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DECEMBER 2023/JANUARY 2024 | maconmagazine.com 87 A f i n a n c i a l a d v i s o r w e i g h s i n : I N V E S T I N G I N YO U R H E A LT H PAYS O F F BY SIERRA STARK STEVENS J.D. Miller's take: Not only can you use your fitness dollars wisely to increase your health, but you can also leverage your good health to make more dollars in the first place. Your year-end bonus is heightened joy, new friendships, greater energy, and peace of mind. Spend proactively on wellbeing. During discovery sessions with new clients, Miller asks new clients to "show me in their calendar or checkbook where they are proactively spending money on their wellbeing. Whether that is fitness, healthy food, or other good choices, I work with them to find room in their budget." "You either spend money on food now or spend it on prescriptions later; spend it on a trainer now or spend it later on physical therapy," he continued. For example, he cited peer-reviewed studies comparing hospitalization, rehab, and in-home care costs after a broken hip versus prevention costs like bone health-supporting nutrition and training to build musculoskeletal strength and mobility. Physical wellness supports financial wellness. Miller shared about a client in her late 50s who began seeing a personal trainer. When she started her fitness journey, she was overwhelmed by the challenges and disappointments, logistics and shipping, interest rates, and feeling like she couldn't find good help. About a year into her new lifestyle, she had lost weight and changed her energy, outlook, and expectancy. She called it the law of attraction. She was attracting the help and opportunities she had been seeking, and her business was more vital than ever. S p e n d n o w o n p r e v e n t i o n — o r s p e n d l a t e r o n t r e a t m e n t . Miller recalls her saying, "I'm 60 years old, and I'm at the pinnacle of my career. One of my only regrets is that I wish I could have been this way for the last 20 years." Gaining more energy and building more confidence can attract more opportunities your way and better allow you to take advantage of them, Miller opined. Small, free changes have a huge impact. For many people, he said, the barrier to investing in fitness isn't the cost, it's the time. "You have to say no to something to be able to say yes to something else," he said. One strategy is to substitute unhealthy, costly habits with healthy, free ones, like switching from a cigarette break to a short walk or from sitting on the couch watching your cable subscription to listening to free audiobooks through with your library membership while being active around the house or in the yard. Miller favors instructor-led group fitness, stressing the drawbacks of home workouts. He highlights the accountability aspect, sharing how, if a student doesn't show up to one of his classes, he'll jokingly send them a concerned text: "we're worried sick about you." Interactive classes achieve superior results, Miller said. "You will get better results from interactive feedback and guidance. You can do yoga at home, but to come into the studio environment, you'll be surrounded by people whose skill rubs off on you." Miller insisted that he couldn't have achieved certain poses, skills, and movements without hands-on instruction from his teachers. And those classes were a good investment, both financially and socially. He gained a marketable skill – he's now a teacher in his own right – and built connections with mentors that he's valued and maintained for over a decade. "You can run a 5K on your own, but when you go to a structured 5K with fans, volunteers, and other runners, it's just different." If your gym offers instructor-led group fitness, that can be a great way to build in accountability, get feedback, and enjoy the enthusiasm and camaraderie of sharing a group goal. A fitness outlook in your finances is crucial. Looking after your well- being, caring for your spirit, expanding your social circle, boosting your energy, meeting your body's needs, and discovering your body's potential beyond unhelpful routines – Miller believes that investing in your fitness can lead to all these positive outcomes. To him, your health is the most vital asset in your life's portfolio. J.D. Miller is a financial advisor, fitness instructor, marathoner, and assisted stretch therapy practitioner. He takes a holistic approach to financial advising. Find him at Northwestern Mutual. An instructor-led restorative flow at Sparks Yoga. Photo by Jessica Whitley.