What would you say if I told you that I could save you over $7,000 every year?  What if I told you that that was $7,000 a year in today’s prices, and that inflation would likely make that significantly more?

Are you thinking that you should probably look a little deeper into what I am about to tell you, or are you thinking that I am not a financial advisor and I should probably just stick to what I’m good at?

What I am about to tell you doesn’t require an inflated I.Q. to understand.  It doesn’t involve a lot of risk that some investments (stocks, for example) carry.  And it is as close to a guarantee as any investment can promise.

Of course I am talking about investing in yourself.  I’m talking about two different kinds of investment in yourself though.  First of all, you need to spend some time educating yourself.  Obviously this is an important part of any investment.  Of course there is also the implementation stage as well.  This is where many people fail to follow through with the knowledge that they have accumulated.

Here’s my investment proposal; start taking better care of your body.  It is that simple.  An article published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, estimates have been run that put the cost of heart disease alone (not considering every other chronic disease, most of which are seen along with heart disease) at $818.1 BILLION by 2030.  At that same time period, they estimate that there will be approximately 116 million people suffering from at least one type of heart disease.  That breaks down to $7,052 and some change.

The scariest fact is that they did not consider inflation in this projection.  Scarier yet, they didn’t consider any new treatments that will be introduced (as they are often more expensive than our current treatments). 

Obviously there are genetic and environmental factors that make this investment unknown, but making the investment in yourself in the health realm is almost guaranteed to work.  If nothing else, you are likely to decrease the severity of the diseases you suffer from.

How do I propose you make this investment?

Judging by the things that a lot of people spend their money on, the American population is getting more and more health conscious.  In 2010, $28.7 BILLION (per the Nutrition Business Journal) went towards the supplement industries.  Health clubs pull in another $25 BILLION annually (according to IBIS World).  The problem with this lies in principle.  Any financial planner will tell you that there are expenses and there are investments.  Too many people are making expenditures, not investments.

Don’t read this as me telling you that your gym membership and supplements are all worthless.  I am not saying that at all.  What I am saying is you need to research ways to get the most out of your money in both areas. 

If you go to the gym and you socialize, do a couple of lifts, spend 15 minutes on a cardio machine and leave, you aren’t really getting much benefit out of your time and money.  You would be much better served by putting in a lot of different types of workouts, figuring out what works best for your body, then using that as your main workout system, with support from other varieties.  If you haven’t tried a workout that mixes anaerobic workouts in, I highly recommend them.  They will add a new element that is great for your health, as well as your appearance.  An added bonus is, a shorter anaerobic workout is likely to give you just as much, or more, benefit than the longer ones that you’re likely doing now.  Obviously mixing and matching is a great approach.

Unfortunately supplements are a little harder nut to crack.  There is so much variety in what is available. T here is so much propaganda (not necessarily research).  What research is available is likely to be biased, hard to understand or impossible to find.

Unfortunately the sources that you would think you could trust are often biased as well.  Talking to a doctor is usually a great place to start, but many of them sell supplements out of their offices now.  I can’t blame them with the large amounts of money that are on the table, but it always makes you wonder who’s best interest they have in mind.

The best way to approach this type of research is to read as much as you can on the subject.  When you implement a lot of different articles and resources into your research, you will ease the process of sorting out fact from propaganda.

A third type of investment you can make is taking advantage of better healthcare when you need it.  Chiropractic care, massage therapy, personal training, and of course routine visits to your medical doctor should not be forgotten.  They may cost you a little up front, but they will pay off big in the long-term.

Obviously this isn’t a whole lot of fun.  It takes time that nobody seems to have enough of.  It takes money that nobody wants to spend.  The facts speak for themselves though.  A lot of us are already making the financial commitment.  To make you feel bad, you probably have more time than you think (How much time do you spend watching television on a weekly basis?).

Use your resources wisely and it will likely pay HUGE dividends in the long-run.  By saving $7,052 for just 10 years (which is a drastic under-exaggeration of what you will likely see) at a market average of 8% return, you will save $110,331.98.  By sharing the information that you learned with your husband or wife, you would save $220,663.96.  I think we can all agree that that is worth a little extra time and effort.

Happy investing.

If you have questions, or would like to discuss this further, please contact me at:

Jeffrey L. Cumro, Doctor of Chiropractic, Certified Personal Trainer
Better Life Chiropractic and Wellness, LLC
          Better Care > Better Health > Better Life
          10700 Sapp Bros Dr, Omaha, NE  68138
402-210-1472
BetterLifeNE@gmail.com
www.BetterLifeNE.com