Your Money Or Your Health
Sometimes you have to make a decision that is not black and white. Most people following this blog will be committed to some degree to Financial Independence. This requires saving a large amount of your income and possibly making some minor sacrifices (I don’t think you should deprive your life of all enjoyment now to achieve Financial Independence later – find out why here).
But, some decisions are not that simple. Sometimes you have to decide if you are going to prioritise your money or your health. For me this is a pretty simple decision – health wins every time!
However, how far do you take this concept? For me it looks something like this:
Buying fresh fruit and vegetables instead of pizza – check!
Buying organic food – Sometimes.
Buying some gym equipment so I can work out at home – Yes!
A gym membership – Nope (see above).
Private medical insurance – We are thinking about it now (I live in the UK, so we have the trusty NHS to help us with acute medical issues).
Having a personal trainer or nutrition expert give us personal training and advice – we are considering this at the moment!
Paying for a concoction of supplements and ‘performance enhancers’ to supposedly make us healthier – not for me!
How far you take this is up to you. It is your money and it is your health.
Only you can decide what the right balance is, but this is one area where you will never hear me criticise or chastise anyone. I believe that you should make your own choices about your health and no-one else should be involved.
Finding The Balance
As with everything there is a balance to be found. If you are putting your health at risk because you don’t want to buy good food and exercise well, then that’s not so great.
Putting your finances at risk by spending a ton of money on unnecessary health screenings and ‘miracle’ cures is not good either. Somewhere in the middle is the place to be, You just have to decide where.
Do you want to pay for a gym membership because it keeps you healthy, gives you an incentive to work-out and provides a social exercise environment? Then go right ahead.
However if you are still paying that gym membership that you took out after Christmas 3 years ago and you haven’t been back since – then just cancel it!
Ultimately these decisions are up to you. You have to decide how much you want to prioritise your health and your financial independence – just make sure you strike the right balance!