I swear, every morning I wake up & discover something new (& unpleasant!) about getting old. The bags under my eyes, the hair that's falling out (?!!!), the gray that's coming in on the few remaining strands, & of course, the difficulty in losing weight.
I had a great fitness week last week. I didn't have a great eating day on Friday (at the water park with the kiddos, had plenty of wine + pizza + part of a cupcake), but other than that, I ate well within my calorie goals & ran 22 miles last week. All in all, I would normally expect to be down a pound or so for my efforts. Yeah, not so much. I'm up just over a pound. However, I also know that on weeks when I'm really increasing my running, my weight tends to go up and stay up, for several weeks. I'm assuming this is because my fat is slowly turning into muscle (I can only hope my backside gets the memo) & I'm retaining more water. Fingers crossed, because it's no fun to put in all of the effort & see zero results.
Onward & downward, as they say!
In accordance with my plan in December to really dissect our 2013 budget &
areas for cutback, I'm posting about one category per day. So far, I've covered
mortgage
interest (and a potential refi), our grocery
budget., dining out, & kids activities.
Today's topic
for discussion is . . . Gas!
I love categories like this, because we spent less than expected (average per month in 2012 was $319 & our budget was $500). I have to embrace these categories, because they are few & far between. :-) We'd like to drop this to $275/month in 2013, which seems reasonable. We bought a much more fuel efficient car a few months back, & have seen substantial savings already. M also drives back & forth to the airport quite a bit for work, but gets reimbursed for his mileage. We tend to keep weekend driving to a minimum, so our big gas expenditures in 2013 will be from skiing (a trip to the mountain is about an hour each way & we drive our less fuel efficient car, as we're not as worried about scratching it, etc) & driving to the beach (four hours each way).
How much do you spend on gas each month? And, combating the whole getting old thing? Any tips or tricks? :-)
I notice when I exercise more, I eat more, even unconciously. Though if you are tracking your calories you shouldn't have the same problem as me. Though as I turned 37, eek, how did this happen! I've really had difficulty losing weight. Yes, it stinks! Boo Hiss!
ReplyDeleteHowever staying active is a better reward than weight loss. It's good for your mood, your energy levels, your bones, even your skin. Try to tell yourself that when you don't see a drop on the scale.
I am definitely hungrier the day after a long run, but my appetite has been reasonably under control lately, & I track my calories. But yes, it's so frustrating.
DeleteI try to focus on all of the intrinsic benefits of working out (because, I know they are there), but it's irritating none the same. And, we're almost exactly the same age. I'm 36. :-)
I'm right there with you on lowering my monthly expenses! I thought I was doing well with gas until my daughter started driving and using my car. I got in the car this morning and noticed it was half full (when I just filled it up a couple of days ago!) I'll have to 'charge' her next time! :)!
ReplyDeleteI hear you about the weight thing. I worked out a lot in the fall, and didn't see big results on the scale. Unfortunately I lost my drive, but really need to get back into it. There are far too many rolls for my liking! :)!
Ooh, not looking forward to that expensive life stage! We bought a diesel, and it's made a huge difference on the gas - it gets awesome gas mileage. Love seeing the monthly bill go down.
DeleteAmen - my jeans are just a little to tight these days!
I try to bike to/from work as much as possible--doing so allows me to stay active and cut down on my gas expenses. I've been injured since the Chicago Marathon in October though so the gas expenses have doubled...boo!
ReplyDeleteRunning, sleeping plenty and eating well are my "secrets" :)
Gas is one of my most inflexible expenses. I am paying (and driving) significantly less since I moved closer to work, but it's one thing that I can't do much about. By the way, how do you track all of your individual expenses in excel? I only have a "master" sheet that has the budget from a bird's view (as well as my book), but it doesn't break anything down to specific details.
ReplyDelete