“The greatest wealth is health.”
Your physical and mental well-being are arguably the most valuable assets of all.
What Does “Health Is Wealth” Mean?
At its core, “health is wealth” means that your physical and mental well-being is far more important than wealth in the realm of life satisfaction and happiness.
It’s saying, “Yes, money is a great tool. It can solve many basic problems and lead to a fantastic quality of life. But in the absence of good health, it means very little.”
In other words, don’t pursue wealth to the detriment of well-being!
After all, you can’t enjoy the financial fruits of your labor if you’re in constant pain, unable to move, struggling to breathe, going to the hospital every few months, or worrying about your health…or dead.
Only if you’re well can you take full advantage of your wealth. What’s more, staying healthy is also crucial to reaching your full financial potential.
The Financial Importance of Physical and Mental Health
“Health is wealth” reminds us that these two vital components of a happy life are interconnected. Indeed, numerous studies have shown that higher socioeconomic status usually leads to improved health prospects. But the opposite is also true. If your health suffers, then so do your finances. Here’s how:
Being Sick Is Expensive – It doesn’t matter whether you’re suffering from a broken leg or a bad bout of depression. Being sick has costs attached.
For example, you might not be able to work, and you only have so many paid sick days to take (unless you’re self-employed, in which case you might not have any). You may even have to quit your job. Either way, your income suffers, which can lead to a host of additional money problems. You might be unable to save, for instance, and/or forced to take on high-interest debt to cover your outgoings.
Mental illness has close links with financial difficulties, as well. You may have no energy or feel too anxious to work. Or perhaps you enter a manic episode and start making unwise purchases. Whatever the case, debt can follow. Indeed, National Debtline reports that 50% of adults with debt also have mental health problems.
Oh, and what if you die from a preventable illness? All those years of stress and hard work to ascend the corporate ladder, earn a high salary and squirrel away a sizable retirement nest egg could be for nothing.
Being Healthy Is Lucrative – Put yourself in an employer’s shoes. At a job interview, one candidate is smiling, full of energy, and has a CV full of relevant experience. A second candidate seems pale, lethargic, and weary. And the third didn’t come because they had the flu.
You’d hire #1, right? It’d be the same if you were choosing someone to get a raise or promotion. And that’s just one example of how being fit and healthy can benefit someone financially. You need energy to work hard, be proactive, contribute to a team, and show up how you need to – qualities often rewarded with higher pay.
And let’s not forget that being healthy almost always means you live longer. As a result, you can (among other things):
- Earn a salary for longer before retiring
- Reap the benefits of employment for longer
- Have more opportunities to climb the career ladder
- Have longer for the value of your investments to compound
