Spring clean your health and wealth
By Sanet Moolman , Communication and Events Specialist at PPS Healthcare Administrators
It is said that money cannot buy health and happiness . Managing one ’ s health and money , is not only closely related , but one tends to be happy when both are “ in good order ”.
People in poor health often die young and spend thousands of rands that could have been otherwise invested on health-care costs . On the other hand , those who practice recommended healthy behaviours are more likely to exceed average life expectancy and grow to old age .
The same is true for our finances . People who do not look after their finances , can easily become heavily indebted , while those who look after their money , tend to increase their wealth and become prosperous .
While money cannot buy health or happiness , looking after one ’ s health ( being healthy ) and money ( financial wellness ) can lead to happiness .
In their book RICH Theory : The Promotion of Happiness , authors Thomas J Kehle and Melissa A Bray , define happiness as a synonym of psychological health . According to this theory , happy people have four characteristics :
1 . Resources ( feeling of independence or control over one ’ s life );
2 . Intimacy ( friendship , empathy and the capacity to enjoy the company of other people ).
3 . Competence ( awareness of one ’ s skills ); and
4 . Health ( being aware and practicing healthy behaviours );
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Let us look at the similarities between the first and fourth of these characteristics – resources ( money ) and health .
Problems generally start small
Weight problems usually develop gradually . It often starts with people gaining two to three kilogrammes a year simply by consuming too many calories in relation to their physical activity . If nothing is done about this , it is only a matter of time before the person first becomes overweight and then obese , potentially causing other health problems such as diabetes or heart attacks .
The same happens with debt . The problem often starts with a small outstanding balance on a credit card which , if not paid when due , will not only escalate into large amounts to be paid , but will lead to added challenges such as increasingly higher interest and / or fees applicable as the outstanding balance rise .
Fear of drastic changes
Many people believe they must make major lifestyle changes to be healthy and wealthy . They see a number on the scale or a balance on a credit card that seems impossible to fix .