How to Age Healthy, Wealthy and Wise
Many people may not stop and think about health and finances as being intimately tied together, but in fact, they are and in several ways. Our goals should be to live as healthy as possible with as many resources as possible. Our health affects our bottom line and how we handle money affects our health. Being terribly ill can drain our resources and having chronic money problems can make us sick.
We live our lives paying attention to so many things daily that we may forget two factors that are probably the most significant in our lives – our body and bank account. Realistically, what do we want as we age, enter grandparenting years and enjoy life without employment? We want our resources to last (or outlast) the rest of our lives.
To live a long, healthy, and secure life, we must pay more attention to our physical, mental, and emotional health as well as our savings, retirement accounts, and investments. What is health without wealth? How about wealth but poor health? These are awfully bad mismatches.
The great news is that human life expectancy has dramatically increased over the 70 years. People are now living decades older than before. The downside is we will need enough money to live a comfortable life for a longer time. The longer we live the more expensive retirement becomes.
Many people worry about running out of money but still cave to instant gratification over long-term security. They worry about running out of money before running out of time. Some people worry about this more than they worry about death! The truth is most people do not think or talk about financial longevity.
So, what do we do to live longer, stronger, happier, and financially secure?
- Take a hard look at your current health and financial status and be honest about changes that need to occur in both.
- Change bad health habits and poor financial decisions one at a time.
- Reduce things (or people) in your life that cause too much stress.
- Build a strong supportive circle of people and professionals around you.
- Create a financial and caloric budget.
- Try to eliminate financial mistakes you have made in the past.
- Develop a culture of health and wealth within your family.
The good news is that many people can change the way they treat their bodies and finances to pave the way to a brighter and wiser future.
