Everyone seems to know about taking care of their physical health, what I call the Outer Game of Heath. Things like nutrition, exercise, not smoking. Something we don’t think about so much, yet equally important for our longterm health, is money. Yes, money.

If you talk to a bunch of ‘olds’, people over 40 say, one of the biggest pieces of advice they will give is to take care of your financial health – now. How?

1. Don’t get into debt. If you have debts, pay them back as soon as you can. Prioritise this, cut back on your day to day spending, cut out frivolities. Exercise self-control and pay back those debts as soon as you can.
2. Save. Aim to set aside 10% of your monthly pay check or income. Put it straight into a saving account and leave it. Things happen. Jobs get cut back. Businesses go bust. Whole economies flounder. Relationships change. Families change. People get sick. Even if it’s throwing all the £1 and £2 coins into a pot at the end of every day, save something today.
3. If you’re going to invest, take risks, buy big stuff, get all the facts. Arm yourself with every piece of information and opinion there is. Then step back and wait. Impulse has no place here. Experts have hidden agendas. Be sensible. Think longterm. Imagine your life 10 or 20 years from now and ask yourself what is important.
4. Before you buy, step away. Come back tomorrow. Leave your credit card/s at home. We are in an age of fast consumption and faster throwaway, where we’re bombarded to buy, buy, buy, and adverts feed our Fear Of Missing Out. The paradox is that our inner sense of scarcity drives us to consume more in an endless quest to fill the void. Retail therapy is not the answer. Short lived pleasure with long-term consequences. Stop. If you really need it or love it, it will still be there tomorrow. Think longterm.

In short : stop spending, pay off debts, and save!

This is a major part of winning at The Inner Game of Health