Key Takeaways
- Money, especially decisions involving money, can take a huge toll on your health.
- One of the biggest stressors on people’s health when it comes to money, is owing money in the form of loans or debt.
- Paying off debt or putting together a solid plan to pay off debt is a great way to deal with stress that can affect your health.
I’ve learned over many years of helping people with money, that health is a key issue. What do I mean by health?
Money can be a huge stressor in life. In fact, it’s one of the number one factors why people get divorced. But it can also take a huge toll on your physical health.
When we’re helping clients make decisions about money, we’re almost always looking at the health side of it. So, many of the decisions that are made, are health related, not necessarily financial.
One of the biggest things we see when it comes to people making decisions about their money in terms of health is debt. They don’t want to owe anybody anything. They don’t want to have any credit card debt, student debt, car loans, or home mortgages. Even though they might be able to get a home mortgage for a low rate and the home is a good investment, it doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t feel good, and in fact, affects your health.
AP-AOL Health Poll 2008: Debt Stress: The Toll Owing Money Takes on the Body
So, what do you do? You pay off that debt so you don’t feel like you owe anyone, so it’s not hanging over your head. No one can come after you for any reason. It gives people a real sense of completeness and makes them feel comfortable, so it doesn’t affect their health. Unfortunately, I have seen people make financial decisions that have destroyed their health or their family’s health because it was just unbelievably stressful.
This is that emotional non-financial decision that you might be making when you go out there and deploy your money. It’s about how you orchestrate your money by also keeping your health in mind. Because without your health, you don’t have anything.
It’s really important to ensure your finances don’t drive bad health, but instead, keep you in good health. Keep this in mind the next time you are making a decision about your money, especially if it’s a big money decision.
Until next time, enjoy!
Gary