By Claire Bacon, ACN, CNC
The fourth and final “F” of our Livin’ the Dream program is: Finance. (The first three are Fuel, Function, and Focus). Being financially prepared for wellness is the fourth essential pillar of “Livin the Dream.” In other words, financial planning helps you achieve total body health.
If you have the money you need to cover all your basic expenses, you can rest easy at night. It completely removes one layer of stress. Essentially, being able to have your financial ducks in a row helps you achieve a sense of peace in your heart. The benefits of that cannot be over-emphasized!
How Long do You Want to Live?
If you live to be 100, you’ll need more than money – you’ll need your health. Likewise, you’ll want to have your family around you for support, and they’ll need to be healthy, too!
According to the 2020 census, there are approximately 6,000,000 people over age 85 living in the United States. Approximately 92,000 of those are centenarians! If we want to achieve the same kind of longevity, we’ll need to study what the healthy people do…
- Maintain an optimistic attitude and youthful thinking
- Regular exercise, like gardening, walking or climbing stairs
- Practice your faith and meditation
- Nurture deep relationships with family and friends
- Healthy habits, like eating well and living within your means.
Did you know, the #1 reason for bankruptcy is medical expenses. Even if you have health insurance, the high deductibles that have become so prevalent can deplete your savings in a hurry. Although it’s always hard to budget for a catastrophic event, we need to plan for our regular health & prevention strategies on a daily basis. It is becoming more and more clear, chronic disease is very poorly managed by our current medical system. The solution is to proactively manage your health on a daily basis.
Chiropractic
At East Cobb Spine and Sport Chiropractic we believe in the value of chiropractic and wellness care for you and your family on a daily basis. If your spine and central nervous system are healthy, you can bet the rest of your body will have a great support for staying well. Therefore, we have created a pricing structure that is flexible and affordable enough to get the regular preventive care you need.
As we know that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, regular chiropractic & wellness care is less expensive and more effective than waiting for a problem and reacting with treatments. Multiple studies have shown that pain medications and surgery tend to cost more and be less effective for your health.
Dr. Bob and Dr. Sarah encourage you to financially plan for your most important asset–your health. We truly believe that prevention is the best cure. Regular chiropractic & wellness care will be far less time consuming and expensive than trying to recover from pain or injury after it’s happened.
Financial Considerations for Nutrition
There are certain foods and supplements that will always be beneficial for a healthy body. Even if you go through difficult financial times, that shouldn’t be a reason to eat poorly. Remember, your health is your greatest asset! If you fall for the trap of eating more processed foods, eventually your health will falter and you’ll likely worsen any existing medical condition.
Have you noticed what are the most expensive items in the grocery store? They are meat, cheese, and alcohol. Although we get in the habit of buying these, when funds are tight they are not essential when compared to the fruits and vegetables in the produce section. Your body will run healthier on a diet of fresh produce, compared to the inflammatory effects of meat, dairy and alcohol.
In addition, it is a myth to think that boxed items are cheaper. Consider that for every packaged item in the store’s inner aisles you are paying for the packaging in addition to the food contents! Consider all the plastic you are buying and wasting from your regular grocery list. I’m sure you can find ways to reduce the waste!
Be Financially Prepared with Your Nutrition:
Some good sense tips to help you make the most of your grocery budget…
- Remember, the most expensive things in the store are meat, cheese, and alcohol. Limiting these items can help you stay within budget.
- Continue to eat the majority of your foods from the organic produce section, plus non-gluten starches like brown rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes, beans and lentils.
- Get to know your local farmers and join a CSA to get farm-fresh food.
- Buy in bulk for pantry items.
- Start a home garden to have some fresh vegetables on hand: tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce are the easiest.
- Check out discount groceries like Lidl and Aldi.
- If needed, check into Food Bank options run by your local churches and charities.
Note that we don’t recommend coupon cutting, as coupons are usually for processed food items from the middle of the store – generally not good for your health!
Supplements Easy on the Finances:
If you need to simplify your supplements, you can easily get back to the basics by prioritizing these:
- A multi-mineral blend like Catalyn, to provide the minerals that are lacking in our standard diet.
- A probiotic like Prosynbiotic to support the living microbiome that helps keep your gut working well.
- An Omega-3 fish oil, like Cod Liver Oil to combat inflammation.
- Something to support your immune system, like Echinacea Premium. Just 1/day over a long period of time does a lot to enhance your immune system!
Being Financially Prepared for Health
We hope these tips give you some new ideas for prioritizing your budget towards wellness. Let us know if you need help with any of the above.
We are here to answer your questions and provide the wellness guidance you need!
