Up until about seven years ago, we would eat out 2-3 times a week, on average. You would typically find our family dining out Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Occasionally we would venture out during the week as well. Not only did this have a negative impact on our health, but it had an equally adverse effect on our wallet.

When I first began kicking around the idea of starting a blog, I came up with the theme of Family, Fitness & Finances. Sort of like food, folks and fun; only different! =) My premise was that these three key elements in peoples lives are interconnected. A recent comment to one of my posts “I love the idea of putting physical health and finance together. What’s the sense of having money if you can’t live healthy and long enough to enjoy it. :-))” just about sums it up. Right on, Ms. Cheapy! My thoughts exactly.

Back 1998, a year after we quit smoking, something strange began to take place. My wife and I had put on more than a few extra pounds! So started our ten year battle of diets and exercise to try and return to our former glory!

I had read somewhere that it was very important to drink plenty of water while dieting and exercising. Makes sense, flush your system and replenish your perspiration. Not to mention the fact that my beloved grandmother has never felt that I drink enough water. She makes a point to always offer me a glass. Armed with this information, I had an idea. Our family needed to drink more water!

 
Whomever says there’s no inflation, hasn’t bought milk lately. OR bread, or meat, or eggs, or gasoline. You get the picture. What’s going on here? Why do these government bureaucrats insist that inflation is under control.

So you have scrimped and saved. Done without some of life’s luxuries. You have managed to build up a nice little nest egg. You have plans to retire in comfort. And then it happened. You started using your shinny, new 401k debit card. Borrowing against your future.