Yesterday, Frugal Dad asked “Is it easier to lose weight or pay down debt?” One thing that stands out to me his is comment “…if we focus on one plan or the other we seem to have success, but we struggle when trying to work on them concurrently.” This one comment made me think about an article I had to read for class, ” Slow Down, Brave Multitasker, and Don’t Read This in Traffic,” published by the New York Times on March 25, 2007. Though it focuses on dangerous multitasking, one paragraph seems to corroborate Frugal Dad’s observation…

The human brain, with its hundred billion neurons and hundreds of trillions of synaptic connections, is a cognitive powerhouse in many ways. “But a core limitation is an inability to concentrate on two things at once,” said René Marois, a neuroscientist and director of the Human Information Processing Laboratory at Vanderbilt University.

While attaining healthy debt levels (i.e. $0) and attaining a healthy weight are distinct and generally done at different times of the day, they are also both rather abstract concepts requiring concentration on the details of attainment. I would also posit that trying to reduce debt and eat healthy can often times clash, since the healthier alternatives are often times , though not exclusively, more expensive than the not so healthy alternatives. As an example, take a look at your local bread selection, you’ll notice those 100% Whole Grain breads are generally more expensive than the plain old white breads, which I really question, since whole grain flours just need grinding, while white flour goes through grinding; sifting to remove hulls, etc., and bleaching. Now, I said not all healthy alternatives are more expensive, I say this because where I live, fat free milk is cheaper than whole milk. This again is counterintuitive to what you’d expect based on the level of processing, since by nature the only processing whole milk goes through is pastuerization and homogenization, while fat free milk must be filtered and pasteurized.

As for the answer to the question, I think debt reduction is easier. Reducing debt accomplishes one of our basic emotional needs, security. Having that emergency fund and not worrying about covering debts in unforeseen events makes us feel more secure. On the other hand, weight reduction goes against one of our biological needs, “When will I next eat?”