MBA2662 Why Making Money is Good For Your Health

0:00If you think making money is only about buying the nicer things in life, think again. Because the truth is, making money is good for your health. In fact, not making enough money might be the biggest hidden health risk you are ignoring right now. We don't talk about this enough. How financial stress quietly eats away at your physical, emotional, and mental health. How it damages relationships. How it affects every decision you make. This episode is extremely personal to me because I grew up in a household where money was tight. And as I was growing up, I told myself for a very long time, I got to solve this money issue in my life so that my life is improved in many ways, especially my health.

0:47I've seen firsthand what a lack of financial abundance can do to a person and to a family. So today, let's talk about the real cost of staying broke and why making money is one of the most generous things you can do for yourself and the people you love.

1:10Welcome back to the$100 MBA show. I'm your host, Omar Zinhome, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, to help you start, grow, and scale your business. Let's start with number one. Money stress literally damages your body. Let's start with some facts. A study published by the American Journal of Epidemiology found that people with high financial strain were 20 % more likely to develop chronic health conditions, including heart disease and diabetes. Another report from the APA, the American Psychological Association, consistently shows money is the number one source of stress for Americans year after year.

1:52Chronic stress is linked to high blood pressure, poor sleep, weakened immune function. How do you think cancer develops? Depression, anxiety, digestive issues. That's not just an inconvenience. It's slow cumulative damage. And it's also invisible, right? Until it breaks something in your life. Number two, financial pressure destroys relationships. And let's be honest, money problems break people. They break relationships up. A study that was done by Ramsey Solutions found that money fights are the second leading cause of divorce after infidelity. The crazy thing about that study is that they found that couples will more likely stay together after infidelity than consistent money problems.

2:44That's a blow. When you're financially stressed, you don't argue about money, right? You argue about everything else because of money. You snap at your partner. You say no to your kids more than you want to. You make small decisions feel like life or death calls. Listen, I watch my own parents that I absolutely love argue about money a lot. Not because they were bad people. They were really hardworking people, but because they were scared. They're consciously and consistently anxious. Every dollar was a debate. The margins in their relationship and in their life financially were so razor thin.

3:27And I remember thinking, when I grow up, I want money to be the last thing I fight about. Okay, I don't want to fight at all. But money should not be something we should be fighting about. This thing called money needs to be solved in our life. And again, the primary reason is not so I could be rich is because I want peace. I want peace in my life. Number three, being broke makes healthy choices harder. That is so true. It's the harsh truth. Being broke is actually expensive. It's really hard to stay healthy when you're living paycheck to paycheck. Let's break it down real quick. Here are some things you know are true.

4:05Healthy food costs more. Gym memberships aren't free. And if you need guidance and training, trainers are not free. Taking time off to rest and go on holiday and mentally recharge? Not an option if you don't have money. Therapy? Forget about it. Who's got budget for therapy when you're paycheck to paycheck? Getting eight hours of sleep when you're grinding two jobs? Absolutely unrealistic. You're not lazy. You're exhausted. You're not eating poorly because you don't care and you don't know that this food is unhealthy. It's because junk food is cheap. It's fast. It fills the gap. It fills the need when you need it.

4:39making money gives you options. It gives you the room to take care of yourself. For example, one of the first things I started to do when I started to reach a certain level of income and wealth is I started to order prepared, healthy meals. Meals that athletes get sent to themselves to make sure their macros are right and they get the right protein and everything's super clean. That's all I eat at home is prepared, delicious, organic, fresh meals. Yes, it's more expensive than me getting fast food or takeaway. It's a lot more expensive than me going to the grocery store and cooking for myself.

5:17But I get the best quality and I save time and I get everything I need to be healthy because I am basically throwing money at the problem because money is available. And when money is not available, you can't make these choices. It's just the truth. Let me say that again. Wealth buys you wellness. And that's the truth. I don't know anybody who is healthy and poor. Seriously, look back at your friends. Look at your family. Who is in top shape and is really struggling financially? If it exists, it's a blip. It's a temporary period. But most people that can afford the time, the energy, the guidance, the resources to be healthy are wealthy.

6:02So in order for you to have a foundational level of health where you're eating right, you're exercising, you have time to rest, you have time to go for walks, you need to have a standard of wealth. It's not about luxury. It's about meeting the standard if we are going to prioritize our health. Number four, being poor makes you more likely to make bad decisions. Who here, as soon as I said that, were like, woof, I know exactly what you're talking about. I can think of two, three, four, five different bad decisions I've made in my life because I was under financial pressure, right? It's the truth.

6:37This isn't about intelligence. It's about mental bandwidth. Listen to the study that was done by Princeton University. Being in poverty can reduce cognitive function by the equivalent of 13 IQ points. That's the same thing as pulling an all-nighter and being exhausted and you can't think clearly and you've got to make tough decisions. Why? Why? Because when your brain is constantly occupied with how you're going to pay the bills, it can't think long term. You skip better opportunities because they don't pay immediately, right? They don't pay, you know, this week or next week. You stay in a toxic work environment because you're scared of what's out there out of fear that you're going to miss that next paycheck that you desperately need.

7:20You take on debt just to survive. How many of us have been there with credit card and loans. You're stuck in this like reactionary mode, not creation mode. That's not weakness. It's the trap of not having enough money. I know it because I was in it. I lived it for a very long time until I got serious about my career as an entrepreneur. I started investing in myself. I started working harder and longer and smarter on what I'm building so that way I I can be able to make some inroads and start making some leaps in my revenue. I'm not saying this is easy, but what I found is if you don't make being wealthy a priority, then you will never be wealthy.

8:05That's just the truth, okay? A lot of people say to me, hey, Omar, I want to be wealthy. I want to have financial freedom. I want to not worry about money anymore. I want to solve this problem, but this, but that, but that. Then I say to them, those things are true. Those buts you gave me, 100 % true. But if you are choosing those buts over your priority, your goal to be financially free, then it's not a priority. Priority means you choose it before anything else. And the thing I have found, and this is why I decided to make it a priority, is because once I made it a priority and I really worked on it and started to achieve levels of financial freedom more and more as I grew, I started to realize all those buts got solved.

8:51Isn't that interesting? Money solves a lot of problems. You know this. And the reason why I'm sharing with you bluntly is that all those excuses you're making, I don't have time, my family, my health, I don't have the motivation, all these excuses you're having, whatever they might be, all of a sudden they go away when you're successful, when you start making leaps and bounds of financial freedom. Number five, you can't recharge if you can't afford to stop. When was the last time you took a real break, a real holiday? I'm not talking about a weekend where you checked your emails every hour or every day even.

9:28I'm talking about a total reset, a slow down trip, a breath, right? Taking a breath, time to reconnect with yourself, time to realize that, hey, life is to be lived. Most people can't afford that. Vacations aren't just about indulgence. It's about recovery. It's about understanding that business is a lot like a high impact physical sport like rugby or American football, right? In American football, they only play a game once a week because it's so high impact, right? They have to recharge and train and rehab so that they can make it next week. Business is much like that. You're going to go through a series of really hard sprints, right?

10:08But because you're working so intensely on whatever you're building, you need intense rest as well. But if money's tight, guilt sets in. How can you justify spending when you barely have enough, right? So what happens is we buy with money we don't have, with credit cards and things like that. And here's the irony. The harder you work, the more you need a break, right? But the less money you have, the less able you are to take it. That's a brutal cycle. A brutal one. Making money gives you the margin to rest, to recover, and come back sharper, better than ever. Number six is really just me sharing what I learned watching my own parents.

10:50My parents worked incredibly hard. They were immigrants from Egypt, moved to the U.S., and they knew nobody. They had to build their own community. They had to learn a new language they my mom had to do her degree all over again in the u.s because the employers in the u.s didn't recognize her degree from egypt right they're like well we don't know what this university is so you got to do your university degree all over again they had to do menial jobs until they got to that level where they can get a decent job so my mom was an elevator operator for a long time you know she was doing housekeeping in in hotels this is the struggle my parents went through and they were honest and they gave us love and they gave us everything they could.

11:30But life was hard. Bills were late. My mom stretched every dollar that she could at the grocery store. We never had any name brand items in the house. You know, like we never had like an actual name brand cereal or right. If we ever had cereal in the first place, right? We never had name brand bread or peanut butter. It was always the no frills brand, the store brand, because she's trying to make sure that we had food in the house and that we saved money here and there to make up for other areas. And I remember watching them both age before their time, not because of bad luck, because of the weight of constant financial strain.

12:10I made a decision, like I said early on, never again. I'm breaking the cycle, not just for me, but for them and for everybody around me and my partner in my life and my extended family. I wanted to make sure that they knew that their sacrifice for me and hard work was not for nothing, right? That it paid off because I don't want to be 60 and stressed out. I want to be 60 and free and enjoying myself and having the health to enjoy my life. And I believe you deserve that too. But you don't just get what you deserve. You have to go after it. You got to work for it and you got to earn it. Number seven, Making money isn't greedy.

12:50It's smart. You've been fed a lie, and many of us have, right? That working more is selfish. That wealth is corrupt. That ambition is arrogance. But here's what I believe. Making money is how you protect your peace. Making money is how you serve your family. Making money is how you buy back your time. Making money is how you can afford to be generous. Making money is how you stay healthy mentally and physically. Making money allows you to make an impact at a greater scale. You're not chasing money. You're chasing freedom. You're chasing health. You're chasing better life. You're chasing what money can allow you to do.

13:27That's not greed. That's wisdom. Listen, I've been around a lot of entrepreneurs. I've been around many that were not wealthy when they were grinding and building their business and then became wealthy, very wealthy, because either they built an incredible business that fund that wealthy life, or they actually sold a very valuable business that they built and became instant millionaires and never had to work a day in their life. And the crazy thing I've noticed in all of them is that what money does, it amplifies who they already are. So if they were kind and generous and thoughtful people, they became more of that when they had money.

14:04And if they were selfish and greedy and manipulative, they were more of that when they had money. So if you believe that in your core, you're a good person, you're generous, you're kind, you're helpful, then you're going to be even more of that. You're going to be 10x of that when you have some wealth, when you have the money to fund all those great qualities. Money can't buy you happiness, sure. But let me tell you what it can buy. It could buy you therapy. It could buy you groceries that don't come in a box. It could buy you time with your kids. It can give you a break when you need it. It can give you a soft bed that gives you the best rest you ever had.

14:44Quiet mornings. It can give you peace of mind. That's not luxury. That's health, right? So let's stop apologizing for wanting to make money. Let's stop pretending that staying small and broke is some sort of virtue. No, you're not selfish for wanting more. You're smart. You're protecting your health. And that's something worth fighting for. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode. If you made it this far, you're my kind of person. Okay, you're a doer. You are somebody who wants to invest in themselves and is a learner. And I believe that I'm in like-minded company. So thank you for being here.

15:23If you found today's episode helpful and you want more practical business lessons to help you start, grow, and scale your business, the best thing you could do is subscribe to this podcast. Hit subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast app, the one that you're using right now, whether it's Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. By hitting subscribe, you get our next episode automatically, and it's the best way to support the show. It's absolutely free, and it's a way for you to commit to growing your business. And now that you've subscribed, I'll check you in the next episode.