We spend so much time and effort planning our financials for retirement, but what about planning for our health?

Interesting question. When we are young we begin by exchanging our time for money, but as we get older we start exchanging money for time (whether it be for health, family, or hobbies etc).

But wealth is nothing without health. And you're right - it's something important to consider as well.

Personally, as a financial adviser under AIA, I subscribe to the AIA Vitality programme, which is a programme tailored to keep yourself accountable in your health and wellness by giving you points for checkups, exercises, and even purchasing of healthy food.

With that, I also joined a gym and I'm someone who has to make it worth my money so I go a minimum of 3 times a week (to get points under vitality with a side effect of keeping fit).

Having a hobby of sports or CrossFit would also encourage and promote your physical well-being as well. I do tennis quite frequently, and its great fun while meeting new people as well.

For the mental side of things, I read articles on current affairs, upgrade my knowledge on investment concepts, and regularly discuss with my colleagues on such issues. Occasionally I do some mahjong as well 😂

But there's one more aspect of our lives that's extremely important for our well-being, and that's social life. Whether in 5, 10, 15 years or even after retirement, you need friends or at least people to meet/hang out with. Without doing any such activities, the risk of dementia is extremely high, and God forbid I be a burden to my family when I'd rather take care of my future grandchildren.

There's no long-term plan, but our actions today will affect our results for tomorrow (wherever the future takes us). As a close friend of mine always says, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". So just do something. Anything is better than doing nothing.

Cheers 🙂

Well, definitely having wealth is nothing without health. Although my work schedule is hectic, I do make it a point to have pockets of time to unplug and destress. Although I don't have a 5/10/20/30 year plan exactly, here are some of the things I do.

• Read. I read a lot (well, considering my spare time). I make it a point to read a few pages of a book before I turn in. It can be any topic. It could be fiction, non-fiction, self-help, inspiration, etc. Currently reading a book on retirement planning as I bought it some time back and really need to gain ideas to apply them to my work. I find it really keeps my mind sharp
• I walk where I can. I don't drive. Walking where possible is better than zooming around by grab/uber unless the weather/logistics/time comes into play. Combined with reading, I have actually taken a train to the airport before with luggage just so that I could spend an hour reading quietly without interruptions
• I try to be more aware of my food intake these days. No sugar in tea, 25% sugar on bubble tea (I tried 0% and couldn't stomach it), lesser rice, etc. At the very least, that's a change from my diet 10 years ago
• I learn to laugh at myself. It's one of the ways of letting loose. A departure from the constant pressures of work and stresses of life. Training yourself to see things in a positive light helps as well
• I rest where I can. On days that I do not have a hectic schedule, I try to allow myself a little more shut-eye.

You have posted a rather thought-provoking question, and it's going to make me go back and re-look at my health as well (in a good way). I'll add on where I can later through edits. Time for some deep thinking...