finances; I have lofty financial goals that can be discouraging, but forcing myself to focus on the smaller short term goals that will eventually help me reach those longer term goals has been a great help.

Also I wanted to thank Adam for putting my post up on his site. I’ve been a big fan of his and I’m honored to write for you guys. So thanks everyone for reading!