Living Longer: The Health and Wealth Connection

All the money in the world doesn’t mean a thing if we can’t get out of bed. And the healthiest body in the world won’t stay that way if we’re frazzled about five figures worth of debt. TODAY Show financial expert Jean Chatzky and the Cleveland Clinic’s chief wellness officer Dr. Michael Roizen explain the vital connection between health and wealth in their new book, Age-Proof: Living Longer Without Running Out of Money or Breaking a Hip, which offers readers all the tactics, strategies, and know-how to live longer, healthier, more lucrative lives.

The same principles that allow us to achieve a better body will allow us to do the same for our investment portfolio. For instance, physical and financial stability comes down to the same equation: Inflow versus outflow. Do we burn more calories than we ingest? Likewise, are we making more money than we spend? The authors detail scientific ways to improve our behavior so that the answers tilt in the readers’ favor. They also offer ways to beat the system by automating how we do things and limiting our decisions in the face of too much food or too much debt.

You need control of both your health and your money to make age-proofing possible. Because if you’re not healthy, you’re going to spend all your money trying to get there. And if you’re not financially secure, even one health incident has the potential to wipe you out.

The book dives into several different categories ranging from changing your daily bad habits to the science of stress. It details a new way of adding exorcise and movement to your weekly routines and choosing which foods will boost your energy and prolong your life. It points out that it is never too late to reverse bad health situations and that playing catch up with your finances is realistic when using the right tools. Other topics including in the book:

• Automate good habits. Start with 10,000 steps a day, with no excuses.
• Get a handle on your financial and health behaviors. Bank 15 percent of your paycheck.
• Eat foods that love you back: Lean protein, unsaturated fat, vegetables and fruit, and unprocessed grains.
• Pay yourself first. The No. 1 line on your health budget: High-quality foods. The No. 1 line on your financial budget: Saving 15 percent of your income.
• Rally a team of pros and friends to help you reach your goals. Offer to do the same for others.
• Organize your health and financial worlds to help you think clearly.
• Find your passion and live it.

For more tips, watch the video of Jean Chatzky and Michael F. Roizen as they discuss the book on the Today Show:

http://www.today.com/video/how-to-live-longer-without-losing-your-memory-888458819547