I do have to tell you that this book is massive!  I was expecting something similar to the size of The 4-Hour Workweek, but instead received something like a full version of Webster’s Dictionary!  Hey, well what I have read so far has been pretty interesting.

I didn’t actually read any of the reviews before nor after the book was released simply because I read The 4-Hour Workweek and am an avid reader of Tim Ferriss’ Blog.  I knew the book was at least going to include some ideas worth my reading time.  I can tell you from what I have read so far that I’m really finding the read to be absolutely intriguing and I cannot wait to give some of the ideas in the book a try.

I can tell you this – I intend to give this book a try and see how I can benefit from it.  I will be posting some future entries detailing my course through the Slow-Carb Diet, which is detailed in the book, among other experiments.  Time to pick up the book again.  Stay tuned for the latest!

This is why I feel like such a failure sometimes when I just can’t get myself to implement what these writers are advising.  But perhaps maybe it’s not even necessary to do everything exactly as it’s laid out by other people.

Different people have different lifestyles, different income and come from different cultures.  Generally, what will work for someone else is not the one-size-fits all solution.  Really!

But, what I’m actually trying to say is that it is probably in your best interest to not let the fact that you’re having a tough time implementing  what you’ve read on someone else’s blog.  Instead do what you think will work for you and your lifestyle.

I recently took some time to come up with ideas on what exactly would work for me and put the thoughts on paper.  Below is the list of the five simplest/most difficult things that would work for me:

1.   Just like “the first rule of fight club is, you do not talk about fight club!”  The first rule of doing what works for you is to actually DO what works for you!  Maybe not the best analogy, but you know where I was going with that.  Ha!

2.   Spend less than you make.  This is probably the simplest of concepts dealing with financial fitness, but also the one that almost everybody trying to reform their money habits falters in achieving!  Your success to spending less than you make can greatly improve if you just simply created a budget.  Of course, a budget is not the end all be all to spending less than you’ve made.  However, if you at the very least attempted to live within the budget you set, your overall spending would be reduced.  It’s worth a try.

3.  Automate your finances.  Now, I know that there are many people on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to the topic of automating your finances.  The argument against automating your finances is a valid one in that a person becomes detached from their finances almost completely except for the portion that is available for discretionary spending.  If you ask me, this is an advantage!  If you could allocate your entire income to paying your liabilities and your investments up front, how much better would you feel about spending the money left over on anything you want?  It would definitely not feel like I was doing something wrong – that’s for sure!

4.  Save and invest as much as possible.  Create an emergency fund and pad your IRA without even thinking.  This step becomes simplified when you actually automate your finances.  If you put money down towards your savings and investments before you ever touch a single penny towards your entertainment, your savings start to grow without much effort on your part.  This is also commonly referred to as paying yourself first!

5.  Insure YOURSELF.  This is a must do if you can afford it.  Without insurance, medical, disability or otherwise, you may get stuck with very expensive hospital bills in the case that you get sick or hurt.  Even worse, if you become disabled and can no longer work it may be even more difficult to make money to pay those hospital bills.  The government will only assist you so much.  The situation would become bleak if you really look at it.  Do yourself the favor and buy yourself that peace of mind!

Well there you have it – the list of the five simplest/most difficult steps to financial fitness.  Well, at least for me!

What will you be doing to improve your financial fitness?  Remember that no matter what you do, make sure it is something that you think will work for you.  Believe me; it will save you from kicking your own ass when you can’t accomplish what someone else has laid out for YOU to do.