Health Before Wealth

Better start now

If you are lacking health, what use is wealth? Wealth will help pay the bills but enjoying life is limited when mind, body and spirit is ailing. If you need more convincing about making health a priority in your life consider the following implications.

There is no denying the fact that a healthy individual gets more out of life. If increasing life spans are a blessing, bad health can turn that into long-term misery very easily. Good health impacts your quality of life and of those around you. Healthy living is a choice we make and an investment that is worth pursuing.

The financial implications of bad health and unhealthy lifestyle are increasing substantially. The immediate impact is higher medical costs related to illness, physician visits, skipped work/wages and medication. Health insurance costs are sky rocketing and employers are seeking new ways to pass these costs on to the employees.

Long-term, the implications of poor health increase your retirement costs significantly.

"Even with coverage from Medicare, Fidelity Investments projects that a 65-year-old couple will need about $200,000 to cover 20 years of health costs. That doesn't even include the cost of over-the-counter drugs, dental services or long-term care."
USA Today - Growing health care costs threaten to consume retirees' savings

There are financial strategies to reduce your retirement related health care costs but remember the saying "prevention is better than cure". Wealth is important but even more important is health. So strap on your jogging shoes and Just Do It!

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