Move it or lose it
Hello everyone,
Welcome to Not Pretty, Not Rich, a newsletter designed to help you level the playing field. If you were forwarded this email and would like to subscribe, you can do so here. You can also unsubscribe at any time. Past issues can be found here.
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This week: Take care of yourself.
Get Pretty: Move a little bit
We all know that we should be eating better, exercising, and all that. If you can summon the discipline to do it, you’ll feel better and look better, and there’s plenty of evidence pointing toward positive career and financial ramifications as well.
Hell, just getting some walking in can potentially save you thousands of dollars per year in reduced medical costs.
When you’re broke, though, it can be tough. Healthy food is expensive, and gym memberships aren’t cheap. But if you make your health a priority, it should pay dividends in some form or another. But there are cheap gyms out there, and you can find ways to exercise during the day (take the stairs, walk home, lift heavy things around the workplace for no reason). Every little bit helps.
The takeaway: Get disciplined and try to live healthier — it’s likely you’ll see benefits, even if you don’t ever see your abs.
Get Rich: Seriously, take care of yourself
New research shows that there’s another reason you may want to invest in yourself, try to get in better shape, and see if that has an effect on your earnings or career: Rich people live longer — and get nearly an extra decade of “good” years after age 50 compared to their poorer counterparts.
Get fit, get money, get more time. And hopefully, it’s time to do what you want. Because, after all, the reaper is nipping at everyone’s heels — why not keep him at bay for a few more laps?
The takeaway: People with more money tend to live longer. Get in shape, get more money, and get more time.
One other thing: I’m not saying this is a giant waste of time, but…
I came across this Buzzfeed story about brothers who spent eight years remaking the movie “Toy Story 3” with real toys for some reason. While that’s great and everything, you have to wonder what they’ll wish they had done with that 8 YEARS instead at some point in the future.
I waste my own time, too, of course. I play video games and read stupid books and sometimes just throw rocks at bodies of water. But maybe we should all try to be mindful of how we’re spending our time and putting it to better use. Nobody’s going to be on their deathbed saying “I wish I had the opportunity to make one more stop-motion short for my YouTube channel.”
And you know Disney’s probably going to come after these guys for copyright infringement, too.
What I’ve been writing about:
They’ve asked me to write about the power of compound interest lately, so I’ve been doing that — and making more silly videos.
I also talked with Amber Jamieson, who’s a reporter at Buzzfeed. She also has a financial newsletter, “Better Have My Money,” which you should check out and subscribe to if you’re so inclined.
If you want to check those articles out and share them, I’d appreciate it.
That’s all for now. FEBN.
Sam
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