Many people live with elevated blood pressure for years before being officially diagnosed. For others, it took a life-threatening illness/incident to find out about it. Likewise, inflation creeps up on us without notice. The cost for a gallon of milk today is not the same price it was last year. The money in in your bank account, will not have the same purchasing power; 10 years, 5 years or even 1 year from now.
Just like knowing the risk factors for hypertension are important for reducing one’s likelihood of being diagnosed, considering the rate of inflation is a significant factor when building a financial future.
Several people, including myself, ‘invest’ money in a regular savings account with very low rate of return. Which translates to losing money and not making your money work for you. A key point to remember is, the money you are saving should earn at a rate higher than inflation. What is the current rate of inflation in the US? Head over to google and find out… should be around 2.9%. While you are there, look at your banks interest rate on your saving account.
I just did…0.01%. The only way to grow and build wealth is to know and understand the wealth formula.
For years, the normal blood pressure ranged below 140-90, which meant, millions of people were not diagnosed as being hypertensive but referred to as ‘borderline’ or ‘prehypertensive’. As of November 2017, the reclassification of normal blood pressure pushes 14% of previously deemed healthy as having a medical condition. Numbers, numbers…it’s all about numbers.
In finance, healthier people get better rates and increased their potential of being insurable and securing lower rates. As a matter of fact, life and health insurance companies have the right to deny your application or charge higher premiums related to your medical examination. Being diagnosed with one or more medical conditions will negatively affect the number of persons that will qualify for lower rates of life/health insurance policies.
You may not like numbers and understanding financial concepts may not be the most exciting subject, however, learning and understanding the fundamentals is key in building a strong financial foundation.
Meredith Ximines-Mullings MSN, RN
Keynote Speaker/Medicare Solution/Coach