Playing the long game

Why health and wealth share the same playbook.

May 04, 2025

One of my Q21 goals was to have a better gym routine. That went out of the window when, at the start of the week, I got injured 😔

The reason behind this goal was simple; I wanted to bring some consistency to my physical health, to feel healthier (and less in pain) both now and in the future.

I know I’m starting from a place that’s less than ideal. In this ideal world, I would be ripped, with a comprehensive stretching and mobility programme I followed without fail every day. But, I’m also not that bad; I have some fairly OK habits and a good baseline level of health.

This all got me thinking2 about the similarities between health and money. There are clear parallels:

Consistent habits lead to better outcomes in the long-term
Deferring gratification for an uncertain future
Doing hard things now to get a payoff in a future
Despite your best efforts to secure your future, you’re still not immune to unforeseen circumstances that throw all the best laid plans out the window

woman in red jersey shirt and white shorts holding baseball bat — Photo by Josh Hemsley on Unsplash

What I’d like — what I think we’d all like — with both health and money, is to be able to reach a level of satisfaction, and then lower the effort and headspace we’re investing in these things, to just focus on maintenance of this new baseline.

Back in the ideal world, in addition to being able to lift a car and do a Reformer Pilates class without breaking a sweat, I’d also be set for life (financially). I’d never have to work because the amount of money I’d have in my savings and investments would be more than enough. And these ideals would have gone far enough to drastically reduce the risk that I would worry.

And yet it’s not that simple.

These ideals are wildly outrageous; they’re too big to feasibly achieve as a mere mortal who has other things she’d like to do with her one and precious life.

What’s more, the present is tangible and all-consuming. Research out this week showed that one in seven adults would rather cut their long-term savings than give up certain lifestyle expenses.

More interestingly, a quarter of adults consider spending money to look after their mental wellbeing as important as “traditional” essential expenses such as food and housing. This is highest among 25 to 34-year-olds (39%).

You can’t inure yourself fully against the future; expenses will continue to grow, costs will keep rising, your responsibilities will increase in scope. And likewise, with health, your body is going to keep throwing out new curveballs.

But what you can do is bring a level of control to the situation, through bringing in consistency of habits, being kind to yourself and maintaining the ever elusive balance between the present and the future.

1. The psychology of frugality

Your Brain On Money

Why are people frugal? Several reasons — for security, control, identity, having a scarcity mindset and, of course, the state of the world today.

How does this manifest?

There’s the long-established FIRE movement, in which participants save and invest 50-70% of their income (i.e. aggressively!)
If you’re on socials, you may have seen content promoting under-consumption and ‘no buy’ rules more recently, but there have been movements before this like minimalism and, more recently, Marie Kondo

One really interesting insight is that “we often value money saved more highly than money earned, even when the numbers don't make sense. It's what behavioral economists call the "pain of paying" — saving $10 feels better than earning $10, even though the financial result is identical.”

Of course, practicing frugal living and behaviours isn’t a bad thing. It’s just when it becomes all consuming that it’s likely to be an issue. And when the only metric you’re using is your monetary net worth.

2. Soaring gold price tempts customers to cash in coins and old jewellery

Financial Times

The price of gold has been going up as a result of the US tariff craziness; where the US Dollar was once seen as a safe asset (given how much of the global economy it underpins), gold (its counterpart) is now taking centre stage.

While the price has stabilised somewhat after hitting recent highs, this has got more people enquiring about selling or pawning gold items.

As gold is an asset, you can leverage value from it in two ways:

Sell it (obv)
Borrow against it (through pawnbroking; where you get immediate money for handing over temporary ownership to the pawnbroker (in the form of a loan plus interest). If you pay the money the money back, you get the item back. If not, it’s the pawnbroker’s to sell)

Some things to note:

Before selling anything, check to see how much you could get — by checking the weight and quality, and the price per gramme, and then deducting 10-15% (typically how dealers set their prices)
If you sell gold coins, they’re exempt from capital gains tax
Consider the value of an item beyond its weight in gold; jewellery and pocket watches might sell for more at a specialist store

3. Things you need to do before you resign

The Cut

Find out how your company handles resignations — and what you do and don’t have access to while you’re in your notice period (like bonus entitlements)
Take home copies of your performance reviews and work samples (just make sure nothing is confidential and that it doesn’t breach your employment contract)
Download your payslips
Check to see if you have any subscriptions or memberships linked to your work email address; and change these over