An honest money conversation


Maybe it's an American thing, since it feels so private and personal—but I've always been hesitant to touch upon anything money-related.

But I just had a great chat with somebody about my honest thoughts on the investment in coaching, and I figured I may as well share them here.

They won't apply to everybody reading this, obviously, but I'm confident they'll get the wheels turning for others.


No, 1:1 online coaching isn't in everybody's budget.

But many people who feel like they can't afford it eat out, order take-out, and drink several times per month, and seriously underestimate that monthly total.

At a minimum (I've seen it be much higher), it's usually roughly the cost of most decent coaches: $300-$500 per month.

Most people reading this will think this doesn't apply to them, but haven't recently added up absolutely ALL of these over 30-day periods:

  • Coffees out: $5 a pop
  • Convenience store drinks and snacks: $5-$10 at a time
  • Fast-casual spots (like Chipotle, sweetgreen, a deli, etc.): $15 or more
  • Uber Eats and other food delivery apps: $20-$30 by the time you factor in the insane amount of fees
  • Regular restaurant meals: $30-$50 if you get more than just an entrée (typical)
  • The occasional really nice meal out: $50-$100
  • Alcohol: $30-$50 per outing (2-3 drinks)

It's not fun to tally up, no—like calories.

But you'll probably be surprised how much you're actually shelling out for what is usually pretty forgettable stuff that doesn't support your goals.


As I just alluded to, eating out and drinking less makes sense for fat loss anyway.

So I can't even tell you how many clients I've worked with who have said that coaching ends up being a non-factor in their budget, since they essentially reallocate their forgettable food and drink spending to something that actually serves them.

Hell, I've worked with many others who come out ahead.


Here's an important one (I don't see this take enough):

If you do have the resources to invest in coaching—probably by reallocating some food and drink spending, and other somewhat mindless spending—but simply don't value everything you get for your investment:

That's so fine.

I'm not one of those coaches who's going to wag their finger at your spending, and tell you what you should value.

You do you.

But I will do gently nudge you to check whether your monthly spending is in line with your on-paper priorities. For most, there's a mismatch.

Sometimes a sizeable one.


I'm realizing, after sharing these first few thoughts, this would make for a good full-on article, or maybe a podcast episode during Season 3 of Transformation Talks.

Since I have more thoughts on this topic I'm confident you'd benefit from.

In the meantime, I have a few Season 2 episodes related to this topic for you to check out:


Like I said above, there are no blanket statements here.

Not all of this applies to everybody.

But definitely more people than they'd initially think.

I encourage you to be open to this possibility, and spend 15 minutes or so tallying absolutely everything up from the last few months. No little stuff left out—like calorie counting.

You may very well find that coaching is within reach if you value having help with your fat loss goals more than the food and drink spending.

Worthwhile audit either way.

Sam

Sam Forget

I send powerful lessons, stories, and no-BS transformation tips to my private email list 1-2 times per week. Subscribe here to begin your OWN transformation:

Read more from Sam Forget

Earlier this week, I told you how I don't think these charts are totally without value: Since although I think the message sucks—that you should try to burn off the calories you eat—I also think it does a good job of highlighting* how easy it is to consume a lot of calories. For example, if you're a smaller woman in a moderate deficit (i.e., a lot of my clients), and you graze on a few pieces of candy and don't track them: you likely erased your deficit for the day. In case you missed it,...

I don't know about you, but every year around Halloween, I see a lot of posts about charts like these: Or at least the thinking: that if you eat some candy, you need to try to burn it off via exercise. This is really outdated advice that I don't agree with. To echo much of the content about this topic, here's why: It makes the candy less enjoyable, since you're already thinking about having to burn it off You can develop an unhealthy, tit-for-tat relationship with food and exercise It reduces...

Earlier this week, I told you how I don't immediately call "not having time to exercise" an excuse. Because many people, like my new Spanish teacher who inspired that email, seriously overestimate how much time they need to devote to exercise to get results. That's why I prefer to get curious before I throw out the "excuse" label. That's lazy and short-sighted. I also told you how I sent her a free two-day routine that only requires her to train twice a week for 30 minutes. (Want me to send...