The One Thing You Can Do Today To Have More Money For The Rest of Your Life

What if you could make one change today that didn't involve saving an extra penny for retirement, didn't involve making more money or budgeting differently, but would DRASTICALLY increase your odds of having more money to enjoy later in life (and even today)?  It's going to sound really simple when I say it, but I haven't found one financial planning book or site that has talked about it in much detail - so here you go:

Take better care of yourself.  

Eat real food.  Exercise more.  Drink less.  Take your vitamins.  You know what to do.

This "ah ha" moment happened when I was talking to a close friend of mine who is in her retirement years (and doing it like a BOSS).  She was a flight attendant for American Airlines for 40 years and is completely self-made.  I was asking her about how she planned so well for retirement and is living such an incredible lifestyle.  She told me about a few things she did: living smartly within her means, a bit of investing in real estate and the market, but there was one major differentiator between her and her friends: she has always been super healthy and doesn't spend much on healthcare, medicine and doctors.  That's it.  While many retirees are blowing through their retirement money (not to mention their time, happiness, comfort...) with doctor visits and medication, she is jet setting around the world, going out to dinner regularly and living in a gorgeous downtown condo in San Diego.  

You've heard me say you can "pay the farmer now or pay the doctor later."  She is a real life example of this mantra in motion.  She opened my eyes to this so I wanted to share.  Spread the sunshine.  

Want a reality check?  Read articles like this about how much people spend on healthcare in retirement.  I also love this book for some basic financial planning advice.