A likely part of your routine is to check in on your portfolio and meet with your financial
advisor regularly. But do you give the same attention to your health?
It is easy to create and grow wealth when healthy. But health problems can have a dramatic and negative effect on both your ability to build wealth and preserve it. High health costs and missed work can impact both earnings and savings—reducing your income in the short term and depleting money in savings.
It’s essential to take your health as seriously as your finances as well as understand the need for your approach to health to shift over time. Similar to how your age and time horizon are important factors to consider with regard to your wealth portfolio, your age and health status are important factors to consider when building your health portfolio. When young, health care is focused on prevention and wealth planning is focused on future savings for retirement. But as you age, this changes and your approach should change too.
We all know how important exercise and eating healthy are to our health and longevity, but here are three other habits to consider when constructing your health portfolio:
1. Schedule preventive care appointments and screenings
It’s easy to put off preventive care because “nothing is wrong” or “I feel fine,” but the best time to flag a potential health issue is now. Your primary doctor can help determine the right screenings for you based on your health and medical history.
2. Foster strong connections and purpose
Mental health can be just as important to your sense of wellness as your physical state. In particular, it is important to foster connections and a sense of purpose independent of your career.
Building social connections outside of work is a great way to stay connected to the community and remain grounded. Think about joining a group that focuses on your interests outside of work—like reading, exercise, photography or arts and crafts. Volunteering, part-time work and getting involved with the community can also be important touchstones.
3. Manage stress
Stress harms your happiness and it can also impact your health. To improve your wellness, consider stress management activities like yoga, meditation, reading or listening to music. It’s also key to become comfortable saying no to events or commitments you don’t have time, interest or energy for. Better to be fulfilled by a few social outings or activities a week than be overwhelmed and stressed by a full slate.
Contact your financial advisor to start a discussion about how you can take your health into consideration when updating your wealth plan this year.