Chapter 1

Get Fit: Why Bother?

Stop for a moment and think about how you feel today. Whatever your age, do you have any aches or pains, chronic illnesses, or limitations? Do you move around a lot? Do you exercise? Or are you rather sedentary? Are you overweight or underweight? Do you ever worry about your future health or that of a loved one?

Financially, do you worry about how you’ll pay off today’s bills and fund tomorrow’s expenses? Do you have an aging family member or loved one who struggles to pay or worries about paying, for his or her care now or in the near future? Do you worry that you’ll find yourself in the same situation? Worse yet, has that loved one been forced into poverty in order to qualify for Medicaid to pay for nursing-home expenses? For many of us, these questions don’t have simple answers. Yet we all need to ask and answer them honestly. This book is, after all, about helping you and your loved ones get on track financially and physically to improve your lives now and for the future. So even if your situation is less than optimal, take heart. If you’re concerned about your future finances or tomorrow’s health, you’re far from alone. The good news is that you can start to build fitness – whether physical of financial – right now. It’s never too late to reverse the tide of neglect, and however immune to what may happen in the future, if you don’t take steps today to make a difference in your life and that of your loved ones.

If you’re still not convinced that you should act to make changes today, let’s look more closely at what’s really happening with the health and future finances of most Americans.

Sobering Statistics

Chances are we all have a few aches and pains, physically and financially, because, unfortunately, most Americans are neither physically nor financially fit. In fact, the United States is in a health and financial crisis, with the result that most Americans are ill-prepared for the future.

Compounding the problem, the first of the nation’s 76 million baby boomers are heading into retirement and looking to an already severely stressed Medicare and Social Security system for help. Every day more than 6,000 Americans celebrate their 65th birthday (Alliance for Aging Research, Independence for Older Americans). By 2030, almost one out of every five Americans – approximately 72 million people – will be age 65 and older (U.S. Census Bureau, 65+ in the United States: 2005).

Let’s look at a few more dollars and cents of aging: A big chunk of Americans worry they’ll barely make it financially in retirement, or are afraid they’ll simply outlive their money. Almost one in four (24 percent) baby boomers – those born 1946 to 1964 – say they expect to have just enough money in retirement for basic living expenses.