Small Steps to Health and Wealth™ (SSHW): What You Think About, You Bring About!

Dr. Barbara O’Neill, CFP®Rutgers Cooperative Extensiononeill@aesop.rutgers.eduwww.twitter.com/moneytalk1

Health and Finances Top New Year’s Resolutions

• December 2011 Allianz Life Insurance

Company survey (N =1,000)

• Ranking of areas of life to focus on

– 45% related to diet and exercise

– 43% related to money management2

“The Greatest Wealth is Health” Virgil (BC)

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Signature Program Cooperative Extension's major health finance initiative is Small Steps to Health and Wealth™ (SSHW)

This program is designed: • to motivate consumers • to implement behavior change strategies • that simultaneously improve their health and

personal finances. 4

Why SSHW? Americans Have “Issues”

• Overweight/obesity• Physical inactivity• “Diabesity”• Low savings rates• High household debt/bankruptcy rates• Inadequate emergency reserves

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Personal Introduction• Extension Specialist in Financial Resource

Management at Rutgers University (NJ)• Cooperative Extension employee for 34 years• CFP® for 28 years• Financial educator and author• Co-author of SSHW program

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“Street Cred”: I Lived SSHW and “Walked the Talk”

• BMI of 27 (overweight) to normal weight• Lost > 30 lbs. and 22% if body weight• Fit physical activity into 3-hour R/T commute• Continued wealth accumulation strategies

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SSHW History• Created by Barb O’Neill/Karen Ensle in 2004• Stresses small daily action steps• Includes research-based recommendations• Integrates health and personal finance topics

SSHW Web Sitehttp://njaes.rutgers.edu/sshw/

•Monthly Messages•Monthly Finance Message: Keep Good Records for Health and Finances•Monthly Health Message: Shopping Smart for the New Year

•Challenges•SSHW Online Challenge

– Fall 2010 Daily Motivational Messages– Spring 2010 Daily Motivational Messages– Winter 2010 Daily Motivational Messages

•Printed SSHW Challenge Forms •SSHW Challenge FAQs (22k PDF)

•Online Registration•Register Your Health and Wealth Goals•Share Your Success Stories

•Posters•Are Your Savings Going Up in Smoke? (355k PDF)•Eating Away at Your Future? (374k PDF)•Is Your Lunch Eating Your Lunch? (318k PDF)•Nibbling Away at Your Bottom Line? (276k PDF)

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March 2004 HHS Press Release“Consumers don’t need to go to extremes-- such as joining a gym or taking part in the latest diet plan-- to make improvements in their health. But they do need to get active and eat healthier.”

“America needs to get healthier one small step at a time. Each small step does make a difference, whether it’s taking the stairs instead of an elevator or snacking on fruits and vegetables. The more small steps we can take, the further down the road we will be toward better health for ourselves and our families.”

HHS Department Secretary Tommy G. Thompson

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May 2003 National “Save For Your Future” Campaign Booklet“You may not need a lot of money to accumulate meaningful savings. Thanks to compound interest, small regular savings can add up over time. Because, with compound interest, it’s not just your money that earns interest-- your interest earns interest as well-- creating a snowball effect. The longer you save, the more compound interest works for you.”

This Presentation is About You!

• To improve your health/increase your wealth

• To identify personal health and wealth goals

• To identify small daily action steps

• To be motivated to apply SSHW strategies

• To improve your life 12

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What Does Your Wellness Wheel Look Like?

What are Your Health and Financial Goals?

Health Goals

•?

•?

•?

•?

Financial Goals

•?

•?

•?

•?14

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Similarities Between Health and Personal Finances • Problems develop gradually

• Less stigma due to increasing frequency

• Impacts job productivity, discrimination

• Lots of “jargon”

– Medical terms and directions

– Financial terms and acronyms

More Health-Wealth Similarities

• Lack of limits causes problems

• Restrictions help avoid problems

• Drastic solutions have major drawbacks

• Need for routine check ups

• People want “quick fixes” 16

Longevity Connections• Unhealthy lifestyle habits increase risk of

disease and early death– “0” return on FICA tax contributions

• Research: Healthy people often spend MORE on health care over their lifetimes– More years of medical expenses– Chronic disease in oldest years– Long-term care expenses

17Source: Do the Healthy Have Lower Lifetime Healthcare Costs? Journal of Financial Planning, July 2010, p. 14.

What are Other Ways That Health and Wealth are Connected?• ?

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• ?

• ?

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5. SSHW Web Site Posters

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SSHWSSHW™™ Framework: 25 Health & Wealth Framework: 25 Health & Wealth Behavior Change StrategiesBehavior Change Strategies

• Track Your Current Behavior• Unload Your Childhood Baggage• Put Your Mind To It• Commit to Making a Change• Defy Someone or Defy the Odds• Think Balance-Not Sacrifice• Control Your Destiny• Make Progress Every Day• Get Help and Be Accountable• Meet Yourself Halfway• Say “No” to Supersizing• Convert Consumption Into Labor• Compare Yourself With Benchmarks

• Use Easy Frames of Reference• Automate Good Habits and Create Templates• Live “The Power of 10”• Take Calculated Risks and Conquer Fears• Appreciate Teachable Moments and Wake-Up

Calls• Weigh the Costs and Benefits of Changing• Step Down to Change• Kick It Up a Notch• Control Your Environment• Monitor Your Progress & Reward Success• Expect Obstacles & Prepare For Relapses• Set a Date & Get Started…Just Do It!

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“The Jersey Diner Approach”• Adopt strategies that work for you

• Choose 3 to 4 (max) strategies

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SSHW in Action: The Online SSHW Challenge

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Break Time!

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Track Your Current BehaviorTrack Your Current Behavior (Exercise, Eating, Spending, Saving)(Exercise, Eating, Spending, Saving)

•• Use a pedometer:Use a pedometer:–– Determine current number of stepsDetermine current number of steps-- then build up graduallythen build up gradually

•• Track foods eaten & calories consumed:Track foods eaten & calories consumed:–– Use a Use a ““Calorie CounterCalorie Counter”” book for unlabeled foodsbook for unlabeled foods

•• Track monthly income, expenses, cash flowTrack monthly income, expenses, cash flow– Is your cash flow positive or negative?

– How can you adjust your cash flow?

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Put Your Mind to It• Successful performers “see” achievements before

they happen

• Visualize your health and wealth goal

• Remind yourself of previous successes

• Banish “weasel words” and replace with bold declarations

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Make Progress EverydayMake Progress Everyday

AnyAny small step to improve your small step to improve your health or increase your wealth is health or increase your wealth is better than doing nothing!better than doing nothing!

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SSHW Challenge Data Reports

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Annual Non-Competitive SSHW Challenges

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Defy Someone or Defy The Odds

• Make a bet and win it

• Prove someone wrong

• Stop being a statistic!

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Think Balance-Not Sacrifice• Need to balance intake and outgo

• Weight: Burn more calories than consumed

• Savings: Earn more money than spent

• Changing just one habit can have big impact

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Meet Yourself HalfwayMeet Yourself Halfway•• Health:Health: Decrease portion sizes by 1/3 to 1/2 and/or Decrease portion sizes by 1/3 to 1/2 and/or

increase exercise by 50%increase exercise by 50%

–– Eat half as much as you do nowEat half as much as you do now……graduallygradually

–– Take leftovers from restaurant meals homeTake leftovers from restaurant meals home

•• Finances:Finances: Reduce discretionary spending by 1/3 to Reduce discretionary spending by 1/3 to 1/2 and/or increase income1/2 and/or increase income

–– Spend less than you do nowSpend less than you do now

–– Look for less expensive optionsLook for less expensive options

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Automate Good HabitsAutomate Good Habits•• Health:Health: Routine health screenings, Routine health screenings, ““pointspoints””

programs for weight loss, short programmed programs for weight loss, short programmed workouts (e.g., Curvesworkouts (e.g., Curves®®), portion), portion--controlled foodscontrolled foods

•• Finances:Finances: Dollar-cost averaging investment deposits, employer retirement savings plan deposits, automatic escalation of savings with pay raises, direct deposit

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Convert Consumption (Calories Convert Consumption (Calories and Spending) Into Laborand Spending) Into Labor

•• Health:Health: How many hours of exercise are needed to How many hours of exercise are needed to burn off extra food?burn off extra food?

–– Is eating a certain food Is eating a certain food ““worth the calories?worth the calories?””

•• Finances:Finances: How many hours of work are needed in How many hours of work are needed in order to buy something (use afterorder to buy something (use after--tax dollars)?tax dollars)?

–– Is buying something worth the time worked?Is buying something worth the time worked?

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Step Down to Change

• Don’t cut out something completely

• Find a better alternativeSource: Dr. Alena Johnson, Utah State University

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Compare Yourself With BenchmarksCompare Yourself With Benchmarks•• Health: Health:

–– Body Mass Index (BMI)Body Mass Index (BMI)–– Total cholesterol < 200 mg/dlTotal cholesterol < 200 mg/dl–– 30 minutes of physical activity/day (> usual activity)30 minutes of physical activity/day (> usual activity)

•• Finances:Finances:–– Consumer debtConsumer debt--toto--income ratio < 20%income ratio < 20%–– Age x gross income divided by 10 (net worth Age x gross income divided by 10 (net worth

formula in formula in The Millionaire Next DoorThe Millionaire Next Door))–– Emergency fund of at least 3 months expensesEmergency fund of at least 3 months expenses

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Live “The Power of 10”• Lose 10% of body

weight

• Walk 10,000 steps/day

• Eat 100 calories less per day

• Exercise in 10- minute intervals

• Save $10 a week or month

•Invest 10% of your gross income

• Add $1/day ($10/day?) to credit card payments

•Invest some money in stock (average 10% return)

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Kick It Up a Notch!• Ramp up physical

activity

• Work up to 10,000 steps/day

• Increase fruits & vegetables in diet

• Do more of anything positive!

• Transfer credit card balances to lower rate

• Automatically increase savings at regular intervals

• Add 1/12 of mortgage payment (P & I) monthly

• Do more of anything positive!

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What Will YOU Do to Get Healthy and Wealthy?

Tangible Action Steps: Health• Prepare more meals at home• Tame the tube• Right-size food portions• Choose to move more• Eat more fruits and vegetables • Re-think your drinks

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Tangible Action Steps: Finances

• Set tangible goals and take action• “Find” money to save/invest• Pay yourself first• Practice tax avoidance• Benchmark your progress (e.g., net worth)• Get help when needed

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Major Take-Away: Focus on What You CAN Control CAN’T Control• Speed of economic recovery

• Financial markets

• Labor market/unemployment rate

• Housing market

• Employee benefit cutbacks

• Political environment

CAN Control• Healthy lifestyle

• Spending and saving habits

• Human capital investments

• How you spend your time

For More Health Information

• www.smallstep.gov

• www.eatright.org

• www.healthypeople.gov

• http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

• http://www.letsmove.gov/

• http://www.extension.org/families_food_fitness 42

For More Financial Information• http://njaes.rutgers.edu/money

• www.AmericaSaves.org

• www.cfp-board.org

• www.powerpay.org

• www.mymoney.gov

• www.smartaboutmoney.org

• http://www.extension.org/personal_finance 43

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Comments? Questions? Experiences?

Be healthy, wealthy, and happy!