If you take a few minutes out of the year to read any of the information on the Center for Disease controls website, you would come across some interesting reads. One such article in 2014 stated that 20%-40% of annual deaths from each of the leading causes were preventable. Another post on their website mentioned that 50% of Non-Hispanic Blacks, 46% Hispanic, and 41% of Non-Hispanic Whites detailed the rates of obesity. In 2023, the same resource reports that 6 out of 10 Americans live with at least one chronic disease. Health and finances are both contributors to early mortality and the demise of America's most underserved populations.
What if you could reduce your risks of mortality?
Before you get the wrong idea that I'm going to lecture on how the importance of a healthy diet and exercise regimen could help, (I'll save that for next week's edition, ) it won't offset the time lost waiting on the information you didn't know could hurt your health or that of someone you love. What most don't know is, what most don't know is used against most.
I want you to think of your oldest living grandparent: the place they lived, the quality of the food they ate (diet), the level of activity (exercise), the stressors in their life, and the support system (family) they had in place to manage the health, and finances of themselves and family. After you have that clear picture in your mind, think about how many of those factors you have mastered, and how many of those factors are mastering you.
Let's consider this metaphorical shift in how you perceive health as if it were an investment, a kind of mutual fund for your health. This particular mutual fund is stocked with assets like low blood pressure, reduced risks of heart disease, cardiovascular disease, low blood sugar, healthy cholesterol, functioning Kidneys, healthy hormones and libido - would that be an investment vehicle that might interest you? Factoring in that 19% of heart disease and 27% of certain cancers can be reduced from the regular consumption of quality foods and exercise, let's consider the 19%-27% as a rate of return on your vested quality of life.
If you are not familiar with the Rule of 72, it is a way of calculating how long a financial investment will double from compounding interest over time by dividing 72 by the interest rate as a whole number. For example, if you invested 1.5 - 4 hours a week of time into into "Your Health is Wealth" mutual fund, and they offered you a minimum return of 19%-27%, it would take approximately anywhere from 3.7 - 4.2 years to double your investment, in this case, potentially time added to your life. Teachers always say, "show your work" to students, so to show my students how this teacher is working the numbers in your favor, here it is:
72 / 19% =
72 / 19 = 3.7 years
$1 million dollars at 19% would become $2 million in 3.7, and 3.7 years after that, $2 million becomes $4 million. 3.7 years later, $4 million is now $8 million. If you started at the age of your youngest child or sibling, by the age of your oldest living grandparent, how much could you have made? How much time are you losing as a result of waiting by not investing into your health?
Data reports that for every $1 spent on wellness, consumers save potentially $3 or more on healthcare expenses, and as the saying goes, time is money. How much are you gaining by investing each dollar or minute of time into your health as if it were a monthly dollar cost average basis? Compounding interest in your health means eating a quality diet combined with regular exercise as a daily recommended serving. It could be saving you more than just money, it might be making extra time for you to spend with the people you love.
Peace and Love,
Prince J. El
