Health Archives - Women’s Money

25Mar 2022 by Elizabeth 1 Comment

Levels Health Review and 20 Things I Learned by Wearing a CGM

Health

I was certain the Levels App was either broken or rigged. I mean, I knew I was eating healthy. I was eating healthy, right? There’s no way my glucose could be so bad. But it was that bad (except for one time it was great, more on that later). The Backstory on My Addiction to Sugar I have a lot of family members who either have diabetes or are prediabetic (even the ones who run a lot and are super skinny). Several of my grandparents were diabetic. I have always struggled with my blood sugar. Even into my mid-30s when I really started focusing on my fitness, I would still treat myself to a mocha once a week. I didn’t do this due to concerns about my health. I did…

01Mar 2022 by Elizabeth No Comments

How to Use Your HSA as an Emergency Fund

Health

If you have access to an HSA, you probably have already heard that it’s a great tax-advantaged retirement pool. But how? The Benefits of an HSA There are three main benefits of using a health savings account. Each of these benefits share one common theme: there are tax advantages. 1. Your Contributions Are Not Taxed When you contribute to an HSA through your employer, this comes out before taxes (like your medical insurance or 401k contributions). 2. HSA Earnings and Interest Are Not Taxed. Ever. Whether you keep your health savings account funds in low interest funds or high growth funds, you will have some earnings. But all of these earnings are and continue to grow tax-free. 3. Distributions From Your HSA Are Tax-Free As long as your health savings…

27Jan 2022 by Elizabeth 2 Comments

11 Easiest and Most Surprising Habits to Improve Your Health

Health

We all know we should exercise more, eat less sugar, and brush our teeth daily. But what are the most surprising habits to improve your health? What do scientific studies actually say? We’ve found the easiest and most surprising habits to improve your health. Simple Ways to Improve Your Health Here are the simplest ways to improve your health, including links to research that backs them up. 1. Wake Up At the Same Time Every Day Waking up at the same time every day helps improve your circadian rhythm. Plus, according to the experts, having a good circadian rhythm means that you will be less stressed and more productive. 2. Get Early Morning Sunlight Getting sunlight first thing in the morning, even for just a few minutes, is proven to…

12Jan 2022 by Elizabeth No Comments

14 Best Questions About Health and Money

Health

Having written about the best questions about money and happiness and the best questions about health and happiness, it’s time to complete the trifecta by tackling the best questions about health and money. Here are the questions you need to be asking yourself about health and money. What to Ask Yourself About Health and Money When you are considering the relationship between your health and money, consider the following: Think of the time when you felt physically at your best in the last week. What were you doing? How much did it cost you to do that activity?Think of a time when you felt mentally at your best in the last week. What were you doing? How much did it cost to do that activity?Think of the most nutritious meal…

09Jan 2022 by Elizabeth No Comments

15 Best Questions About Health and Happiness

Health

Spending time reflecting on what will make you happy is a key step to becoming happier, and one way our happiness improves is related to our health. Think about how your health affects your happiness. Also, consider how you can use your health as a tool to improve the overall happiness in your life with these key questions. The Best Questions About Health and Happiness As you answer these questions, don’t initially consider your health as part of the answer. Then, go back through the questions and consider how changes to your physical or mental health will make these things easier, different, or more enjoyable. When were you the happiest or filled with the most joy in the last week?At what point were you the happiest or filled with the…

05Jan 2022 by Elizabeth No Comments

Women’s Money 2022 New Focus: Health and Wealth

Health

Welcome to Women’s Money 2022! I’m thrilled to announce a new focus for this year – the intersection of health, happiness and money. In the past, we have dabbled in this with posts about: 11 Best Free Health and Fitness AppsCost of a Sleep Study and 12 Other Must-KnowsA Review of the January.ai Continuous Glucose Monitor SystemMy Personal Peloton Alternative: Cheap Peloton Setup5 Ways Exercise Will Help You Grow Rich12 Best Questions About Money and Happiness Now, going forward, we are going to be exclusively focused on this niche. Why? Because I believe four fundamental things: Money, by itself, is not the key to happiness.Health, by itself, is not the key to happiness.Having an understanding of, control over, and continuous improvement in these health and money is key to happiness.The…

20Oct 2021 by Elizabeth No Comments

What Every Woman Needs to Know About Safety Nets

Health

What will catch you when you fall? This is the most important question to ask yourself this week. I hope that you are doing enough with your life that you will stumble and fall down. Life isn’t easy, and if it is for too long, you aren’t trying hard enough. Failure happens. And failure helps launch us to future growth. But what happens when you fall and there is no one or nothing to catch you? It’s a lot harder to get back up. So, in the spirit of doing more hard things, we must ensure we have the right safety nets in place. Why are Safety Nets Important? First, why are safety nets so important? As we’ve already established, you can try to fly higher when you have a…

11Aug 2021 by Elizabeth No Comments

6 Surprising Benefits of Having a Hobby

Health

When I was a law school student, I attended a speech by our state’s Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a woman who was in her late 40’s or early 50’s at the time. Besides being Chief Justice, she was also a mom. At the time, I thought I was an exceptionally busy person. I was a full-time student and ran a business part-time. But I still had ample time for myself each day, whether it was watching TV, renovating our 1920’s house, planting a tomato garden, or brewing homebrewed beer. So during this event I was shocked when the Chief Justice gave us some advice: Always make sure you carve out at least an hour each week for a hobby. At the time, I was shocked. An hour a…

02Jun 2021 by Elizabeth No Comments

Cost of a Sleep Study Plus 12 Other Must-Knows

Health

It’s 5 a.m. when they knock. The door opens, flooding your room with fluorescent light. You can’t really move because you are tangled up in cords, so you just wait for the test administrator to come over and start removing electrodes from you (25 in all) one by one. No, this isn’t the scene from a horror film, but it is the end of a sleep study. I’ll start from the beginning. Due to a variety of symptoms (you can check out a list of sleep apnea symptoms here), my doctor referred me for a sleep study. I had heard about sleep apnea before. However, I didn’t think much of it until I read the startling statistics about how much it can decrease your life expectancy, cause all sorts of…

26May 2021 by Elizabeth No Comments

11 Best Free Health and Fitness Apps

Health

Getting healthy doesn’t mean you need to spend thousands of dollars on gyms, Peloton bikes, OrangeTheory memberships, glucose monitors focused on metabolic conditioning, or expensive nutrition programs. Here is a list of free health and fitness apps to improve your well-being. Free Meditation Apps Meditation is a great way to improve your health without working up a sweat. It brings mental clarity and an increased ability to focus. 1. Headspace I have used the Headspace app for nearly two years. The difference between Headspace and some of the other meditation apps I’ve tried is that it has structured programs that vary in length and topic. I love it for myself but also for the amazing meditations for kids. There is a free 30-day trial, so you can figure out if…