5k5k Improving your life through personal fitness and personal finance

All Blog Posts (178)

Marathon Completed at the Bass Pro Marathon: What is Your Marathon Experience?

This past weekend I fulfilled a promise made to my students and a challenge I set for myself in completing the Bass Pro Marathon. The training was time consuming and physically demanding at times, but worth it as I ran this marathon with more… Continue

Added by Chett on November 4, 2009 at 12:06am — No Comments

A Great Website for Career Changers or Job Seekers

The more I talk to people about their work the more I realize how few people there are that thoroughly enjoy their work. Through the conversations I've had I hear a lot of people talking about their ideal job, or what they want out of a new career. When I talk to them about my motives to switch careers, they… Continue

Added by Chett on October 21, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

The Peak of Marathon Training: Sticking to Your Goals and Why You Should Schedule Your Own Marathon

This past week I hit the peek of my marathon training. On Sunday I completed my scheduled 20 miles, the longest run in my training plan before I actually run the 26.2 miles scheduled for the marathon. I wanted to share a little about what I think has allowed me to stay on track with this goal and the steps I've taken to achieve what I set out to accomplish. Establish a Reason for Running Without a concrete reason for running a marathon, beginning a budget, or any other personal challeng… Continue

Added by Chett on October 20, 2009 at 6:43am — No Comments

Budgeting Worksheets for a Potential Career Switch

I read the latest posting at Get Rich Slowly today and saw the conversation there was about someone considering leaving a career that pays well to find more meaningful work. I completely understand what he is going through and traveled down the same path a little less than three years ago. I wanted to share with the members here at 5k 5k… Continue

Added by Chett on October 17, 2009 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Purchasing a Vehicle: A Real Life Experience

Purchasing newer items is suppose to be fun. Aren't we suppose to get excited about replacing something old, and getting something new and shiny? I've had the opposite reaction over the past few weeks as I look for a new truck. Let me set the scene. For the past three years Melissa and I have had three… Continue

Added by Chett on October 13, 2009 at 6:43am — No Comments

Plan Your Run Route from the Comfort of Your Office Chair

The easiest way to kill your enthusiasm for running is a repetitive running route. I've been training for a marathon for the past several months and on my long run days of ten miles or more, I find myself running down the same routes again and again. I choose the same routes because I know the distance and can better track my time. I've tried finding different running routes, but by the time I map out the distance with the odometer in my car and get back to the starting point I've wasted time I… Continue

Added by Chett on October 7, 2009 at 10:46pm — No Comments

Tired of the Same Old Scenery? Try Trail Running or Jogging in the National Forests.

Running outside for many of us, is our first opportunity of the day to get out stretch our legs and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. I enjoy running after finishing up the day teaching. As I pass through the neighborhoods near the school where I teach I hear students call out, "Hey Mr. Daniel." I also en… Continue

Added by Chett on October 1, 2009 at 6:24am — No Comments

Advertising Effects on Youth: What are You Doing?

Each generation of parents feel they have a more difficult task of raising children than previous generations. While the argument can be debated among many different topics, on the issue of trying to raise a fiscally responsible child, we are fighting a tougher battle than any generation ever. Our children are exposed to more media, more frequently than any generation of children ever. Children see advertisements on T.V., video games, internet sites, school, and even on the c… Continue

Added by Chett on September 28, 2009 at 10:21pm — No Comments

The Weather is PERFECT. Get Out and Run

If you have been using the weather as an excuse to keep you from running, stop. A lot of you first found this site in the winter and it was too cold to begin running. We just finished summer and during many days it may have been too hot for you to run. Now fall has just begun and there is no more perfect… Continue

Added by Chett on September 24, 2009 at 6:22am — No Comments

What Does it Take to be Happy?: A GallupWorld Poll

More money is the obvious answer to the title of this blog, right??? Many of the people who are members here on 5k5k.org or who stumble across this site from referring websites or keywords in blog posts are trying to improve their lives financially by either getting out of debt, or becoming more financially secure through increased savings and investing. So, if someone asked you what would make you happy, more money would seem to be the solution to most of our problems. I recently read a… Continue

Added by Chett on September 22, 2009 at 6:47am — No Comments

Stay Safe While Running

I've never really wrote about this topic before, because it hadn't really been a concern for me. I live in the country on low traffic rural roads. There is very little serious crime in my area so I don't really think about running safe that often. Two different events in this past month have made me becom… Continue

Added by Chett on September 17, 2009 at 6:32am — No Comments

One Solution to Reaching Your Health and Financial Goals

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” -Thomas Jefferson Okay the title to this article may sound too simplistic to suggest there is one thing you can do to achieve your goals in two areas… Continue

Added by Chett on September 14, 2009 at 11:30pm — No Comments

The Need for Short Term Goals

Over the last couple of weeks I have mentioned that I am preparing for a marathon on November 1. I haven't said much about the training and the fact that I am spending over 3 hours a week right now running and the time will increase more and more in the coming weeks. I don't exactly enjoy my training sessions each time they arrive, but I know I need to put in the miles to be prepared, but once I start running and get a mile or so under my belt I begin to refocus on the reason why I'm running and… Continue

Added by Chett on September 3, 2009 at 5:30am — No Comments

Budgeting: Does One Size Fit All?

I was recently asked to speak to a group of women on the topic of budgeting. The person organizing the event asked me to outline the best way for people to budget and make sense of their personal finances. As I got off of the phone and began to think of how I could present this topic I realized… Continue

Added by Chett on August 31, 2009 at 10:50pm — No Comments

Running and Dieting: How to Find a Healthy Mix

This week I will log 24 miles as I train for an up coming marathon. You would think running an average of over 20 miles a week, for the past three weeks would help shed a several pounds. While preparing for this marathon has allowed me to lose some weight, I haven't noticed a drastic drop in weight. Ther… Continue

Added by Chett on August 26, 2009 at 10:32pm — No Comments

Why Buy When It's Free?

Last spring I continued to work on my CFP (Certified Financial Planner) certification. In the course my professor, an estate planning attorney recommended I check out INC Magazine as I shared with him some of my entrepreneurial itchings. The price for the subscription worked out to about $1.00 per issue, so I figured for the cost I could definitely find some information worth keeping. September's issue contained a weal… Continue

Added by Chett on August 24, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Subtle Reminders of the Importance of Personal Finances

A few weeks ago as I realized the end of summer was upon us, my wife and I began the tasks of getting rid of clutter and cleaning out old storage containers and closets. As I began to "de-clutter" and throw things away I found a brief case I used to use when I worked in loss prevention for a very large retailer. I oversaw 6-8 stores in two different states and it was my responsibility to deal with any cases of internal, or employee theft. Often I would have conversations with individuals who vie… Continue

Added by Chett on August 17, 2009 at 10:45pm — No Comments

What is Influencing Your Spending?

This week my wife and I had to wrap up our summer break and begin preparing for the beginning of a new school year. Each year districts bring teachers together to motivate them for the new year, communicate any large changes, and they always bring in a few consultants who speak about issues that are critical in the classroom, or in the lives of students. One of our presenters discussed how kids are influenced today, compared to how they were influenced 50 years ago. The presenter argued a hiera… Continue

Added by Chett on August 13, 2009 at 6:00am — No Comments

Marathon Training Update: Week 4

I mentioned a few months ago that I would be training for a marathon this fall. It has been nearly seven years since my last marathon and I wanted to see if I can still eek out 26.2 miles. A lot has changed in the past seven years and I've found training to be more difficult to squeeze in. I chose a 16 week training schedule and I just began week number four. I'm hoping the following weeks will allow for a more regular schedule so I can stay on track. Yesterday, because of a busy weekend away f… Continue

Added by Chett on August 11, 2009 at 6:56am — No Comments

Book Review: Man's Search for Meaning

At the beginning of the summer I had a list of books I wanted to read, either because they were referred by others, or I read about them in another book. One of the books that was a must read was Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. This title may seem unusual for a persona… Continue

Added by Chett on August 6, 2009 at 8:42am — No Comments