eat healthy Archives - SavingAdvice.com Blog

You’d think that all anyone has to do these days to secure an enjoyable and comfortable retirement is save money. The media, financial gurus, and your employer harp on money as the end-all, be-all of retirement. Just get there with enough money, they say, and you’re all set.

Well, money is certainly important to your retirement plans. You’re going to need it to pay for housing, health care, and all of those fun things you want to do. But if you really want to enjoy your retirement, you have to make sure you are healthy when you get there, and that you have the energy to make the most of it.

My biggest hope is to be like the woman I met at the starting line of a marathon a couple of years ago. She was eighty-three years old and getting ready to start her fifty-sixth marathon. She’d run marathons in all fifty states and had no plans to stop. She told me that she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer in her fifties. At the time, she was out of shape, generally unhealthy, and had only run when chased. She was afraid that she wouldn’t live long enough to do all the things she wanted to do. When she finished her treatments, she decided to get healthy so she started running. One thing led to another and there she was, starting race number fifty-six. I admired her greatly. Here was a woman who knew that old age was coming and she not only wanted to make it there, she wanted to be able to participate in it fully.

Maybe you don’t want to run, but you probably have things you want to do in your old age. Maybe you want to travel, volunteer, play with the grandkids, play golf or all of the above. Besides socking away money, here are some other things that you need to be doing today while you’re “young” to make sure you hit your retirement years with enthusiasm and energy.

Exercise Your Body

Exercise will keep you agile and strong, helping to prevent broken bones and problems with arthritis later in life. It’ll also reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. You don’t have to run marathons, but you need to get up and do something. Some studies now show that the benefits of exercise are cumulative throughout life, so the sooner you start, they better off you’ll be.

Exercise Your Mind

Exercising your body helps your mind, too, but there are other things you can do to help stave off memory loss and dementia (http://www.savingadvice.com/2009/01/12/103857_keep-your-brain-active-to-save-money.html). Keep learning new things and skills (take up a language that’s spoken in a country you want to visit once you retire, for example), do puzzles like crosswords or word jumbles, work jigsaw puzzles, play board games, practice memorization exercises, and read, read, read.

Eat Right

Eating well gives your body the nutrients and vitamins it needs to ward off illness and keep you healthy. You can indulge in the occasional treat, but the bulk of your diet needs to be healthy.

Deal With Your Stress

Stress ups your risk for heart disease and some cancers. Find a way to deal with your stress. Maybe you need to exercise, scram at a wall, meditate, write it all in a journal, or get a therapist. Maybe you need to eliminate some toxic tasks and people from your life. Find what works for you and keep it up.

Get Regular Checkups and Screenings

Get an annual physical and make sure you get whatever tests are recommended for you (mammograms beginning at age 40, colonoscopies beginning at age 50, etc.). The earlier problems are caught, the easier they are to treat and the less likely they are to become chronic issues that keep you down in retirement.

Nurture Your Relationships

Part of aging well is having well-developed relationships. You need friends and social contact. Isolation isn’t healthy. Start finding people you enjoy spending time with and work at those relationships. You may have to make a special effort to “get out there,” but it’s worth it. Join some groups that share your interests or beliefs and find some new friends. Volunteer work can be a great way to meet new people.

Explore Your Interests

When you retire, you’re going to have time on your hands. It’s better to start finding things that interest you now than when you’re sitting on your sofa wondering, “Now what?” Go ahead and explore your interests and get involved with activities you enjoy. Then, when you retire, it won’t be a matter of finding something to do, but simply doing more of what you already love.

Use Sunscreen

Skin cancer is one of the fastest growing cancers in the world. It’s also one that you can do a lot to prevent. Wear sunscreen every day, even under your clothes (unless you have UV-protective clothing). Since you can get UV rays through glass, this applies even if you spend your days in an office. Wear a hat if you’re going to be outside, and don’t forget a lip balm with SPF protection built-in. Yes, it’s inconvenient, but so’s cancer. There are lots of “daily” formulas of sunscreen available these days that aren’t as smelly or greasy as the stuff you remember from your childhood.

Stop Smoking and Other Bad Habits

If you smoke, stop it. Lung cancer and emphysema aren’t conducive to an enjoyable retirement. Similarly, stop drinking to excess or engaging in any other risky habits you may have. Bad habits aren’t always obvious. Quitting that soda habit that has you consuming huge amounts of sugar or artificial sweetener should also be on the list.

Lose Weight (and keep it off)

If you’re overweight, take the initiative to lose weight. Excess weight causes joint problems plus makes other diseases more likely. Once you’ve got it off (or even if you’re a normal weight now), don’t let your guard down as you age. Most people need substantially less food as they age because their activity level decreases and their metabolism slows down. Keep the weight from creeping on.

Now, you could do all of these things and more and still end up sick or incapacitated in some way. Sometimes life just isn’t fair and people who do all the right things end up in nursing homes far too young. However, it can’t hurt to do these things. You’ll give yourself the best chance of making it to retirement and actually being able to enjoy it.

(Photo courtesy of Ed Yourdon)

The other day a friend of mine was talking about how much her family eats out. To my astonishment, they eat out every single day, sometimes for more than one meal. Much of that food is fast food picked up on the way to school, work, or other activities. When I asked her why they eat out so much, her answer was surprising to me. She didn’t mention the convenience or that she hates to cook. She said, “Because it’s cheaper than eating at home.”

She went on to explain that if they eat off the value and kids’ menus, they can get a meal for as little as ten dollars, or just a little more than $3 per person. “I can’t make a meal for three people at home for that little,” she said.

I begged to differ and I told her so. Certainly, if all you ever buy in the grocery store is the pre-made, boxed convenience foods, your grocery bill is going to be very high. However, if you learn to make some simple meals from basic ingredients, you can eat healthy and inexpensively. Off the top of my head, I listed three easy (and healthy) meals that can be made for much less than $3 per serving.

Lasagna made with vegetarian meat crumbles and whole wheat noodles: The ingredients for my recipe cost about $14 if you buy without coupons or sales. The recipe serves eight people, so it works out to $1.75 per serving. If I can get the ingredients on sale or with coupons, I can make it even cheaper.

Mexican “pizza pie” with wheat tortillas, black beans, vegetarian meat crumbles, peppers, and salsa: The ingredients for this are about $13 retail. The recipe serves six, and there is always some left over tortillas, beans, salsa and meat that can be used for tacos for lunch. It works out to $2.16 per serving, plus you can get another lunch or two out of the deal with the leftover ingredients.

Chicken wraps and vegetables: I make this with whole wheat tortillas, frozen chicken strips, peppers, onions, black olives, and brown rice. For the side dishes, I serve two vegetables, choosing from whatever’s in season. Generally the ingredients for this cost about $12 and I can make eight wraps from the recipe. That works out to $1.50 per serving.

Obviously your prices will be different, depending on where you live and what kind of stores you have nearby. Also, the more aggressive you are with sales and coupons the lower your costs will be. But the point is that you can make some easy meals for much less per serving than fast food.

There is a perception that healthy food costs more and that the average family has to eat fast food or processed food in order to stay within budget. This simply isn’t true. While you may have to learn some new recipes or new ways to shop, it is entirely possible to eat at home (and eat well) for less than the cost of dining out. There are plenty of healthier choices out there in the form of canned or frozen veggies (choose the lower sodium and no sauce varieties), produce bought at farmer’s markets, meatless meals, and meat or produce bought (and used) close to their sell by dates. Even homemade versions of favorites like pizza and macaroni and cheese are likely to be cheaper and healthier than their restaurant counterparts.

And if the prices listed above don’t sway you to eat at home more often, think about this: Even if you think you’re eating cheaply today, you will pay for it later. When your eating habits lead to problems like obesity, diabetes, cancer, vitamin deficiencies, and other health problems, your health care costs will skyrocket. The amount you’ll pay to fix your health problems will quickly outstrip any “savings” you got from eating fast food. The long term costs of eating out all the time can be significant.

My friend and her family are heading toward this point, now. All of them have some health problems and, while not all of them might have been caused by diet, their diets aren’t helping the situation. When I told her how cheaply they could eat at home, she was astonished. She had never really bought anything other than the pre-made, processed foods in the store, so she really believed that grocery store food cost more than eating out. I took her shopping and gave her an education. I also opened up my recipe file to her and she now has a set of quick and healthy meals to make at home. They are eating out much less often, are saving money, and are working toward better health.

Planning for Old Age: You Need to Do More Than Save Money