I’m not much of an “early to bed early to rise” kind of gal, but I sure do like the rest of the adage! The state of our health and wealth are often affected by one another. Financial stress can cause us to lose sleep, making us vulnerable to disease. Illness and disabilities can be an obstacle to financial well-being if they affect our ability earn a living. But we can be wise, and choose wisely to improve our circumstances in the other two categories.
By now the New Year’s resolutions have lost their verve, and the gyms and fitness centers are less crowded, but they’re still receiving their payments from those who eagerly signed up to improve their health. If you can’t make it to the gym on your own motivation, go because you’ve already paid for it! That’s YOUR money! Be healthy, be wise!
Alternatively, how many of you (who are -thankfully- still employed) noticed the reduction in your payroll taxes? I’m guessing the whopping 2% decrease didn’t make enough of an impression to change your lives very much but how about making a wise decision and finally enrolling in or increasing your contributions to your 401(k) or similar plan by that 2%? The government is giving you 2% of YOUR money back, what better way to utilize it than to put it towards YOUR future needs? Be wealthy, be wise! I assure you, if you think health care costs are a lot now, imagine what they could be when you’re retired.
Which brings me to health care reform….
A lot of the reform bill has to do with personal accountability and stewardship of our own health and well-being, along with making prudent decisions about what we do and do not need to maintain or improve our health. Very often health decisions become wealth decisions; people who cannot afford their medications subsequently take them less often, worsening their condition, while other people receive all manner of tests and diagnoses only to keep writing checks without a cure for what ails them. Here’s an investment idea; organic produce! Sure, it costs a little more (did you ever try to keep pests from eating your crop without using harmful chemicals?) but it’ll improve your overall health. It’s a holistic thing. And, as I believe Revlon says, “I’m worth it!” and so are you.
Be healthy, be wealthy, be wise.
