5 Reasons It Pays to Invest in Your Health

Although you may not usually think about it in these terms, maintaining optimal health is actually an investment. It may not pay off as obviously as a certificate of deposit or a mutual fund, but there may be no investment that’s more important. Strong longevity and wellness will improve almost every aspect of your life, and insure that you hang on to the majority of your wealth. Poor health will sap your energy, your positive mind frame and your bank account. It’s no coincidence that ‘health’ and ‘wealth’ are only separated by a single letter. Here are five reasons it pays to invest in your health.

First of all, poor health over a long period of time turns into major medical bills. When you don’t take care of your body, you are more susceptible to accidents, chronic pain and ailments and devastating diseases. Even if you have a top of the line health insurance policy at some point you will have to come out of pocket to cover these expenses. And medical care isn’t cheap. Every year you’ll hear stories of families that go bankrupt trying to take care of a sick relative. You’ve worked hard over the course of your life to put some money away. Maintain your health, or you’ll watch that savings fly out the window.

When you focus your time, energy and money on your health, you are also setting an example that will help your children out. Kids look to their parents to set the example. Your healthy example makes it more likely they will focus on their well-being later in life. Since your children are your legacy on the planet, that means they may just go on to do more with their lives, and for a longer period of time. The impact you leave behind will be that much more impressive.

Investing in your health also means you are less likely to need medication. As you age, your pharmaceutical bills rise. Many seniors that have trouble living on their pensions struggle because of the significant amount of pills they have to take every day. There’s no way to guarantee that this won’t be you, but it’s easy to see that a quality diet and regular exercise will lessen the chances your retirement is plagued by prescription drug expenses.

A focus on your health will also help you keep your insurance premiums down. Although the pre-existing conditions policy is changing, insurance companies will still analyze your health before deciding how much to charge you for a policy. If you don’t smoke, are within a healthy weight range and have no history of significant issues you will enjoy reduced policy premiums. Over your lifetime that will translate into thousands of dollars in your pocket instead of in some insurance company’s coffers.

Health insurance isn’t the only area in which you will benefit financially from staying well. Your life insurance policy is an investment as well. The healthier you are, the cheaper it will be for you to pay for a large policy. You can borrow against this value as you build up equity. But even more importantly, the longer you live the more valuable the policy will be. The amount of money you can leave your family will increase dramatically if you spend an extra ten or twenty years hanging around in good health.