The surprising link between breakfast rolls and your bank account
Ditch the earn-more, spend-more trap
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Why I'm heavier after 10 weeks of marathon training
I'm three kilos heavier today than when I started marathon training 10 weeks ago.
Which is bloody weird, considering I'm running 40+ kilometres per week.
Here's what happened: I did a VO₂ max test before training started. The guys who gave me the results told me that I can eat whatever a want.
I had a call with a nutritionist "Eat whatever you want. White pasta, sauces, supplements, juices. Just get the calories in."
So I did. 'Carb loading' was my new normal. Because hey, I was training for a marathon.
But something felt off. I should be getting lighter, not heavier. That would make the running easier, right?
So whilst in the Netherlands last week, I downloaded MyFitnessPal to have a look at what I was putting into my body.
The moment I saw the breakfast rolls I had were 300 calories each, I stopped at two.
(Before I had 5!)
And here's the mad part: I felt just as satisfied. My body didn't need more.
The only difference was awareness.
What this has to do with your money
On Thursday I had a call with Gary in the west-coast of Ireland (only his second coaching call). He said something that made me smile:
"Sjoerd, this month I've got about €1,000 more in my bank accounts than usual. The difference is the tracking. Just knowing where my money goes in real-time helps me make better decisions."
Yesterday, I spoke to Jack, a doctor in the US. When I asked how he felt about tracking his expenses, he said:
"It feels really good, actually. It feels like I have an idea of what's going on with my money. I've never tracked finances in my life. I now know where my money's going and I have awareness around it."
2 guys, worlds apart, same sentiment.
This happens with every single client.
People think the big financial question is:
"Should I invest in the S&P 500 or an All World fund?"
But that's maybe a 1-2% difference per year.
The real win?
Investing twice as much because you've cut costs mercilessly on stuff that doesn't bring you joy.
And it starts with tracking in real time.
Something shifts in your brain when you see the numbers.
You make better decisions instantly.
Everyone has their "thing"
Without exception, everyone I've coached recently has said:
"I didn't know I spent X on Y."
X could be coffees. Could be cakes. Could be bikes. Could be festivals. Could be alcohol and cigarettes.
This week someone said Uber trips.
Everyone has something they spend way more on than they realised.
And if you could just invest that money instead, you'd have tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, extra in retirement.
That's the difference. It's not about dramatic life changes. It's about awareness. Spending mindfully on what brings you joy and investing the difference.
What's next
My calendar's hitting its limits now.
I'll still do one-on-one coaching, but I will start to shift focus to a programme that will deliver the same results to more people.
Subscribe to this newsletter here to be the first to find out about the new workshops that I will be introducing.
That's it for this week. I'm about to head out for a 30km run. Wish me luck!
Wishing you a lovely weekend,
To your financial freedom
Sjoerd
P.S. If you want to start tracking your path to financial freedom like Gary and John, you can get the tracker my clients use here.
It's the exact spreadsheet that I have used to track my finances for the last 5+ years and instructions.
