Every choice you make today will significantly impact your present and future well-being and indirectly, the welfare of people in your circle, beginning with your family. That is why making wise lifestyle choices now, are neither a waste of time, nor energy. Doing otherwise will almost definitely incur potential negative repercussions, not only to your own health but also to your finances.
Here are the top 5 poor life choices that people make, which cost money.
- Unregulated and unhealthy eating
It is not new to us that eating unhealthy food is bad for the body. We are not only referring to indulgence in fast-food restaurants, but the overall indulgence in too much sugar, alcohol, and processed food.
These can impact your health negatively in the long run, especially for people with sedentary lifestyles. Feeding beyond your required Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) will make you gain more weight and reduce your mobility. Plus, eating the wrong food, no matter how little you may eat, has a deleterious impact on your risk of chronic, non-communicable diseases.
The process can be slow and insidious but will ultimately result in feeling below par and this may lead to visits to your primary health care practitioner, not to mention any more serious, sudden health crises that may result in hospital admission. This is an expensive and scary process, as anyone who has had the misfortune to fall ill can attest.
- Having an inactive lifestyle
In conjunction with point number one, people who are inactive and sedentary in their daily lives are more prone to heart problems and weight gain.
As mentioned above, health problems will incur costs starting from the maintenance drugs to the monthly checkups. If you do not begin even a short exercise regime as early as today, then you are simply preparing your finances for a lifetime of medical remittances.
- Indulgence in vices
The occasional drink is relaxing and sociable, but excess overloads the liver, as well as increases risk for cancer and cardiac events. Smoking has even more deleterious effects on health. This includes the secondhand effects when you live with or have regular exposure to someone who smokes. The increase in insurance premiums is a good example of the reflection of risk and not only adds to your monthly expenses directly, but also influences how insurance companies view the risk to your health.
Both vices are a slow grave you dig for yourself because of their detrimental effects on the body.
Plus, even if you choose to ignore the expensive medical complications, the monthly costs of buying alcohol and cigarettes add insult to injury.
- Sleeping late
Sleeping late is often a result of a late night, possibly due to insomnia, too much late-night on-screen viewing, or just poor sleep hygiene. Although many people are well-adapted to this lifestyle and still function the day after, the percentage of individuals being groggy and, worse, oversleeping is higher.
When you sleep late, chances are you will miss working the next day (or miss working effectively the next day). This simple slip-up will cost you by deducting the day’s absence from your paycheck. Moreover, it can weaken your immune system against diseases that may lead to sickness.
- Too much screen-on time
Social media has taken the reins in people’s lives. Individuals can no longer resist a day without checking how many followers they have on social media or who liked their latest post.
Aside from the suggested psychological damage social media is purported to contribute to, the platforms on which they are projected, like phones, tablets, or computers, can cause their own problems. Too much exposure to the blue light from screens, especially at night, can lead to headaches, poor sleep patterns and associated health problems. While overstraining the eyes by exposure to LCD panels can result in eye problems.
Cumulatively, these can also affect finances through sup-optimal health. People will buy drugs that ease their headaches, sleeping pills to improve sleep, plus the ones having eye problems will have to visit specialists to provide them with eye care remedies. Not to mention the more serious conditions that chronic sleep problems cause, such as increases insulin resistance or cardiac events.
Conclusion
The lifestyle decisions you make will have repercussions not just on health but your finances as well. If you happen to do one of the above, we highly suggest a calculated recalibration of your decision-making for the better, both in your health and in your bank accounts.