Invest in Your Most Valuable Resources: Time and Health

Welcome to 2025!  As we kick off a new year, it’s natural to reflect on the past and plan for the future. As financial planners, we often look backward for clues about the future and plan ahead to help clients achieve their retirement goals. We track investment returns, savings rates, interest rates, and global economic news. But there’s one invaluable resource we often fail to monitor: our time.

Time is non-replenishable and finite. For many of our retired clients, the realization that “not all time is equal” becomes increasingly apparent. While we consider life span when evaluating the sustainability of a client’s financial future, we also need to account for health span—the period during which an individual is healthy and active. This distinction becomes crucial as clients approach their late 50s and early 60s.

The Best Investment for 2025? Your Health!

What’s the best investment idea for 2025? Invest in your health, starting now! The concept of “pay yourself first” shouldn’t only apply to your 401(k); it should also extend to the time you dedicate to improving your physical, mental, and spiritual health. After all, wealth means little if your health prevents you from enjoying it.

Here are four tangible ways to “pay yourself first” in 2025. Think of these as contributions to the ultimate health savings account, which will yield dividends for years to come.

 

Health Savings Bucket 1: Sleep More, Sleep Better

It may seem counterintuitive to prioritize rest when the internet is filled with flashy workout programs promising six-pack abs in 30 days. But quality sleep is the elixir of life—a cornerstone of both mental and physical well-being.

As pilots and professionals with demanding schedules, you’re likely familiar with the toll sleep disruption takes on your capacity. It’s easy to deprioritize sleep during busy life stages—late-night study sessions, parenting, or career advancements. However, just like living on credit cards creates financial debt, prolonged sleep deprivation comes with health consequences that must eventually be “repaid.”

Tips for Better Sleep

• Remove the TV from your bedroom: Make your sleeping area a sanctuary for rest.
• Practice good sleep hygiene: Maintain a consistent sleep schedule and create a relaxing bedtime routine.
• Avoid scrolling through your social media feed just prior to bedtime. Additionally, some evidence shows avoiding the phone altogether prior to bedtime is better for sound sleep. 

According to the article “Can Social Media Use Affect Our Sleep? at Sleepstation.org, “Polls have shown that browsing social media is now one of the most common pre-sleep activities, that time between going to bed and falling sleep. While it might feel relaxing to lie in bed and check a newsfeed, the reality is that this constant connectivity can have major negative effects on our sleep.”

The article goes on to state that “…it’s well-established that looking at phone screens can impact sleep. Mobile (phones) emit mostly blue light, and these wavelengths are particularly good at keeping us productive and focused, perfectly suited for daytime phone usage.”

At night-time, however, this isn’t ideal. At its simplest, exposure to light tells us to be awake, so looking at a bright light from a phone just before bed is telling your body it’s still time to be awake and not sleep time.

 

Health Savings Bucket 2: Build and Maintain Healthy Relationships

Investing in relationships that are mutually beneficial—be they professional, familial, or friendships—is critical to long-term well-being.

Early in life, many relationships are outside our control, such as family or workplace dynamics. As adults, we gain more agency to choose which relationships to prioritize. Evaluate the relationships in your life and set boundaries for those that are not supportive or healthy.  For guidance, consider reading Dr. Henry Cloud’s Boundaries, which offers tools to help cultivate healthier interactions and relationships.

Investing in relationships can be particularly challenging for airline pilots with erratic schedules. You may not even remember the crew you flew with last week, much less develop a lasting relationship with them.  On the other hand, life at home is disjointed making getting involved with friends very challenging.

However, the effort is well worth it.  Healthy relationships translate into real health benefits now as well as a more fulfilling retirement.  Here are five benefits of investing in healthy relationships according to an article written by Dr. Sheehan D. Fisher, Ph.D. at Northwestern Medicine – 5 Benefits of Healthy Relationships

1. Less stress.

“Knowing someone loves and supports you when you’re going throughout your day, even if the person is not physically present, is a mental-health booster,” says Dr. Fisher.

• Better healing.

According to research published in the article “…long-term partners who have undergone heart surgery are three-times more likely to survive the first three month after surgery than single patients.”

• Healthier behaviors.

If you surround yourself with people who prioritize physical, mental and emotional health, you’re likely to do the same. 

• Greater sense of purpose.

Being in relationships “…can give a person a sense of well-being and purpose. In fact, it’s possible that having a sense of purpose can actually add years to your life. 

• Longer life.

According to Dr. Fisher, “Sometimes having at least one good friend (or trusted co-worker, therapist or counselor) to help walk you through issues like social anxiety or depression can end up being more than worthwhile. It might be difficult, but it also might be exactly what you need. Even just having one or two strong, healthy relationships in your life can have a positive effect on health.”

 

Health Savings Bucket 3: Prioritize Nutrition

I won’t advocate for a specific diet—nutrition is as personal as politics or religion. However, a few universal principles can serve as a foundation for improving your diet:

• Limit added sugars: Check food labels and reduce your intake of products high in added sugars.
• Drink more water: Some suggest that you aim for half your body weight in ounces daily (e.g., 75 oz. for a 150-pound person).
• Focus on protein: Monitor your macronutrient (fat, protein and carbohydrates) intake and prioritize protein in your meals.
• Avoid or limit seed oils and refined grains: While controversial, reducing these may improve gut health and reduce inflammation for some individuals.
• Creating a personalized nutrition plan often requires trial and error. If you’re unsure where to start, consulting a registered dietitian or nutritionist can be a worthwhile investment.

For tracking your healthier 2025 eating habits and keeping you on track throughout the year, consider trying some helpful phone apps.  Here are a few of the best according to Healthline.com

• Best overall nutrition app: MyPlate Calorie Counter
• Best meal planning app: PlateJoy
• Best food tracking app: MyFitnessPal
• Best healthy recipe app: Yummly Recipes & Cooking Tools
• Best weight loss app: Lifesum: Healthy Eating
• Best mindful eating app: Ate Food Journal
• Best macro counting app: MyNet Diary Calorie Counter
• Best nutrition education app: Noom

Health Savings Bucket 4: Move More

Rather than viewing exercise as a chore, embrace movement as a lifestyle. Movement encompasses everyday activities like parking farther away, taking the stairs, or walking after meals.

While structured exercise is important, it should complement—not replace—the other three health-savings buckets. If you’re sleep deprived, undernourished, and stressed, adding an intense workout regimen may only worsen your health.

Here are some small movement goals to get started:

• Walk for 20 minutes after lunch.
• Practice getting up from the floor.
• Hang from a bar or tree branch for 10–20 seconds.
• Explore different squatting positions.
• Remember, just as building financial wealth takes time, so does improving your health. Start small, be consistent, and play the long game.

Closing Thoughts

I hope you find these tips helpful. We’re all on a journey, and sharing insights that promote well-being is deeply rewarding. Remember: while finances are important, your health is the most valuable asset—especially as retirement approaches. Plan for the future, live in the present, and move now!

Please tell us if we can help you on your journey to financial peace and prosperity!