The Weekly Catalyst: January 20, 2025

Investing In Yourself Last night, I opened an envelope from my financial advisor.  If you've received one of these, you know the next part already.  My loudness almost woke up my kids.   Unlike our anatomy, our savings and investments should improve with time.  I don't know much about that, but I spend a LOT of time with human bodies, and there's one thing that's true of all of us: we're on a downward slope.  Rage, rage as much as you want, but you're not going to be as strong when you're 70 as you are now (unless you're weak now.  Maybe you are.  If so, keep reading anyway.) The investment you're making through exercise and good dietary practices are slowing that decline dramatically, though.  Consider the largest problems faced by our elderly: Type II Diabetes (not only avoidable, but reversible), heart disease (largely avoidable,) and bone/muscle injury due to lack of use or misuse (completely avoidable.)     You've read the headlines: health care is declining faster than the TSX.  Your savings are back at 2003 levels.  Do you REALLY believe that we'll have the same health care system 10 years from now?  How about 20?  What if you injured your back at work TODAY: what kind of advice would you get at the hospital?  A referral to a physiotherapist, or a prescription for OxyContin?  Advice to take time off work, get bed rest, and take drugs?  My point: would the advice help you avoid the problem in the future?   Chances are, you're going to have to work longer than you'd planned.  Maybe 5 extra years.  Are you going to be able to handle 5 more years?  Will you emerge healthy enough to enjoy retirement, or will you be so far into the twilight that you'll have to scrape to finish? Sure, you may live long enough to still have a long retirement.  Or you may live long enough to suffer through long illness.  Maybe you'll be too ill to travel.  Maybe your final years will be spent in hospital.  Maybe, instead of fulfilling your dream of giving birth to triplets at age 72, you'll require your own medical care.   Exercise is cumulative.  One bout is fun, but won't help long-term.  You need to compound the interest yourself.  You need to be investing, every day, time.  You need to be paying ATTENTION.  Time is now the most valuable asset you have: invest it wisely.