Physical Health for Financial Health
With the upcoming new year, people are thinking about New Year’s resolutions. I decided to start my resolution a couple of days early and joined and went to the gym today! I have many reasons for wanting to get my behind in shape, but for this post, we’re going to focus on what I see as the financial benefits of working out.
**I am not a doctor and these are MY OWN PERSONAL OPINIONS! Please do not take medical advice from me.**
Top 5
- Prescriptions!
- Alcohol Budget
- Grocery Budget
- Long Term Health Costs
- Mental Clarity
Here it is, how working out is going to help us reach our long term financial goals!
PRESCRIPTIONS: Our health care options changed this year from my employer. The big uproar was about prescription drug coverage. You know when you don’t need to worry about that? When you don’t have any consistent prescriptions to take. Now I understand certain cases when prescriptions are unavoidable and 100% necessary. I am talking about the prescriptions that could be done away with through healthy eating and exercise. Our healthcare system makes a whole lot of money off of keeping people sick!
Alcohol Budget: I joked with my college friends about how we should have kept track of how much money we spent on alcohol through our college years. If we would have invested that money instead, we would probably be millionaires right now! Fast forward many years, it’s not like I’ll become a millionaire from being sober, but it is noticeable. Other than the fact that there are 3 kids running around this house, I’m usually exhausted after teaching, and my body just can’t recover like those good ol’ college days, I don’t want to waste a workout! It took too much motivational self talk and praying just to START going to the gym! I’m not going to risk any progress for a couple of drinks. I’m also more conscious of how alcohol messes with my sleep and will throw me off for the next day or more.
Grocery Budget: This goes along with the alcohol. Working out makes me more aware of what I am eating. I won’t mindlessly snack as much. I’ll take the time to prepare meals at home. Even though we are buying healthier food rather than cheap processed food, it is still affordable, thank you to the amazing Aldi! Seriously, Aldi is the best! A future post will be “how to avoid the Aisle of Shame”… haha yea right.
Long term health costs: I saw a video that said something along the lines of “people say they’ll die for their kids, but how many will live for them?” That really hit home for what I want my future to look like. I want to be healthy and active for my adult children and future grandchildren I want to live long enough to enjoy all of their major stages of life, enjoy retirement, travel, give, and all of the other amazing things financial freedom is going to bring. I don’t want that money to go to something in my health that could have been prevented with correct diet and exercise.
Mental clarity: It’s common knowledge that exercising releases endorphins and gives that amazing dopamine hit! This gives me mental clarity to make clear decisions in all areas of my life. This includes financial choices! It’s much easier to stick to our budget when we are in a good head space!
With 2025 knocking on the door, resolutions are important, but will mean nothing if the habits and systems aren’t formed to keep these resolutions. Yanik and I are spending the next few days really looking at all of our goals both short and long term. I’m stepping up with my health and I can’t wait to share what else we come up with!