Financial marathons

A bunch of us from Sprout ran a marathon relay last year and as we slogged around the course, it got me thinking about other life situations which demand hard work and focus. The principles we applied to running the Marathon could perhaps be used to get through other difficult times, such as working through money difficulties or saving for an intimidatingly large deposit. It was a real trial at times (those hills and the long lonely stretch in an industrial estate!) but we organised ourselves, stuck to the plan, focused on the end result and got to the finish line. All the training runs on the treadmill and out on the streets in the cold and rain earlier in the year paid off and helped us raise funds for the Samaritans, a charity we all value highly. We learned a lot in the process – about ourselves, about discipline, dedication, discomfort and the ability of the averagely fit or unfit human body to meet a challenge for a good cause - with lots of encouragement (and a bit of competition) from colleagues.

What we learned

It’s worth making and sustaining an effort for something good! Just keeping going when we felt like stopping was a major plus and shaved minutes off our time. Even moving at a slow plod was better than coming to a complete halt. Yes, I admit I did plan out a couple of emergency coffee shops along the route, where a flat white might have been gulped down to give me strength to carry on, but I didn’t succumb in the end and felt all the better for it. It reminded me of the times when I’ve had to be disciplined and work hard at a financial project, saving for something I really wanted. All my resources went into this project for as long as it took to get there and there’s something very satisfying about seeing it through. I had the same doubts along the way as to whether I could make it work – was I actually capable of going the distance? Did I have the right skills/ equipment/ attitude? Which well-meant, but often contradictory advice should I listen to? Who should I ignore? And what practical steps could I take to help make it happen?

Plan your finances like a marathon

Although the Marathon is a race, at our level you’re really only competing against yourself and your mind. And possibly the indignity of being overtaken by a life-size Peppa Pig in a pink tutu – a scenario I admit I had neither forseen, nor prepared for. It’s important to pace yourself – slower and steady is always going to work better than a mad dash, after which you’ll probably be exhausted and have to stop for a time-wasting breather. Like many financial circumstances where a big change is required, a simple, well-planned and consistent approach will usually give the best results. It may sound boring, but with something as difficult as getting out of debt, it’s best to keep the process simple, so you can get to grips with the hard work, instead of feeling you have to achieve everything now and losing track of where you really are financially.

I saw some great advice in the few days after the marathon from one of the youngest UK female climbers of Mount Everest. She said looking up at the peak when she was utterly exhausted left her feeling like she couldn’t make it. The thought of all the effort required was intimidating and defeating. Instead, she concentrated on just taking the very next step. One more step and only focusing on that one step – preventing her fixating on a target which seemed impossible. In tough times you can make great financial headway by just focusing on one small thing at a time and making lots of small, better decisions about what you do with your money.

Take advice from real experts

Some people give you advice and mean well, but if it’s not correct and not suitable for you, taking that advice may actually do harm. We had oodles of advice from many people on subjects such as diet, running strategy, getting the right shoes (and spending loads of money), fluids, injuries, psychology, health and fitness. If we had followed it all we would have been very confused indeed and so anxious we might never have made it to the starting line. What did we do? We talked to previous marathon relay runners, consulted reliable publications and took stock of what we needed to achieve; forming a plan and sticking to it. We got real! And we discarded that unhelpful feeling that this was somehow and for some reason a most difficult exercise for us individually (for whatever reason – we could fill in the blanks ourselves). Other people just like us had done this before and so could we, no excuses – just keep pushing on. In the world of personal finance, making a plan (aka budgeting) and keeping it on track is one of the most reliable indicators of success. In relation to dealing with debt, talking to the right people is key – reliable independent advisors from StepChange, Citizen’s Advice Bureau or Money Advice will give you expert unbiased guidance you can rely on.

Making your financial goals possible

Whether you’re running a marathon or working hard to improve your finances, there’s no escaping the sheer hard work and boring slog which is involved to just keep going. You can’t achieve long-term great things based on one short wave of euphoria! But making a start and taking it one step at a time makes that huge intimidating project possible. If you are moving in the right direction, however slowly, it is progress which will count towards your final goal. Your finishing line, whether it’s saving a deposit for a house or getting out of problem debt, will be a massive achievement and will help you set goals for other aspects of life. If these major targets are possible who knows what you could achieve in years to come!

Valerie Nicholson