Healthy lifestyle, healthy finances
Leading a healthy lifestyle is extremely important to help prevent illness, but it’s equally critical to pay attention to your financial planning, as the financial pressures associated with critical illnesses and expensive treatment can be devastating.
If your New Year’s resolutions for 2016 include eating healthy, getting active or laughing more often, you may be on the right track because a healthy lifestyle can leave you with a healthy pocket too.
South Africa is rapidly urbanising and like any other urban community, lifestyle diseases are ever prevalent in our society. Razak Khan, Senior Financial Planner at Sanlam says neglecting your health – even if it’s for the benefit of other aspects in your life, like work or business – is to your own detriment.
The 2014 World Health Organisation (WHO) South Africa Country Office report showed that about two out of five deaths are related to non-communicable or lifestyle diseases.
In an era where lifestyle diseases are increasingly accounting for more deaths in young and old people, kicking bad habits like tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and a lack of physical activity will go a long way towards improving your quality of life.
These unhealthy habits are the biggest risk factors for lifestyle illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes. Other significant factors are age, weight and family history.
Given the hereditary risk factors, no one can rule out the possibility of critical illnesses like cardiovascular diseases.
Leading a healthy lifestyle is extremely important to help prevent illness, but it’s equally critical to pay attention to your financial planning, as the financial pressures associated with critical illnesses and expensive treatment can be devastating.
He says dread disease cover can be a critical financial lifeline should you face expensive medical bills not covered by your medical scheme, as well as other costs associated with your recovery when diagnosed with a critical illness. Dread disease products mainly cover four illnesses – cancer, heart attack, stroke and coronary artery bypass graft. Other important types of cover are income protection, disability and life cover if you have financial dependants.
Contact Razak Khan on 034 393 2926 or 083 516 5883 for expert financial advice.
