Financial management and metabolism

Over the past few days I've been amusing myself comparing financial management with metabolism. It turns out that there is almost a 1:1 correspondence for several terms, although as financial people would say, the signs are reversed (I'll explain this later). First, a comparison table:

Finance	Metabolism
Bank balance	Blood glucose
Short term savings	glycogen
Long term savings	Adipose tissue
Income (salary)	Eating
Expenditure	Basal metabolic rate

When money comes into the bank - primarily from one's salary - the balance increases. This is comparable to eating - the level of glucose in the blood rises, hopefully temporarily. Money flows out of one's bank account - this is equivalent to the basal metabolic rate, how much energy we expend. Any short term increase in income can be shunted into a money market bond - this is equivalent to the body converting glucose into glycogen so that it is readily available should it be needed. In my opinion, one should maintain a minimal bank balance (without getting overdrawn, of course); this is equivalent to reducing one's blood sugar level. Long term savings are the equivalent of converting glucose into fat so that it can be stored in adipose tissue. The reverse process only occurs when there is a drop in income or eating. 

But as I wrote earlier, the signs are wrong. Financially, one wants to increase one's long term savings - this is done either by increasing one's salary (not normally an option) or by decreasing one's expenditure. In the body - and in the modern age - one wants to decrease the amount of fat being created, meaning that one can either increase the basal metabolic rate (again, not normally an option) or decrease one's intake of food, aka dieting. On the financial side, the fixed number is the input, the salary, whereas on the metabolic side, the fixed number is the output, the basal metabolic rate. 

The idea behind exercise is to develop muscle tissue than in turn increases the basal metabolic rate that in turns reduces the amount of glucose in the blood, or even better, reduces the amount of fat stored in the body.

As I wrote at the beginning of this blog, the idea amuses me, but should not be taken too seriously.

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This day in history:

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