Is there a relationship between physical and financial wellness? Are your waist and your wallet connected? A colleague posed this query recently and I have been thinking about it ever since. On one hand there are certainly people in poor physical health that have good financial health . But there is some evidence that those individuals that take care of themselves physically do a better job with their money.If you make an effort to stay in shape physically, it is likely that at least some of this attitude folds over into your financial life. Good physical health helps reduce emotional stress. Emotions are usually the determining factor between making good and not so good financial decisions.
Are Debt & Obesity Linked?
Wealth care and health care tend to support one another. While researching some of these issues I found several studies that hypothesize that the increase in credit card debt is directly (or “scarily” as one researcher put it) correlated with obesity. Of course, correlation does not necessarily link to causation so we have to look further. Perhaps the ease of using credit cards enables spending too much just as the ease of junk food enables eating too much.What’s your foundational concept of physical wellness? How about financial wellness? How does this relationship manifest itself on a day-to-day basis in your life? An estimated 71% of U.S. adults are obese; likely that percentage of the population or even higher are financially unhealthy.Related:
Why Behavioral Guidance is Important in Financial Planning Financial Problems Fester
One of the difficulties is that we come face to face (literally) with our physical selves each day but our financial life often operates in the background. We see what we eat and how much we exercise; we don’t see how little we save or plan. That explains why financial problems sometimes fester until they are consequential enough to be visible.
Don’t Run on Auto-Pilot
Your financial life doesn’t run very well on auto-pilot. Spend some time thinking about your goals and planning action steps that put you on the proper path. Start there.
Ready for a real conversation?
