People would rather fix their lifestyles than their finances

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To be completely healthy, everyone needs a daily dose of wise lifestyle choices and a grasp of their finances. People tend to fall through on doing the latter, however.

Why? Because managing money can be daunting, and one mistake could be hard to reverse, experts said. Americans are much more likely to make lifestyle changes to improve their physical health, and would rather think of big picture concepts like having a health plan, than understand the nitty-gritty of that coverage. About 83% of consumers said their health plan coverage helps them obtain the medical services they need, according to HSA Bank’s Health & Wealth Index, but 35% of those consumers are not aware of the financial aspects of those plans — such as the copay, the deductible and the out of pocket maximums.

See: 5 ways to lower health care costs in the U.S.

It gets worse. More than 40% of respondents never save money for future health care expenses, and 35% never think about the cost of the plans they selected. Why is that such a problem? Because health care is one expense almost everyone can expect to pay in retirement. Medicare doesn’t cover everything for seniors, and an American couple retiring in 2017 can expect to spend $275,000 in health care costs throughout their retirement (a 6% increase since 2016, according to Fidelity Investments).

Talking about money is hard for many people, but so is just thinking of it. “When we think of finances, we think of what we have to lose,” said Kyle Nakatsuji, co-founder and chief executive officer of Clearcover, a digital car insurance company. Whether it is health insurance, car insurance, or just about any other type of financial decision, sifting through all the financial decisions to make can be mentally painful, especially if people are struggling to pay off other debts or think of present day instead of their future selves.

Prioritizing everything but financial decisions can also be the result of social tendencies, said Sarah Newcomb, behavioral economist at Morningstar. “If you’re looking at making changes from a social perspective, there’s very little social incentive to be better with money,” she said. The amount of money in a savings account isn’t easily decipherable, but the ability to lose weight, gain muscle or keep up appearances is, she said. “There’s all this pressure to have what people around you have. We keep our financial health on the back burner because what we want more than a big savings account is to fit in and belong.”

Also see: Here’s how much being unhealthy will cost you over a lifetime

So what should people do? Open up about financial decisions, and use online tools to determine how much you need to save or ways to cut costs, said Kevin Robertson, senior vice president and chief revenue officer of HSA Bank. Then take action. “You don’t have to try and solve everything all at once,” he said, but putting aside some money for future expenses or comparing health plans by cost will help down the road. “People don’t take action because they don’t realize the timelines involved.”



Source : MTV