Health is more valuable than finances
- B.J. Yoder: Young Money
- July 21, 2021
- 702
I always talk about spending time making your financial health better, but what if it’s at the cost of your actual health?
This past weekend I was sicker than I have been in years. I laid on my bed for a good 15 hours, more miserable than I could remember being in a long time. During that time my financial health didn’t matter. How much money in my bank account didn’t matter. The only thing on my mind was getting better and back to normal. It was a good lesson because there was too much focus on money, on growing accounts and getting toward being debt free. This was a good self-check on where my priorities should be.
That leads me to talk about prioritizing your overall life health over your financial health. When I talk about “overall life health,” that would include some components such as spiritual, physical and relational health. I know I have been guilty of saying my Christianity is my number-one priority, but once I do an inventory of the day, I see that is a lie. I see money is my number-one priority, and that needs to change.
As far as your physical health, it’s easy to put that on the backburner when long hours at work means better paychecks. After a while you realize you’re not eating correctly and your sleep is lacking, but in the back of your mind, you say, “It’ll be worth it” or “this will pay off in the long run.”
Those thoughts aren’t incorrect. Because most of the time, hard work will pay off, but when you start becoming sick from overworking, there won’t be much of a long run. Learn to temper yourself. If you have a side hustle, don’t let it work you until 1 or 2 a.m. Set boundaries before you start so your health doesn’t pay for the work.
The last one mentioned was relational health, which can mean friends, family or co-workers. It’s easy to work so hard that the friends become ignored and eventually lose touch, and when you realize that, it is most likely too late to do anything about it.
The other is a big one, and that’s family. I love watching “Undercover Boss,” and as fake as it is and cheesy, it is a guilty pleasure. At the beginning of every episode, every uber-wealthy CEO gives a short background on where they came from. They give their roots, where they started, but episode after episode, I felt like there was a common theme to each of these backgrounds, and it seemed like every CEO’s family suffered in some way.
Some were on their second or third wife. One lady had a falling out with her mom, but they had decided their career was more important than their family. Take relationships seriously because no amount of money can buy the relationships you currently have.
Where do we go from here? How do we switch that mind-set from always earning a dollar to putting the things that matter in front?
We have been told money can’t bring us happiness, but we think we’re the exception to that rule. We know true happiness comes from the components I have listed above, not money. I am not preaching this from my soapbox either because I have fallen into the trap far too many times. We must make a conscious effort every day to see where we fall short in the fight between money and the things that will bring us actual happiness. In the long run, it will pay off.
Holmes County native BJ Yoder is an insurance agent by day and a finance enthusiast by night. This column is for informational purposes only. He can be emailed at benjamin.john.yoder@gmail.com.