HEALTHY, WEALTHY & WISE

By Matthew Broom, BBA, CFP

HEALTH IS NOT ONE-DIMENSIONAL.

We all know the person who looks like a firefighter calendar model but has a miserable marriage. Or the one who seems to have it all figured out financially but is in really bad physical shape. The wisdom of Monday morning quarterbacks abounds, but where are they when the game is on the line?

WE ALL HAVE OUR WEAK SPOTS.

I've always loved the Ben Franklin quote, "Early to bed, early to rise makes you healthy, wealthy, and wise." Good habits lead to health, wealth, and wisdom.

Who you are is a product of what you've done for the last decade, and your habits of today will have a profound impact on the you that you become.

As far back as the 1700s, wise British writer Samuel Johnson said, "The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken."

The chains of habit are inevitable. Break the unhealthy ones before they get too intense and replace the links with routines that will improve your future.

HEALTHY HABITS

EAT WELL.

Diet is a different-strokes-for-different-folks situation.

Some people thrive on being vegan while others love to eat meat. Most do just fine with a balanced diet.

The important thing is not what you should eat. The important thing is what you shouldn’t eat.

I'm no dietician, so I won't opine on what to avoid, but what's left if you avoid unhealthy foods? You guessed it. Healthy, nutritious, and hopefully tasty food.

EXERCISE DAILY.

That's right, every day. I'm not talking about a slobberknocker-knock-down-drag-out-pukin'-between-sets CrossFit session every day. But, move daily. A simple walk on an “off” day might do. Find whatever works for you. Some people love weights. Some people love cardio. You should probably aim for a balanced regimen, but it doesn't need to be complicated.

Find a routine and stick with it. Every day!

"EARLY TO BED, EARLY TO RISE MAKES YOU HEALTHY, WEALTHY, AND WISE."

GOOD HABITS LEAD TO HEALTH, WEALTH, AND WISDOM.

WEALTHY HABITS WISE HABITS

LIVE ON LESS THAN YOU MAKE.

This is rule #1 for gaining financial independence. If what you earn is never enough to satisfy your lifestyle, wealth won’t be in your future.

Some people feel weird about ‘getting rich’ or building wealth. Don't let the one percent propaganda deter you. Savers make up the majority of wealthy households.

So, how do you live on less than you make? You live on a budget. Whether it’s a to-the-penny spreadsheet or a thumb in the air eyeball measurement, a plan for cash flow is crucial.

Your budget is your financial pump panel. Money comes in, and the budget you create tells it where to go. If you can pump a truck, you can figure out your cash flow.

AVOID BAD DEBT.

No one gets rich paying 18 percent to a credit card company.

Enough said.

PRIORITIZE SAVING.

Analyze your savings needs and execute them. This can take many forms. Maybe you want to buy a house and need to save for a down payment. Perhaps you want to launch a business and need some start-up capital. The two savings buckets most of us should focus on are emergency savings and retirement savings.

If you don't have emergency savings, start there. Three to six

months of expenses is a good rule of thumb. Folks with rainy day funds tend to experience fewer rainy days. Weird how that happens!

SAVE FOR RETIREMENT.

Firefighters may be tough, but it’s a young man's game. The helmet will be hung up sooner or later. So, save. Put money in your pension plan. Put money in your 457(b). Put money into whatever tax-advantaged plans your department offers.

If it is an account you have control over (i.e., not a pension), invest it wisely into a diversified portfolio of low-cost mutual funds and stick with it.

We've all heard an older friend say, "I wish I started sooner." The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago – or right now.

Get started and give your wealth time to grow.

READ.

I don't know any brilliant people who don't read all the time. You are surrounded by knowledge, and access to it is unprecedented in today's digital world.

I download library books straight to my kindle – for free. I still love going to the library but it's not even necessary to pay a personal visit to the library anymore.

Top experts in every field share their knowledge for free on the internet. You can find the most esoteric books on Amazon and have them shipped to you in days. PDF versions of over 60,000 books containing timeless wisdom can be found on Project Gutenberg.

If you don't like to read, then listen. Audiobooks and podcasts have

changed the game. There is no valid excuse anymore. Read (or listen) and grow. Our friend Ben Franklin put it perfectly when he said, "Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late."

REFLECT.

Reflect but don't ruminate. I struggle with this. Time to reflect is essential to learning. I don't do it enough. But, the dots usually start to connect when I do. It can be tough to just sit and think in today's world.

If you don't think you have time, look at your screen time report. Find time to set aside for reflection.

REVISE.

Don't be afraid of being wrong. Challenge your views. There are things I thought to be true at age 22 that, at age 32, I completely disagree with. And at age 42, I'm sure this trend will continue. Your thoughts aren't you. Just try to control them, and you'll see.

Don't be the proverbial hammer always looking for a nail. Wisdom will elude you unless you revise your thoughts, ideas, and beliefs.

DEVELOP STICK-WITH-IT-NESS.

Habits are the building blocks of success – or failure. The things you do every day create your life and your legacy. Don't allow instant gratification, lifestyle inflation, and other distractions to knock you off the path.

Develop, nurture, and maintain good habits that prioritize your physical, financial, and mental health.