My Action Plan
Today I would like to share my vision board with you all.
This is my way of “keeping my eyes on the prize” and it actually works. I don’t even look at it all the time, but the simple act of writing all these things down helps my mind follow these rules subconsciously.
We should have SMART Goals. (My actual SMART- specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound - goals are written elsewhere) Without a deadline, it’s easy to get lost into a place called Someday Isle “someday I will do this, etc”
I came up with this vision board after assessing my monthly expenses year after year. It’s not easy to bump up your income on a whim, but it is easier to tighten up your expenses.
As you can see from the 3rd section, I noticed that we are able to save a lot of money by buying everything in bulk (things that do not expire). This is only possible because we have space to store them. The downside we run into is overbuying, which we are working on.
We don’t really “meal prep”. Instead we eat a lot of simple foods. Simple breakfast foods that do not require much prep such as bananas and boiled eggs (I cook a bunch with an egg cooker and they last us for a few days before having to cook again).
For a larger family, this two tier egg cooker maybe more suitable
I peruse the instant pot and air fryer a whole lot. They save me so much time in cooking. I just throw veggies and fish or (whatever protein you prefer) in the air fryer with some olive oil and seasoning, press buttons, and leave them there for 8-15 mins at 390F (depends what you are cooking). I don’t have to stand over the stove and can do other things while this is happening.
I use a big air fryer so that I do not have to air fry my entire meal separately. This air fryer say you can do all these other types of cooking but I literally just use it as an air fryer. The big space allows me to cook more food all at once and that is the key.
I also have this instant pot that doubles up as an air fryer which I actually use for both functions.
I have entertained the idea of purchasing meal prep subscriptions. However, I calculated the cost of time and money compared to our current income. Our income is better spent on increasing our investments. Also the meal prep meals out there are not very appealing to me and just appear too expensive. Once our income doubles and if time becomes even more constrained then that is definitely an option for us.
The last bit of that section is to eat healthy and exercise. It’s actually cheap to eat healthy and exercise. When people say it’s expensive to eat healthy, they do not look at the entire picture. Spend more now to eat healthy, pay less later in expensive healthcare costs. That’s how you should look at it. Exercise is cheap, you don’t need a gym subscription or your own gym equipment at home. Use body weight. The real key here is to actually DO THE WORKOUT.
There’s always an excuse, because we tend to gravitate towards the path of least resistance. If you can just build the habit slowly, over time it will be the path of least resistance.
I hated exercise when I was younger, because my form of exercise is playing sports. But after slowly building the habit of doing power yoga to help me strengthen my core and muscles, overtime it becomes part of my routine. I find ways to exercise even on a 10 hour shift at one of my jobs. During my breaks, instead of sitting around I up and down the staircase as my workout while listening to an audiobook. Learning about investing and exercising at the same time.
If you are just starting this out now, it’s not going to be easy. But if you can bring yourself to be persistent. It will pay off in spades. You won’t notice much in the beginning, but this growth isn’t linear, but exponential. I’m talking about your health and investments haha. When it starts paying off, instead of the feeling of “hardship” you get your “dopamine hits” back to back and then it gets easier to flow into it and keep going.
I hope this short blog encourages you to plan, write down your goals, and follow them through.
Cheers to your success!
-Pam
