Why Wealthier Rhymes With Healthier

A Foolish guide to ensuring you -- and your bank balance -- stay healthy in 2008.

If your office is anything like The Fool's, a cacophony of coughing and sneezing is the typical soundtrack to your day (she writes, coughing). After all, it's winter, it's cold and sometimes it feels like everyone in the entire country is ill. No wonder that, at this time of year, thousands of us make a New Year's Resolution to `do more exercise' in the vague hope that this will bring health and vitality into our lives. The trouble is, if you're anything like me, you probably make that resolution every week of the year anyway, without much success. It doesn't seem fair. Instead of quitting smoking, going to a gym, eating healthily, taking vitamins etc, why can't our health benefit equally from just lying in a bath all day long and, say, eating Flakes? Save Yourself - And Your Money! If this is your secret fantasy too, then like me, you probably need a bit more of a kick up the backside than others when it comes to changing your unhealthy ways and behaviour. So here's a fresh approach. Forget attaining a healthy body for a second, and focus your efforts on achieving healthy bank balance. In my view, it's no coincidence that healthier rhymes with wealthier. Of course, we all know about the physical rewards of being healthy, like living longer and being fit and feeling absolutely fantastic, but have you ever considered the financial rewards too? Quitting smoking, for example, will not only cut down your outgoings, it can also have a significant holistic impact on your entire finances. For example, life insurance should be cheaper if you quit, as non-smokers usually pay lower premiums. Furthermore, if you put the money you save by not buying cigarettes towards overpaying your mortgage, you could cut your term significantly: How many? Cost per month Mortgage Amount Interest saved Years saved 10 a day £84 £100,000 £ 22,462.50 5 years and 6 months 20 a day £170.5 £100,000 £ 35,711.62 9 years Example based on 25-year repayment mortgage at 5.75% Similarly, buying fresh fruit and veg and cooking healthy meals from scratch should save you money. The same goes for snacks: a banana, for example, costs around 20p - I reckon you'd have to travel back to the 1990s to find a vending machine offering a Flake at that price. Money Motivation OK, OK so it's clearly cheaper to eat healthily and quit smoking. But what about exercise? Isn't joining a gym quite expensive? Overall, I'd have to say: yes. But the good news is, January is one of the best times to do it, as many gyms are offering special discounts on their usual fees. For example: Fitness First is offering membership deals from less than £5 a week Virgin Active has cut its one-off membership fee by 75% to just £25 Some David Lloyd clubs have also cut their membership fees by 50% to £50 LA Fitness is currently offering potential members a free one day pass. If you still find joining up pretty steep, remember: you don't need to join a gym to exercise. Many local sports clubs are crying out for new members and joining a team or learning a new skill may just give you the motivation you need to carry on exercising throughout the year. Or if you don't fancy that, check out your cheap and cheerful local leisure centre. It may have much better facilities than the last time you walked through its doors (for swimming lessons, circa 1987) and fewer patrons, too (as they're all at the gym).You can search for your local sports clubs on LocalSportsClubs.co.uk and for local facilities on Get Active. However, if Cinderella must go to the gym, then one of the best options might be to join up with PruHealth, a medical insurance plan from Prudential. With this truly innovative scheme, you sign up for health insurance but - if you consistently go to the gym twice a week - you are rewarded with free or subsidised gym membership at Cannons, LA Fitness or Virgin Active. And that's not all. You also get `vitality' points, which can be used to reduce your monthly insurance premiums, for doing any of the following: Buying fitness-related goods from the sports category on eBay.co.uk Walking a certain amount of steps a day (as measured on a special pedometer) Completing the `Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking' programme Going to a health screening Buying fresh fruit and veg from Sainsbury's Downloading healthy menus from the PruHealth website. What's more, if you don't make a claim on your policy, you could earn a no claims bonus worth up to 100% of the cost of this year's premium. This saving can be put towards the cost of the following year's premiums, as this table shows: Status level Vitality points required (individual membership) Vitality points required (family membership) No claims bonus available towards renewal if don't claim Bronze 0 0 25% Silver 1,000 1,500 50% Gold 1,500 2,250 75% Platinum 2,000 3,000 100% With a bit of luck, drive and determination, you will not only feel better in 2008, you will be better off, too. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy a banana for my bath... > Use our medical insurance service to get a competitive quote on PruHealth and other health insurers.