Mo Hey readers! With the new year kicking in there are always fun ways to reach goals to start off the year on the right track. My father who always comes up with fantastic ideas to save money and invest, came up with his own challenge for 2021. Running For Dollars. Challenges like these are common and there are even some where you can put in money and win more if you hit your goals!

Here is my fathers challenge:

For every mile I run, $10 goes into savings/investing

Not bad right? He took up running during this pandemic and has really gotten into it. My sister and me even bought him some high quality running shoes for Christmas and he’s already putting in a lot of miles in them! He suggested to me that since I got a new Peloton Bike on January 7th that I should pay myself for every mile I ride! I gave it thought and when my cycling shoes came in on January 12th, I decided to join in on my fathers challenge in paying myself for working out.

Check out my current progress below!

What Am I Using & How Am I Doing This Challenge

As mentioned above, the bear and me purchased a Peloton Bicycle in November, which was delivered to us on January 7th (I believe due to the pandemic, Pelotons delivery has been delayed due to increase demand and time of shipping). I will be using the bicycle this year to get some cardio in and save some extra money! After reviewing my fathers challenge of $10/mile, I decided that $10 per mile would considerably too much for me based on my current situation. I also realized I would be biking a lot so $10 per mile will add up quickly! So for starters, I am starting at $1 per mile with the option of increasing throughout the year.

For example: on my first day riding, I biked 6.11 miles, which equates to $6.11 in savings!

Fair enough right? I didn’t want to set so high of a dollar per mile number because I wouldn’t keep up in moving money into the savings. So biking for $1 per mile only motivates me to bike more so I can save more!

Where Am I Putting The Money

I have decided to put the money that I pay myself from biking into my Robinhood investment account and automatically invest the money into a stock. I believe that the money I earn from biking should be put to good use. While I still add increments of cash into my Robinhood for investing, this challenge is completely separate from my regular deposit schedule. After every bike session so far I have went straight to my Robinhood and deposited the money so I do not forget. I will continue to do that for this year and watch my account grow!

If you haven’t signed up for Robinhood yet, click here!

Pros And Cons Of Doing Challenges

Not everyone works the same and we are not all the same. Challenges like these may not be the for you, it might be something that’ll motivate you or it’s something that you love to do and it inspires you. The fact is its not for everyone. I want to also share the pros and the cons about doing these types of challenges because they are not for everyone! How rude would it be for me to advertise challenges without acknowledging the good and the bad? That way you can make an informed decision about wanting to join in on a challenge or make your own challenge similar to mine!

Pros

Self Accomplishment

There is nothing better than crossing the finish line of a race or finishing the last day of a challenge or class. The goal for this challenge is to rack up as much miles this year while also improving your savings. There is a sense of accomplishment when you have gone through the whole year tracking and seeing your savings build up. Obviously there is no clear goal for this challenge for it is simply rack up as much miles as you can so you can save/invest more money, but the same principles apply. After 2021 is over, I will have a sense of accomplishment about all the miles I biked throughout the year and the fact that I put that money into an investment account to grow. Who knows, I might even have double the amount of money from what I put in by 2022!

Accountability

Participating in any type of challenge or competition with other people can help you stay on track and motivated to keep on going. You do not have to be in this alone and can always have others hold you accountable. Don’t forget you can also make sure that other participants are staying on track and hold them accountable as well!

Fun!

In my opinion, challenges are fun! I love a good healthy challenge. It measures what I am at and how far I am compared to others. On my first 30 minute ride on the Peloton, I rode 6.11 miles. I finished my 5th ride the other day and I rode 8.48 miles. What progress right?! I’m excited to see how much I can accomplish in terms of being able to get back in shape and ride more miles. I’m not putting too much pressure on myself to hit certain goals. All I am trying to do is participate and enjoy, even if I ride once a week!

Cons

Unnecessary Pressure

When entering challenges it is possible that you won’t be able to keep up with the challenge or stay on track. It honestly can be very discouraging. I won’t lie, I’ve been discouraged a lot in the past and still do get discouraged to do things. I didn’t workout at all the first couple of months when the pandemic hit and then I hit a rut on trying to get started after buying adjustable dumbbells and a bench. You sometimes feel this pressure that will negatively affect your confidence and therefore you would end up not doing anything at all. This is one of the cons of starting challenges, it can affect your confidence and cause unnecessary stress and pressure if you are not keeping up.

Reward Based Habits Aren’t Always Healthy

I asked the bear recently if she wanted to partake in the challenge with me and she raised an excellent point on doing challenges. For her, she does not want her sole reason to workout is to complete a challenge, how will that motivate her in the long run? Will she have to reward herself every time she works out now? This is a perspective I did not realize and is very valid. If you aren’t in the flow of working out or are just starting to work out, how can you keep yourself motivated in the future? I realized I had been through something like this before. I did a weight loss competition with my guy cousins 8 years ago. Whoever loses the most weight percentage wins. We had 3 months to loss a much weight as we can. I lost 26 lbs. in 3 months, but guess what? I gained back the weight a year later. After the competition I still worked out, but I was never motivated to stay disciplined was I was during the competition. I got stronger and started lifting after that competition, but I never committed to a diet or cardio plan to help me stay in shape and shed fat. This is a perspective that can be overlooked and I thank the bear for bringing up such a valid point!

I am excited to continue on with this challenge! As of today, I have rode 37.80 miles and have saved an extra $37.80! The more I ride, the more I save and my investments grow! Listen, this a very flexible and easy going challenge. The main goal of this is to get some cardio in and save/invest money. I may even increase the $1/mile to $2/mile, depending on what extra funds I have! This is also on top of my regular savings and investing, so this is entirely extra! Big shout out

Would you do some sort of challenge like this in the future? How about a one month challenge rather than a full year? I want to do more challenges similar to this in the future. Let me know your thoughts!