I’ve recorded my daily calories for a long time, but recently I started also tracking WHEN I record my calories.
And I discovered something fascinating that I’m trying out as a financial hack.
Sometimes, I’ll record calories at the end of the day after I’m done eating.
And other days, I’ll record what I PLAN to eat that day in the morning and then just update it at the end of the day.
I’ve experimented over the last 2 months and on the days I record calories in the morning, I land near my calorie goal 84% of the time.
But when I record calories at the end of the day, I only hit a 51% success rate.
I imagine it’s due to a combination of intentionality, as well as just smart planning.
By recording before I eat, I manifest my destiny. I chart a destination and I’ll consciously and subconsciously work towards it.
And practically speaking, it’s much easier to stay on budget if you plan ahead.
Whereas if I consume calories without a plan, I’m basically just crossing my fingers that it all works out at the end of the day.
The lesson’s pretty straightforward: intentionality impacts my success rate.
For the next couple of months, I’m going to apply the same technique to my monthly cash flow.
If I know what my take-home is and I know my savings, then I know what I have left.
Then I’ll take out planned big expenses – travel, big purchases, etc.
And whatever’s left is for lifestyle expenses.
And if I want extra credit, then I’ll decide what I want to spend my lifestyle money on.
If a little dollar-planning helps as much as my calorie-planning, I’ll be able to save even more and shave even more time off my Financial Zen Years.
