I told you last week I would give you 8 simple rules for being rich and thin.

Both subjects can seem more complicated than they are. Being rich and thin are easy if you follow the simple rules.

Knowing the rules and doing them are two different things. You must follow the rules to make them work.

I have lost over 60 pounds five times in my life and lost close to 100 pounds twice. I know how to get it off, but don’t always follow the rules for keeping it off.

Trust my advice on money as I am experienced and educated. Trust my advice on weight loss as I am also experienced and educated, even though I am fat.

Being rich and thin is not that hard, you just need to:

Decide how rich and thin you want to be.

In theory, everyone wants to be a billionaire with the stamina of a marathon runner. However, billionaires usually have luck, brains, and family money to get them on their way. Also, they usually have obsessive/compulsive work habits. If working all the time is not for you, set a more realistic goal.

If your dream is to win the Boston Marathon, you need to be willing to train all day, every day. If channel surfing is your major exercise, you need to have a different dream.

Set a long term goal

For both making money and losing weight, slow and steady progress is best. Almost any semi-reasonable investment will do well over a long period of time. Likewise, any dieter who loses a pound a week will eventually hit his or her ideal weight.

Set a short term goal

It is great to have a goal of retiring at 65 or reaching your ideal body weight by your next birthday. However, if you are 20 years away from retirement or 100 pounds overweight, (I am both) it is easy to get distracted along the way.

A short-term goal like saving 10% of each paycheck or losing a pound a week will keep you on track for the long term.

Pay Yourself First

This famous maxim for financial planning also holds true in weight loss.

Take a certain percentage of your income and put it away before you can spend it. A retirement plan, like a 401k, does a wonderful job of this and gives you tax advantages to boot.

The only savings that most Americans have is in their retirement plans. That is because the money was taken from their paychecks before it could be spent on something else.

The “pay yourself” concept in weight loss works when you set aside time to exercise. If you can set aside a certain time on a regular basis and not be distracted, you are on your way to being thin.

Pay homage to your heredity.

If your parents are rich, you are more likely to be rich than someone who is born into poverty. If your parents are thin with good eating and exercise habits, the odds are better that you will be thin.

If Andre the Giant is one of your parents, being a racehorse jockey is not a realistic career goal.

Make your plan simple

After 20+ years in personal finance, I came to the conclusion that what most people need is a monthly check that increases with inflation and lasts for the rest of their lives.

I have made several tries at the University of Kentucky’s weight loss program and I always lose a lot of weight when I am kept on a very limited menu.

In both growing money and losing weight, getting too complicated and having too many options will get you into trouble.

Measure your Results.

Almost all good weight loss programs focus on record keeping. If you write down every single thing you eat, it will keep you focused on making good choices.

The one universal point that every financial advisor and writer will agree on is record keeping and having a budget. If you write down every single thing you spend money on, it will keep you focused on making good financial choices.

If you know where your money is going, you have a huge advantage over of the 90% of Americans who don’t.

Push away from the table

Most self-made billionaires are tight with a dollar. Warren Buffett, the second richest man in the world, is noted for not wasting money. He has money to invest because he saved money first to do so. Ask yourself, “Do I really want to buy that?”

If you don’t grab that extra piece of bread, you will make a step towards being thin even if you do nothing else.

People are looking for dramatic answers in making money just as in losing weight; it is the little things that make the difference.

Being rich is about saving money and investing it long term. Being thin is about eating right and exercising. Following the 8 simple steps should get you on your way to both.

Don McNay is the President of McNay Settlement Group, which has helped people be rich but this is the first attempt at helping people be thin.