Health and wealth cannot be achieved without effort

TIME flies and it’s already mid-January of the New Year. Did you make any new year resolutions? Are you still working towards the resolutions that you made? Many believe that New Year resolutions are made to be broken.

However, for me, despite how tough it is, I have decided to ensure that I keep my resolution – to reduce my cholesterol level.

Over the New Year’s Day long weekend, I returned to Singapore. It was then that I reviewed the results of my annual medical check-up. Everything was fine, except for the part on “cholesterol”. Both the “good” and “bad” cholesterol levels have increased, but the “bad” ones are slightly more than the “good” ones. And I lament, why not the reverse?

At the back of my mind, I know that good health does not come without effort. While hereditary make-up plays a part, that factor is beyond our control from the day we are born.

We owe it to ourselves (and to our loved ones) to put in the time and energy to look after our health amidst the stress and demands of modern-day life.

I have been advised that the best cure for cholesterol is, very simply, consistent exercise and a healthier diet. Cholesterol can be a slow and silent killer.

Dieting is within our control. While it is ideal to have more vegetables and fruits, steamed fish and beancurd, it would be good to have other choices to tantalise our palates.

So, the key word here is “moderation”. Instead of a total exclusion of rich food, we have to practise restraint at meal times.

In the past, I might eat a normal portion. Now, I ask for less or a smaller portion, or just share the same portion with family members and friends.

Plus, there is a significant relevance to my job as a consumer banking head to help people realise their financial objective – be it owning a house, saving for rainy days, paying for children’s education or planning for retirement.

One must have good health to enjoy retirement and eventually, see one’s children get married and start a family. Here are three simple points for the New Year:

·Diet is about moderation and balance. Rich food gives us great satisfaction but it also leads to higher cholesterol and other ill-effects. However, excessive calorie-counting may lead to malnutrition. As I had consumed too much rich food, I now have to tilt the scale to include a more healthy palate.

This is akin to investing. If I have too much risk in my portfolio, I will take steps to reduce it. So, why not do the same with my diet? It is not ideal if your investment portfolio carries too much or little risk. High risk means a higher probability of losing money (of course, the opportunity to make a return is also higher). On the other hand, an investment portfolio that carries too little risk may not grow fast enough to meet your investment objectives.

·Heart attacks are a significant cause of death, and life is uncertain. Even having a regular exercise regime and dieting moderately is no guarantee to keeping unforeseen events at bay. We cannot anticipate contingencies, but we can plan and have some protection in place.

Protection is not to prevent the contingency, but to protect our loved ones with sufficient financial support when the unthinkable happens. Just a simple medical report had prompted me to review my insurance coverage. While I am qualified to review it myself, I am too close to my life to be completely objective.

·Retirement needs planning, saving and investing. I advise people to provide enough for their retirement lifestyle. We should be able to enjoy our golden years with all the financial ends properly taken care of. Wealth and health are so intrinsically tied together.

Thus, I am committed to a regular exercise regime to invest in my health, just as I am committed to “paying myself first” to increase my savings propensity and regularly invest towards my retirement fund.

As we reflect over the past year and look ahead in the New Year, do pay some attention to the question of health and wealth.

As a parting shot, please go for a medical checkup and a financial checkup. Balance your diet and exercise, just as you would balance your investment risks.

Have adequate protection coverage as it is never too little until it is too late. My wish is for all readers to have good health and great wealth in 2010. Have fun and be happy.

·Tay Han Chong is senior vice-president and senior head of UOB’s personal financial services division.