Physical and Financial Wealth

When I read this article I knew I had to share it with you. It shows how being physically fit impacts your financial wellbeing - who new right!

Martin Rooney from Training for Warriors puts this idea very eloquently so I hope you enjoy.

Your comfort zone might feel like a nice place, but wellness doesn’t grow there.

Physical and financial wellness are related and can affect each other.

Poor finances can negatively affect your health. Poor health can negatively affect your ability to generate money. When people neglect one of these areas, they often neglect the other. This can create a vicious cycle of stress and anxiety. Even with these symptoms, both areas are often ignored until there is a serious problem. Speaking of serious problems, many people today are similarly not physically or financially well. Through research I discovered many people don’t seem to be concerned about doing the work to have a sound bank account or a sound mind and body. Below are some interesting statistics from the CDC and other sources about the current state of “wellness.”

70% of people are overweight.

70% of people don’t have a trusted financial advisor.

35% of people don’t get enough sleep.

35% of people have revolving credit card debt.

80% of people don’t get the recommended amount of exercise.

20% of people have nothing saved for retirement.

What can you take away from those stats? People are simultaneously developing fatter waistlines and thinner wallets, and not taking any action to do anything about it! When you look at those percentages above, you may ask, “how can they be true?” Well, when it comes to both financial and physical wellness, most people know what to do, they just don’t do what they know. Wouldn’t you agree saving money and getting the right amount of sleep or exercise is common sense? Unfortunately, taking action on common sense just doesn’t seem to be so common. Not convinced?

Please take this quick 6 question quiz by filling in the blank:

Your Financial and Physical Wellness Pop Quiz

1. When you get money your should ______ some of it. (Extra Credit: how much of your salary should you save.)

2. Fruits and vegetables are _____ for you. (Extra Credit: how many servings should you have a day?)

3. You should not take on too much _____. (Extra Credit: Name some bad forms of the word you listed.)

4. You need _____ hours of sleep. (Extra Credit: Name one reason less sleep is bad for you.)

5. You should invest for the ______ term. (Extra Credit: Name one good investment strategy.)

6. Regular exercise is _______. (Extra Credit: Name one benefit of your answer.)

How do you think you did on the quiz? If you answered the blanks above in order with “save,” “good or healthy,” “debt,” “eight,” “long,” and “important, good or healthy,” then you scored 100%. If you even got each extra credit answer (which were “10%” “5-9,” “credit cards or loans,” “decreased health or productivity,” “stocks, IRAs, real estate,” and “lose fat, build muscle”) that’s great too!

Now ask yourself if you are consistently doing all 6 to the best of your ability. If the answer is, “no,” then it doesn’t really matter what you know.

Wellness is only a result of the consistent behaviors that you do. So, if you answered correctly but are still unwell, you don’t have a knowledge or common sense problem; you have an ability-to-take-action-on-that-knowledge problem. Enough of the doom and gloom; now for some good news:

Improving your physical or financial “wellness” isn’t as difficult as you think.

Your level of physical and financial wellness has to do with your current relationship with health and money. And changing that relationship starts with coming up with a plan and then changing some unhealthy behaviors. Just as you must walk before you can run, you must also save before you can invest. Here is my simple 3-step formula to start getting your financial and physical wellness back on track.

3 Simple Steps To Improve Your Financial and Physical Wellness

1. Control Spending. Control Eating.

Don’t spend more money than you have. Don’t eat more calories than you need. So if you are going to spend something, spend time calculating your budget and daily caloric needs.

2. Increase Saving. Increase Exercise.

Save at least 10% of the money you make. Get at least 2-3 workouts a week. Each of these will be both an “investment” in and “insurance” on your future.

3. Reduce Bad Debt. Reduce Sleep Debt.

Pay off the credit cards before the interest you pay goes up. Get in your bed 8 hours before you have to get up. Sending in the money and getting the sleep you “owe” are great ways to pay yourself back.

Increasing your financial and physical wellness demands the same requirements.

Increased wellness in both areas will require you to set some goals. Reaching those physical and financial goals will be related to your level of motivation and ability to delay gratification. Delaying gratification will require some changes in your current lifestyle. By adapting your current lifestyle to include long-term thinking and the beneficial behaviors above, your wellness will improve.

Finally, in order to stay accountable to yourself, you may require a coach. Whether it is a financial advisor or a physical trainer, they can have the strategies you need to get the job done.