I’m a great believer in crawling before you can walk. Walking before you can run…you get the picture. I say this because a couple of months ago I started an exercise regime that I had abandoned years ago.

I started walking 8kms per day. For a change, my exercise regime had nothing to do with my vanity and everything to do with my health. Given nature’s ruthlessness with my overall superficial aesthetics it seemed silly to try and improve on a lost cause.

My walk (and sometimes run) involves travelling through some of Sydney’s attractive suburbs. I come across some interesting flora and fauna. Some of which are displayed at various parts of this article.

Interestingly, I didn’t dare venture outside before I’d done a solid three weeks on a treadmill (indoors). Then, after a month of walking outdoors I donned my earphones and dared a jog…for 200 meters.

My music choices are very eclectic and have no fixed address in any particular genre. I start with a little mood music and try either No Diggity (Blackstreet) or Keb Mo’s Am I Wrong which forms the tempo of the walk.

I then heat things up a little with Little Miss (Can’t Be Wrong) by the Spindoctors. Eventually I get through various other forms of popular music before building up to my “run”. Depending on my mood it’s usually something with a sense of occasion like Beethoven’s 5th Symphony or Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

After attempting my first run I’ve now worked my way up to about 1km. My target is 5kms by February next year with 3kms of walking rounding out my walks.

Currently I’m “sprinting” up hills and walking down.

This has taken me two months and my man boobs have been relegated to winter’s storeroom. Possibly to make a return appearance by next August.

I even attempted a chin up on the weekend. Let’s just say I went a little early. I plan to do five chin-ups by April.

My calorie formula is simple. I need to burn 1,000 calories a day in activity. My body naturally burns around 2,600 calories. This means I need to consume less than 2,000 calories a day to make a meaningful dent in my surplus walrus fat. I’ve been averaging 1,500 – 1,800 calories.

All of the above has been carefully planned so I don’t hurt myself and/or go beyond my physical capabilities. Always designed into the process is a challenge (chin-ups or angled push-ups) to keep things interesting.

The music is used to motivate me up the seven hills on my chosen path. For example, for “Hernia Hill” I use Ac/DC’s Dirty Deeds. For “Sorrow Slant” I use the Temptations’ Shakey Ground and for the final slowdown home I either use The Style Council’s Long Hot Summer, Santana’s Europa or the remastered version of Water of Love by Dire Straits (yes I do love a decent guitar riff).

So why would you be interested in a physically dodgy exercise regime with questionable music. I’m sure everyone’s regime is very different. If you’re in your thirties and have solid knees I’m sure your regime would be infinitely more challenging than mine.

All this brings me to your financial goals.

It’s a long winded metaphor to show that at different stages of life we will require different plans to get us by.

When you’re young and carefree and you still have some funds leftover after your smashed avo and toast breakfast, rent and other bills you may have very little left over to have any type of saving. That’s why it’s important to plan.

Now I can’t give you any specific planning advice (as my licence precludes me from doing that) but start with your income. You will know how much you earn. Then have a quick look at your bank account. How much cash you take out (if any), how much in expenses you spend (you know, on things like what passes for your entertainment, booze, etc). Not being judgemental but if booze is your biggest expense, you may need a different type of advice.

Now, if you have a surplus (or even if you don’t) look to see if you can improve on it. What adjustments can you make? What are your financial chin-ups? What can you do without? Do you have a direct debit you forgot to cancel? Do you really need that BMW M2 on a three-year car lease taking around $2k per month from your after-tax income and in the process reducing your borrowing capacity by $500k?

Or worse, do you really need that Amex Platinum card with a $60k limit that is maxed. Sure you get the points but it’s killing you in repayments.

Again, if you’re young it’s quite likely that your income will increase quite rapidly compared to a salaried 50 year-old. What will you do with that?

When we look through people’s bank statements we think to ourselves: if only. Usually when we see savings potential we refer the client onto a financial planner as we are not allowed to provide that specific advice. With the clients’ permission we share the information with the planner and come up with a better plan for the client.

The planner makes sure that they (the client) can complete the course that they want to set themselves whether it’s by walking, jogging or sprinting.

The choice of musical accompaniment though is completely up to you.