Balancing Health & Wealth Management

Greetings,

In case you missed our previous post on systematic withdrawal plans, we’ve linked it here so you don’t miss out!


Greek physician Herophilus (325-280 BC), the father of anatomy, credited with the first ever scientific human cadaveric dissection, and arguably the greatest anatomist of all time wrote: “when health is absent, wealth becomes useless.” Fast forward to the 20th century and Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) famously said: “it is health which is real wealth, and not pieces of gold and silver.” While the timelines involved here are drastically different, what rings true across the centuries is the comparison between health and wealth, and the realization that one is quite useless without the other.


While both the distinguished gentlemen mention above hit the nail on the head while asserting that the pursue of wealth at the cost of one’s health is a rather useless endeavour, in today’s world, both are equally important. The connections between financial, physical, and mental health are undeniable. While poor health and healthcare bills can have a seriously negative impact on one’s financial life, poor finances can leave you unable to tackle a medical emergency or unable to recover from the cost of a medical procedure.


So if we can all accept that both are equally important, the problem then lies in the fact that while most parents and teachers instiil in us all the good habits to stay healthy, it’s a very rare occurence where someone teaches us about wealth in the same way. Luckily enough, since most people already knows the habits to stay healthy like brushing their teeth in the morning, drinking a lot of water, and getting enough sunshine and exercise, we can have some fun drawing parallels between good health habits and good wealth habits.  


  1. Waking up early in the morning: This one is pretty straightforward, similar to “the early bird get’s the worm” philosophy, building wealth and investing as early on in life as possible is probably the biggest advantage you could ask for.


  1. Eat a balance diet: If wealth was your food, this one would translate to maintaining a diversified investment portfolio. Similar to the “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” philosophy, spreading out your investments across sectors and risk-profiles is a great way to minimize risk while also increasiong the potential for growth.


  1. Drink lots of water: This one is easy, maintain liquidity! Liquidity is essential so staying afloat, and while the temptation to overinvest or over commit oneself while investing is always high, having enough liquidity is key to maintaining wealth.


  1. See a Doctor if you’re feeling under the weather: The worst thing you can do in an unhealthy situation is to try and Google a cure or diagnose yourself. While self diagnosis and self medication can be downright dangerous to your health, similarly with finances, seeing a professional financial planner is a basic fundamental to living a wealthy life.


In conclusion, you can’t really have one without the other and while a healthy man may be able to work hard and earn himself a living, earning and maintaining  wealth is another thing altogether. For more information on wealth management feel free to contact us.


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