You know that saying many speakers use when they’re telling you about their success?

That phrase you’ve heard plenty of times but not realized what they are doing in psychological terms…aka Speaker Speak?

It’s the phrase, “But it wasn’t always this way.”

They use this phrase because they want you to know that YOU TOO can become ___________ (happy, wealthy, fit, successful), whatever it is that they are preaching and teaching. And we love that they figured it out because it gives us hope that WE can and will figure it out, too.

Well, I’m 53 and for the first time in my life, I’m not healthy.

Medicine Takes Money

BUT IT WASN’T ALWAYS THIS WAY!

But wait, isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Aren’t I suppose to tell you how great I am now and how terrible I was at something before? Well, we’re going to go about things a little bass-ackwards today (one of mom’s favorite sayings again – thanks mom).

People generally don’t plan to be sick later in life

When we’re young and full of energy, we tend to think we are invincible, have the cat by its tail and nothing will ever bring us down. OTHER people get sick. OTHER people have accidents. OTHER people get cancer (don’t worry, I’m not THAT sick).

Not so. Some times those other people turn out to be YOU, even if you do everything you know to make sure you stay healthy.

The challenge, financially, is that if we aren’t planning for unexpected medical bills and challenges, we’re in a hurt of trouble well past being in the hurt we’re experiencing physically.

My personal journey as case in point

All my life, I have eaten not just well, but extremely well. I grew up on a farm and lived on home grown veggies, butter (yes, butter is good for you), fresh fruit, home-made breads, etc. Back then, the meats we ate didn’t have the hormones and other chemicals in them so we rarely got sick other than an occasional cold (and I seem to remember a few ear aches).

Then, when I was a teenager, I was a vegetarian for quite a while and nothing white (white flour, white sugar) crossed my lips. I ate tons of veggies, whole grains, beans, rice and even though I probably needed some good old fashioned meat, I still rarely got sick. I was strong, healthy and had more energy than anyone I knew.

When I went off to college, I ended up studying fitness and nutrition which ended up being my first love (probably still is) for decades. The only thing I didn’t do correctly was eat enough fat because back when I was learning all this nutrition stuff, fat was our enemy. Not so anymore…we now know how important good fats are and the truth is, sugar is our big enemy.

The point I want to make here is that I did everything I thought I could do to stay healthy so I could live into my older years with plenty of energy and the strength to do whatever it is I wanted with my life.

The best laid plans

A few years ago, I started going into that menopause thing that all of us older women go through, whether we want to or not. Without going into all of the details, I ended up using a very toxic hormone protocol (and yes, you can email me for the information) that has made me very sick.

What I’m doing now is spending a ton of money on experts to help me get well. My belief is that the body can heal itself if you provide it with the right tools and I have to say, those tools are costing me a fortune. Expert endocrinologist, vitamins, hormones (to fix the other hormone situation), herbalist, herbs, massage, hyperberic oxygen treatments and a whole lot more.

Never in my life did I imagine that 1) I would be so sick and 2) I’d need this much money to pay for this medical journey I’m on. The blessing is that I do have money put away to pay for these expenses and every day that I have to outlay more money for something else, I say a prayer that I don’t have to put these expenses on a credit card or worse, I don’t have any way of paying for the medical bills.

The study about women, money and early death

I read recently that women without money die sooner than women with money. The reason for this is simple…women with money use that money to pay for quality health care.

So here’s your action questions:

1) Do you have money put away earmarked for Medical Expenses? If yes, great. If no, START TODAY! And I seriously suggest you put it in a separate account named Medical Expense. If you’re doing The Money Jars, simply add one more jar to your Magically Money Management System.

2) Are you a women anywhere near menopause? If yes, please know this…menopause is a phase of life that you don’t go through, you go into and stay there.

It is the permanent loss of our sex hormone system and since all hormone systems depend on each other, it’s critical that you learn as early as possible, how to balance (not just replace) those hormones.

I am learning heaps about the endocrine system and how it affects all of the other systems and it’s as fascinating as financial education for kids. For those of you who are interested, I’m happy to share what I’m going through on a different blog:-).

3) Since #1 is so important, I’m simply going to implore you to plan ahead so that you have the money you may need to pay for your own health restoration. I promise you, from the bottom of where I can make promises, you will be super glad you did.

Here’s to your best health!

Miss E