In the beginning of last year, I wrote about a new resolution or ideas for 2022, where it would help me to both lose weight and save money. Win Win. Can’t beat that. For those who didn’t get a chance to read the post last year, the idea behind ‘Junk to Health to Wealth‘ is to cut down on junk food spending and save that money instead. Although I didn’t spend a lot of money on junk food and dinning out in general, I still did it couple of times a week, easily adding up to $25-30 if not more, depending on whether we dined out with the entire family. And that was even before the current inflation which would add an extra 10-15% to the total.
So how did my resolution hold up and how did I do in 2022 and did I carry this into 2023?
Glad to report that I did great! Let us go through some numbers and figures.
With some minor exceptions here and there, I stuck to my intention to only buy fast food once a week, maybe twice if it involves family outings. In other words, I cut junk food purchase to half or less. Meaning half the money and calories saved.
How much is that in terms of health impact?
In terms of calories saved and how that translates into better weight management, the math is rather simple and clear: assuming I cut 1.5 fast food purchases a week, each having an average of 1100 calories (for a combo) , that works out to 1650 calories a week , multiplied by 52 weeks in a year, and we get just over 85k calories saved a year. With each pound having 3500 calories, that means I saved myself close to 24.5 lbs.!
What about the financial gains?
Using the numbers above and assuming the average combo meal is $8, and with 1.5 combos eliminated a week, multiplied by 52 weeks a year, comes up to about $625 saved! That is pretty significant savings, especially when you couple it with the above health gains. And I rolled this saved money into a saving account and from there I used it to purchase dividend paying stocks.
Making one effective decision can have a positive ripple effect on multiple aspects of your life. I have found this to be true through my own kexperience in 2022, and have continued to apply this principle in 2023. Through 3 weeks of January, I have made two fast food purchases so far, which is in line with my goal and even better.