Law #25: Manage your health to protect your finances
The Law
From reducing the number of years you can work to increasing expenses for things like co-pays, deductibles, and coinsurance to requiring modifications to homes and vehicles depending on your healthcare needs, health expenses can be a massive drain on your finances. Pay close attention to these six health variables to ensure a lifetime of health and financial freedom.
Your Keys to Power
Variable #1: Keep your blood pressure in check. The American Heart Association recognizes five blood pressure ranges: Normal, Elevated, Hypertension Stage 1, Hypertension Stage 2, and Hypertensive crisis. You want to be in the “Normal” range, which means a blood pressure reading of less than 120/80 mm Hg. Learn more about what those numbers mean and get more details about the other four stages of blood pressure ranges here.
Variable #2: Maintain a healthy waist-to-height ratio. You can figure out this ratio with just two numbers: (1) waist circumference divided by your (2) height. Make sure you measure both variables in the same units. For instance, if you’re using inches, your waist circumference and height should each be measured in or converted to inches. So if you’re 6’1”, that equals 73 inches. If your waist is 35 inches, here’s the math: Waist size of 35 inches divided by your height of 73 inches = a waist-to-height ratio of 0.48. Target a ratio of 0.40 to 0.55, and it’s better to be on the lower end. The higher your waist-to-height ratio, the greater your risk of obesity-related cardiovascular diseases.
Variable #3: Keep a check on your LDL cholesterol. Often referred to as “bad cholesterol,” LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol represents most of the human body’s cholesterol. Higher levels of this kind of cholesterol increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Target less than 70 mg/dL for this variable.
Variable #4: Achieve a healthy fasting blood sugar level. This metric considers your blood sugar after fasting (not eating, typically overnight). Learn more about the various ranges for this metric here and target readings of less than 106 mg/dL.
Variable #5: Avoid tobacco consumption. Cotinine in the urine is an indicator of tobacco use. It forms after nicotine enters the body and remains longer than nicotine. Keep this chemical out of your urine and body by kicking tobacco-consuming habits like smoking.
Variable #6: Manage stress. Stress is how our bodies react to pressure from events and situations, and the reaction can be mental, physical, or emotional. Stress is normal, and everyone will likely deal with it at various levels throughout their lives. Stress alone isn’t the issue so much as how you respond to it. Learn how to cope with stress to avoid dangerous, debilitating pitfalls. For some, a stress management program may be the best way forward.
Practical Application
Where ever you are, get started. If you can’t check off all six boxes, it’s OK to be a work in progress. But you can’t be a work in progress without putting in the work. Grab these six initiatives by the horns and wrestle them into submission. Develop a plan and stick to it.
If you are a numbers person, quantify the results. If numbers, metrics, and money motivate you, put a number on it. This source helps quantify the expenses you could expect if you end up with certain chronic conditions. Understanding those potential impacts on your wallet could be what you need to see today to help you decide on changes that will positively impact your future.
Practice delaying gratification. One of the biggest reasons we struggle to avoid tasty, unhealthy meals is that it’s hard to delay the gratification of something immediately rewarding in exchange for the future benefits of a healthier lifestyle. If this is a struggle you face, try to beef up your skills to delay gratification.
Find some accountability. Sometimes being accountable to someone other than yourself is the best way to help you stay on track. Find people you connect with to keep you on your toes if that's you.
Find a community. Some people enjoy working on these things privately and thrive alone, while others thrive in a more communal setting. If working on these goals with others in similar situations motivates you, do that!
Perfection isn’t the goal. None of the six metrics we’ve laid out require perfection. A waste-to-height ratio within the parameters listed above doesn’t require washboard abs. Managing stress in a way that increases your health doesn’t mean not having problems to solve. Strive for a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle, not perfection or keeping up with people’s artificial, curated social media timelines and feeds.
Track and maintain. When you start to achieve goals, one of the most important things is to track results and keep your progress. All too often, particularly with things that are hard to achieve, we get lazy once we’ve made significant or even small achievements. Don’t do that. Track your progress, reward yourself incrementally, and then keep going to maintain and enhance your results.
Invest in some wearables and in-home technology. Technology like this, this, and this has changed the game when it comes to measuring your body stats at home. Being able to track your resting and active heartbeats, check oxygen levels, and even check blood pressure whenever you want to is incredible. Use these tools to stay on top of your weight and body fat composition, and estimate things like visceral fat.
Get tested for things that require lab work. LDL cholesterol needs a lab test to determine your LDL cholesterol level. While you’re at it, it doesn’t hurt to test your A1C and fasting blood sugar. If you do not use tobacco products, a cotinine test is likely unnecessary unless you’re concerned about tobacco use byproducts like second-hand smoke in your environment.
Authority
“The only disease you have is your inability to see you have the power to heal yourself.” - Ralph Smart
“A fit, healthy body – that is the best fashion statement.” - Jess C. Scott
Our Vote
This year, 2022, has been a significant reset year for me. I started with a total body recomposition, focusing on taking my body from the enlarged status I reached during the pandemic to the slimmer, thinner, more athletic version of my former self. It’s been an incredible 10-month journey, and while I have more to go, I have achieved some outstanding results. I’ve lost dozens of pounds of fat, gained dozens of pounds of muscle, and significantly increased my cardio endurance. These things have, in turn, contributed to better LDL cholesterol levels, a lower A1C below the pre-diabetic range where I was in early 2022, and much better blood pressure readings. I took my blood pressure maintenance to an even greater level by focusing on stress reduction techniques. I've enjoyed extended outdoor walks and hikes that helped reduce my stress levels and inspire a new level of creativity. I feel confident I have touched on five of the six metrics that needed my attention, ignoring cotinine levels since I have never used tobacco products. I’m pleased to continue this journey, as I want a long, healthy life ahead with as many years as I can have with the people that have loved me since birth and those who will continue to love me until my final days.
Reversal
There’s absolutely no reversal of this law. Regardless of your age or current physical status, do whatever you can to increase your chances of bettering these six metrics, even if it's small. Wherever you’re starting, just about any impact you make on these metrics will enhance your life: the more you do, the more significant the effect on your physical and financial health. One cannot stress the importance of the tie between physical and financial health enough.