Jun

11

Biking, A Healthier, Cheaper and Cleaner Commute

Filed Under Biking, Money, Time Management | 11 Comments

Before last year, the most common reason I would hear for not working out was not enough time. People were busy, they had things to do, places to be and people to meet. No one seemed to have time for working out even though they knew it was important. These days, things have changed a bit. All of a sudden, it’s not that people don’t have time, it’s that they don’t have money. The gym costs too much, exercise equipment for the house is too much money and no one can afford a personal trainer.

Well, those things may be true, but health and fitness do not have to take up a lot of time, nor do they have to cost a lot of money. To illustrate this example, I am going to use my commute to work.

First, The Cost Comparison

I traveled around 2000 miles on my bike last year. I spent around $10 in maintenance. The previous year I spent a bit more since I also tuned it up so I’m going to use an average yearly cost of $20. That means my bike costs me an average of $.01 a mile to operate. That’s a cent per mile that I’m on the bike.

My car is a 1999 Infinity Sedan. It’s not a gas guzzler but it’s also not the most efficient of cars. It gets an average MPG of around 25. With today’s gas costing about $4 in California, that means a cost of 16 cents per mile. I also spent about $500 in maintenance last year and drove 10,000 miles. That’s an additional 5 cents per mile for a total car cost of around 21 cents per mile.

By the way, I’m not including calculations for the purchase price of the car, which was much higher than the bike obviously, or the lower healthcare costs I incur by being in shape. Those are just a bonus. The above figures are already good enough to illustrate my point.

My Old Commute

With my old house and office, my commute was about 5 miles or a 10 mile round trip. So doing the math, commuting on the bike cost me around 10 cents while commuting in the car cost me $2.10. That’s $2.00 saved every single day. Actually, it was a bit less than that since gas prices weren’t so high back then but it was still around $1 saved every day.

Commuting on the bike took me about 20 minutes each way while the car commute took around 10 minutes each way. So yes, I was spending 20 more minutes per day on my commute. However, I was getting a decent workout and I was enjoying myself far more than spending 20 minutes in traffic.

My new commute

Since we moved homes and I moved jobs, my new commute is about 20 miles each way. In the car, this would cost an average of $8.40 every day. Yep, that’s right, with current gas prices, I am paying $8.40 every single day just to get to work. My alternative is to take the bike to the train station, take the train and then ride the bike from the train station to the office. This means 10 miles per day on the bike for a cost of $.10 and a train ticket. I buy a ten ride ticket which works out to about $5 per day’s worth of commute. Total cost is $5.10 which means I save $3.30 per day.

Time wise, the car would take me 45 minutes each way due to awful traffic. The bike / train commute takes around 1 hour each way. At first that sounds like I’m losing 15 minutes each way for a total of half an hour each day. However, please consider that time on the train can be productive. For example, this entire post was written while on the train this morning. I could also read a book, do some work or just nap. Whatever it is, it’s a lot more stressful than 45 minutes of stop and go traffic. So both time and money wise I come out ahead.

So What’s The Point?

Some of you might be saying “woopty doo! You saved a couple of bucks and a minute or two here and there. Who cares? This is too small to be significant.” However, you’re missing the point. This isn’t a blog about time management or personal finance and so the money saved and time not wasted are nice, but they’re not the point. The point is that I got a workout and I did it while saving money and not wasting time. Every single day, even if I don’t go to the gym, I am getting 20 minutes of solid physical activity and I didn’t have to spend an extra cent for it! In fact, I saved both money and time by doing it this morning.

Now this doesn’t apply to everyone equally. Some people have commutes where public transportation or biking is not possible. Others may not enjoy biking as much as I do. Still, the point is that you can get more physical activity into your day without spending extra cash. That day out to the movies with your friends? Why not make it a day out to the park with a frisbee? It’s a lot cheaper and more fun. That fancy dinner with your wife or husband? Why not wrap up a picnic and go hiking? Cheaper, healthier and far more romantic. There’s so many options out there that are both cheaper and healthier that money should never be an excuse to not be fit and healthy. In fact, money can be a motivator towards fitness.

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Stop thinking about health and fitness as things that use up money and time. Done right, living a healthy lifestyle can save both time and money.

NOTE - corrected my math based on Alex’s comment below.  It’s a good thing my stats teacher didn’t see me fail basic division. :)

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Apr

16

The Best Fitness Investment You Can Make

Filed Under Exercise, Money, Product Recommendation | 2 Comments

If you’re a long time reader of 60 in 3, you’ll notice that I usually try to save money while improving health. I believe that health and wealth can easily go hand in hand. There’s no need to spend a lot of money on expensive gear, gym memberships or supplements. Most healthy choices end up being quite affordable. In fact, being healthy might save you money when you do things like walk instead of drive, eat at home instead of out at a restaurant or ride your bike to work. However, today, I’m going to change that a bit and tell you about the one place where you shouldn’t skimp, your feet.

Oh The Humanity!

Think about the the kind of life that feet lead when they belong to a person who’s interested in fitness.  They walk between 2 to 3 miles a day!  They go to the gym where they get pounded on for hours and hours.  They go running and have to withstand 100 to 200lbs of impact EVERY SECOND.  They go hiking and need to climb hills over rocky uneven terrain.  Sometimes they even go dancing and spend an evening shuffling around and getting stepped on.  In short, it’s a rough life, and while the rest of your body may appreciate it, your feet can easily get worn out.

Good Shoes Are A Must

Beyond giving your feet an occasional bit of rest, your most important means of protecting these valuable assets is shoes.  Which is why I’m going to tell you that shoes are the one area you shouldn’t try to save money on and instead go for the best quality possible.  That said, there’s no reason to go out there and buy a $300 pair of LED lit, computerized, pumped, Air Jordans, Racing striped, springs in the heels, Blu Tooth equipped sneakers from Nike.  Those aren’t quality, they’re just silly.  What I’m talking about is reasonably priced shoes that are also comfortable and quality.

At Work

Yes, good shoes begin at work, not at the gym.  Think about it, you spend an hour a day at the gym, but you spend 8 hours a day at work.  So the shoes you wear at work are a lot more important than your gym shoes.  Contrary to popular belief, you can actually get comfortable work shoes that don’t actually look like those old rubber shoes that nurses used to wear.  Just look for something with rubberized soles as opposed to hard leather.  For women, this is going to be a bit more difficult and I’m not going to pretend like I understand women’s fashions enough to give specific advice.  However, you really need something that combines looks and comfort if you intend to wear it for multiple hours.  The more padding on the bottom, the better, and the more natural of a position your foot is in, the better.

At The Gym

If you’re an avid gym goer, and especially if you’re a runner, you need a new pair of shoes every six months.  No, this is not my way of helping the American economy recover by encouraging more spending.  Your shoes wear out.  The padding on the bottom becomes more compressed and less springy the more you use it.  At the six month mark, your shoes no longer provide you with a cushion to exercise on.  That’s why you need to replace them with something that will protect your feet from the constant impact of working out and running.  Keep in mind, good shoes don’t need to cost a lot.  My running shoes cost around $100 and I occasionally find a good deal as low as $60.  So keep an eye out for deals.

If possible, you should also go to a store where they can help you get the right fit by looking at how you run and walk.  Different people use different strides and shoes that are comfortable for one person can be painful for someone else.

Personal Recommendation

I’m not going to recommend a specific shoe model because I know it’s not going to be a good recommendation for all people.  However, in general, I’ve usually bought New Balance shoes.  I’ve found them to be very comfortable, durable and reasonably priced.  If you’re in the Bay Area, I recommend a store called Sports Basement.  They have a great selection and I’ve always found their sales people to be knowledgeable and helpful.

NOTE - as usual, I am not connected in any way with Sports Basement or New Balance nor am I making these recommendations at their request.

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Your feet bear a lot of strain when you’re active.  Make sure you protect them with a good pair of shoes.

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Mar

12

Freeze Those Calories Off

Filed Under Healthy Habits, Money | 1 Comment

In the last post, I talked about sauna’s and how they make a poor weightloss solution.  Overheating yourself doesn’t do much for your metabolism.  All it creates is temporary weight loss through sweat.  However, what about the opposite effect?  Can we cool ourselves down and burn a few calories?  Sounds a bit counter intuitive, how can we burn calories if we’re cold, but it actually works.  Not only that, it’s one of those health tips that’s also good for your wallet, not to mention the environment.  So let’s take a closer look.

How Do We Keep Warm?

Our bodies need to maintain a relatively stable temperature.  We don’t like being too hot or too cold.  In the case of overheating, we usually try to cool down by resting and / or sweating.  However, what do our bodies do when our environment is cold?  Simple, our burn calories in order to keep warm.  It’s just like you throwing another log on the fire to keep warm during a cool winter night.  Our bodies version of firewood is calories, and we use them up to keep those inner fires burning.

So How Do We Use This?

Simple.  Whatever temperature you keep your house at, turn it down by two or three degrees.  Don’t go overboard, I don’t want you getting frostbite in your own home.  I also don’t want you uncomfortable and miserable.  However, a small two or three degree change is almost unnoticeable by most people.  Your body however will notice it and will burn more calories to keep warm.  Your wallet will also notice it since heating costs tend to add up rather quickly.

Should We Keep Gyms Cold?

On a related note, someone recently asked me if working out in a cold gym was also better for burning calories.  Well, not really.  When you exercise, your body creates a lot of heat.  So you’re going to burn a lot of calories regardless of the temperature of the gym.  However, a gym which is slightly colder will help you get better performance since you lower the risk of overheating.  Your body will have an easier time dumping excess heat in a cooler environment which means you’ll be able to exercise longer and harder.  This is also why you shouldn’t overexercise on warm days.

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Lowering the thermostat won’t make you thin overnight.  However, it can help burn an additional 20 to 30 calories a day.  That’s an extra 2 to 3lbs over the span of a year.  That’s not bad for an effortless and money saving change.

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Jan

30

Addicted To Drugs

Filed Under Health, Money, Nutrition | 7 Comments

For most of last year, I was caffeine free. I had kicked the caffiene habit back in 2006 and I stuck to my guns most of the way through 2007. However, towards the end of 2007, I decided to see if I could use caffeine as a substitute for my sugar cravings. I would drink an occasional diet coke if I felt the urge to snack on chocolate or candy bars. This seemed to be working and I thought I had things under control. Unfortunately, my recent surge of travel has tossed all that out the window.With the time zone changes, the constant meetings, endless restaurant meals and an expense account that makes little things like sodas seem meaningless, my caffeine habit has grown from a controlled experiment into an out of control issue. Now if you read the title of this post, you’re probably wondering what all this has to do with drug addiction. The fact is that caffeine is a drug. It is a stimulant and you can in fact get addicted to it. Unfortunately, most people refuse to believe that. Tell them that they’re addicted to caffeine and they’ll say “no way! I just need that morning coffee to get out of bed.” Well, I am addicted to caffeine.

So What?

The first question is, so what? So what if I need/want/crave caffeine? Is that bad? And the answer is, absolutely. There are a variety of ways in which caffeine harms your life. They range from physical to financial to a few less tangible. Let’s start with health.

Health Impact of Caffeine

Here’s a list of potential side effects of caffeine taken from the University of Columbia’s health information site.

  • Osteoporosis
  • Birth defects
  • Miscarriages
  • Infertility
  • Cancers
  • High blood pressure
  • Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
  • Ulcers and heartburn
  • Fibrocystic breast disease
  • Heart disease

That’s right, caffiene can increase your chance of all of these conditions. Sure, it’s not as bad as smoking, but it’s pretty bad.

Financial Impact of Caffeine

Want an extra million dollars when you retire? Take a look at the Latte Factor. It’s a term that’s been bounced around quite a bit in the personal finance side of the internet. It essentially says that cutting out small expenses can have a huge impact on your overall financial health. Here’s a link with more information.

Because most of the past few week’s travel was for business, I kept all my receipts and added them up when I did my expense reports. A quick check showed that the latte factor was absolutely accurate. In fact, it seemed to be underestimating things. On average, I spent about $6.50 EVERY DAY on caffeinated drinks. By the way, I don’t drink coffee, so all of this money is being spent on relatively cheap sodas. I can only imagine the daily caffeine bill of someone who likes high priced Starbuck’s lattes.

The Intangible Effects

Didn’t have enough caffeine this morning? You’re going to experience:

  • sleepiness
  • feeling overtired (from not having had any caffeine to energize you)
  • a terrible headache (when you abruptly stop having caffeine regularly)

From the University of Columbia’s health information site

Had too much? You’re in for:

  • anxious
  • excitable
  • restless
  • dizzy
  • irritable
  • unable to concentrate
  • gastrointestinal (GI) aches
  • headaches that don’t seem to go away
  • trouble with sleeping

From the University of Columbia’s health information site

Worried about the environment? That drink container has an impact.

  • The amount of glass bottles Americans throw away every two weeks would have filled both World Trade Center towers.
  • Americans throw away enough aluminum cans to rebuild our commercial air fleet every three months, and enough iron and steel to supply all our nation’s automakers every day.
  • Throwing away one aluminum can wastes as much energy as if that can were 1/2 full of gasoline.

From the Clean Air Council

Bottom Line

Every time you pick up a can of soda or a cup of coffee, you are making a decision to pay money in return for destroying your health and the environment around you. What kind of a decision is that? To me, it’s a choice I’m no longer willing to make. My little experiment became something much worse and I have no desire to keep going. So as of today, it’s no more caffeine for me. I’ll take the pain of withdrawal for the next few days. In the end, it’ll be worth it.

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Jan

21

Which Exercise Equipment Is Right For You

Filed Under Money | 1 Comment

I usually link to interesting articles in my weekend roundups. However, once in a while, there’s an article which I find extremely useful and deserving of its own entry at 60 in 3. Case in point, this article from SFGate, which is actually a summary of a Consumer Reports article. The article reviews exercise equipment and tries to help the user decide what’s right and what’s not.

If anyone can find the link to the original article on the Consumer Reports website, please add it in the comments or send it to me. Would love to link back to them since they’re the ones who deserve the credit for this information, but I couldn’t find the article on their website.

Infomercial Bait

The first section focuses on all those devices you see on infomercials. From abbusters to rocking exercise mats, they all promise instant results, improvements to specific body areas and results that take just minutes a day. The secret?

All but one come with diet plans, some “very restrictive,” Hirsh says. “They also recommend, in addition to the miracle 60 seconds on the device, aerobic exercise. They’ll refer to ’systems.’ I think that’s how they keep it legal. The system consists of a machine, a reduced-calorie diet plus aerobic exercise in a lot of cases.”

That’s right, that “magic” machine that will give you 6 pack abs is actually a small part of an overall exercise and diet plan. Even worse, Consumer Reports tested the machines and compared them to no cost workouts. Here were the results:

The users “got just as good or a better workout,” using the no-cost exercises, Hirsh says.

So you can spend money on these devices or you can do some basic exercises at home without spending a dime and get as good or better workout. Your choice. The nice folks at Consumer Reports even summed it up at the end:

“If you have to have equipment at home, start with stability balls (which cost about $25) and resistance bands (which cost $5 to $20). They have stood the test of time and they’re inexpensive.”

Rating Healthclubs

The article also has a section about healthclubs and how they compare to one another. The results may surprise you.

Almost across the board, independent and nonprofit options such as community centers, universities, offices, YMCAs and Jewish Community Centers fared better than for-profit chains.

That’s right, free or almost free gyms beat out all those expensive chains. There was one exception called Lifetime Fitness, which the article describes in more detail. If you have one of their gyms around you, you may want to read up about them. However, for most of us, the results mean we should look at less expensive gym alternatives first. We may actually find ourselves enjoying them more. I know that for me personally, the gym at my office complex is more convenient, cleaner and friendlier than the 24 hour fitness I used to go to. That means I’m more likely to go, which in turns makes the gym even more useful. All that for $0 a month.

Summary

There’s also a section in the article about bigger exercise machines like treadmills. However, the real lessons come from the first two sections. Essentially, this articles clearly shows that it’s not necessary to spend a lot of money to get a good workout. Don’t fall for all that advertising on TV. It will try to sell you insta fitness solutions, expensive gym plans and fancy exercise machines but the truth is that you don’t need these things. A good workout can be had for free. If you really want to spend a bit of money, focus on the basics, a pair of dumbbells, a mat, a jump rope, bands and maybe a stability ball. If you shop right, the total is going to be less than $100.

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Jan

16

The Difference Between $21.32 and $19.67

Filed Under Eating Healthy, Money | 2 Comments

I’m on the road again this week, traveling on business. Last night, I was driving back to my hotel when I decided to change my habits a bit. The previous night I had eaten through room service. My bill was $19.67 and for this amount I got:

$19.67 through room service gets you:

  • One veggie wrap smothered in too much sauce.
  • One small green salad.

If any of you readers travel on business a lot, you’ll know that this is pretty average. In fact, for some hotels, this is a really good deal. It’s not uncommon to walk away with a $30 to $40 bill per person on some business meals. Restaurants are about the same. For a typical dinner I would have paid $20 to $30.

Inspiration strikes!

Yesterday was a bit of a driving day for me. I usually stay close to where my meetings are, but yesterday my meeting was about 70 miles away from the hotel. So on the drive back, I started looking around for restaurants to stop at. I spotted a Mexican place and decided that this would be an acceptable choice. I pulled off the highway and into the parking lot. As I was parking, I noticed that the strip mall I was in also had a large supermarket.

Now I’ve never actually gone shopping for groceries while on a business trip, but I recalled a reader’s advice from the last discussion we had on healthy habits while traveling. So I figured, why not give it a try?  My hotel did not have a microwave but it did have a small refrigerator in the room, so I was limited to things that were ready to eat and I could store leftovers.  After about 10 minutes of shopping, I ended up with the following:

$21.32 at the supermarket gets you:

  • Container of hummus
  • Small package of pepper jack cheese
  • Package of cucumbers
  • Package of sliced mushrooms
  • Container of raspberries
  • Three oranges
  • Three apples

This is without doing any comparison shopping or looking for good deals.  I just grabbed whatever looked good.  I also grabbed some plastic cutlery from their deli section.

The results

My dinner was great.  I ate about half of the cheese, hummus, cucumbers and mushrooms.  If you’re ever looking for a great snack option by the way, some cucumbers with cheese or mushroom with hummus work great.  The veggies are great substitutes for the bread you usually eat with these things.  I also ate the raspberries, one of the apples and two of the oranges.  I had plenty of leftover, which I stored in the room’s fridge and I’m planning on eating those for lunch today.  So for about the same price, I got two meals worth of food.  Even though my company reimburses me for expenses like meals while on business trips, it still feels good to save money.  I work for a small company and every penny counts.  Plus this is a great example of the difference in cost between going out to eat and buying a few things at the supermarket.   That’s a lesson I intend to remember when I get home.  I usually eat out a lot but I’m going to try and reduce that.

However, the real difference was in the health of the food.  My meal included a whole lot of very fresh and very good veggies and fruit.  The food was much higher quality and infinitely healthier than typical fare I would have gotten through room service or at a restaurant.  All that for 10 minutes worth of work.

Summary

So there’s a lesson for you.  You don’t need to cook in order to make your own meal.  10 minutes at the supermarket can get you a cheap and healthy meal that’s ready to eat.  That’s a trick I’m going to use on every business trip from now on.

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Dec

7

Healthy Gifts For Adults

Filed Under Health, Money | 6 Comments

After talking earlier this week about healthy toy options for kids, I happened to find this article about healthy gift options for adults. I read through it and was amazed at the sheer amount of junk people try to sell these days. Stylish calf skin gym bag?!? Seriously? I’m not sure who came up with this list of gifts but they seem crazy to me. I suppose if you have an extra $20,000 to spend you may want to consider an “elite gym membership” but I happen to have better things to do with my money. So I went ahead and made my own list of good gifts for the fitness inclined. I’m linking to Amazon items here, but you can also find these items at most sporting goods stores.  I’m also linking to a lot of places which are local to me here in the SF bay area.  Obviously, if you live somewhere else, you’ll need to find your own local version of these, but I wanted to provide an example of what to look for.

Apex Polished Chrome Adjustable Dumbbell Set - No need to spend $500 on some fancy adjustable weight set when $60 will do the trick. This is the kind of dumbbell set I have at home. They’re reliable, easy to use and provide me with a nice variety of weights to use. Because the weight plates are detachable, I can always buy heavier ones if I want higher weights.

Valeo Burst Resistant Body Ball (65 cm) - Another really useful item, the exercise ball. It allows you to do a variety of exercises that you couldn’t otherwise do without some complex gym equipment. At $15, this will be far healthier than any calf skin gym bag.

Valeo Speed Jump Rope - Jump rope is one of the best cardio tools out there. You can easily take it with you on trips and provides a very good cardio workout while also working on your balance and coordination. Of course, you could buy a $700 treadmill, but this $6 gift seems a bit better.

SPRI ES501R Xertube Resistance Band with Door Attachment and Exercise Charts (Red, Medium) - Another great exercise gift for the frequent traveler in your life. Exercise bands are a way of doing resistance training without carrying a lot of weight. They’re available in a variety of resistance levels and they’re cheap, so you can buy several for under $20.

YOU: The Owner’s Manual: An Insider’s Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger - I can’t say enough good things about this book. It’s easy to read, informative and provides you with a lot of information about your body and how it works. This is exactly the kind of information you need when you’re first starting out on your healthy lifestyle. Buy a copy for a loved one and another for yourself if you haven’t read it yet.

Dance Lessons - This link is for the Starlight Ballroom, a dance place in Sunnyvale, CA, but you can easily find similar places around your home. $10 to $20 a week is what dance lessons will cost you at a place like this. They’re fun and physically active. You can give them as gifts to people who aren’t that interested in fitness because it’s just a fun activity to do. They’ll never know you’re concerned about their health. :)

Horseback Riding Lessons - Again, this is a link to a place close to where I live, but you can probably find places around you as well. Horse back riding, as my wife proved to me, is very good exercise for both adults and children. Why not give it a shot and see if you like it? It’s a bit more expensive than dance lessons but still more reasonable than buying a soloflex home gym system that will just end up collecting dust in the garage.

A Bike - This is my local bike store.  They have a wide variety of bikes and a very helpful staff who’s always willing to help me pick out the right stuff.  A bike makes an excellent gift because it’s practical as well as healthy.  With gas prices soaring, bikes are a great way to save money while also getting a bit of exercise.  You don’t have to look at the high end bikes which can cost multiple thousands of dollars.  A good commute bike can cost around $100 or you can find them even cheaper if you look for used bikes on places like Craig’s List.

Summary

All of these gift ideas are cheap and healthy, proving that you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars just because your loved ones want healthy presents.  If you have your own healthy gift idea, feel free to add it in the comments.  Would love to see what other people are buying.

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