Have you packed on a few extra pounds? Could financial stress be the cause of your extra body fat? Science has actually discovered that worrying about your finances could add to the pounds. Stress equals Fat.

At Financial Planner LA, we want to help you live a healthier, happier, and wealthier life. Keep reading as we answer the question of whether your financial stress is the cause of those extra inches on your waist.

Happy 2024!

So you’ve hired a personal trainer, improved your diet, hit up Barry’s Boot Camp and still don’t look like a member of the U.S. Gymnastics Team.  Are you stressed about money? Financial stress may be the cause of that pesky fat.

Will Financial Stress Make You Fat?

A May 2012 study from Aviva USA and the Mayo Clinic suggests that financial stress may cause men to gain weight.  I’m pretty sure this isn’t the only thing causing the extra inches on your waistline. But anything that may be hiding the results of all those countless sit-ups you’ve been doing is worth taking a look at, right?  Will reducing your financial stress help reduce your body fat?

“Men who are extremely stressed are five times more likely to experience significant weight gain compared to unstressed men. The greatest reported stressor is financial concerns,” according to Philip Hagen, MD, the medical director of Mayo Clinic Embody Health and the vice chair of the Mayo Clinic’s Division of Preventative and Occupational Medicine.  The study questioned 2,000 U.S. men and women on their health habits and financial preparedness.

The study went on to say that half of men don’t discuss their finances with others. And only one in five is working with a (Los Angeles) financial adviser. I know working with me helps my clients alleviate some of the financial stress from their lives.  If I can help you look fabulous in the new swimsuit you just bought (on sale), all the better.

A Real-Life Example Of Finacial Stress Making You Fatter

This survey reminds me of a longtime investor who was stressed and frazzled by spending several hours a day following the stock market’s ebb and flow. He’d accumulated hundreds of pages of financial information, research as he called it. If nothing else, his hiring a fiduciary financial planner took this “research” off his plate so he could go back to running his business.

To say he is more relaxed when discussing his finances is an understatement. He still keeps a stack of financial paperwork, but now it’s a stack of unopened envelopes. The stack contains all the mail he’s received about his various investment and retirement accounts, but he works with his adviser on all the details related to his financial plan. Working with a fiduciary adviser on a financial plan has eliminated two to three hours a day of financial stressing; whether he uses that time to go to the gym is his choice.

To help you make a well-informed decision, there appear to be four areas in which a financial planner could directly add value beyond six-pack abs.

First, a good financial adviser could help you stick with your savings plan.

Second, a financial adviser may help you create a portfolio that is suited to your specific long-term goals.

Thirdly, the financial adviser’s guidance should help reduce the time, energy and worry that goes into managing your own investments.

Fourth: And last but certainly not least, he or she should coach you out of making great behavioral mistakes such as throwing too much money at an investment fad near its top or panicking completely out of your investments near a bottom. These two mistakes may cause investors to not merely underperform the stock markets but even to underperform their own investments.

All of these benefits of working with a trusted fiduciary financial planner combined should help reduce your overall financial stress. If the Mayo Clinic’s assertion is right, getting your financial house in order may actually help you lose weight.  Reducing Stress may help you reduce Fat!

What to do now-

Whether you are about to retire or just entering the workforce, the best advice I can give you now is to get your head out of the sand, pay yourself first, and start accumulating wealth now. Just getting a financial plan won’t do as much to make you skinny as a proper diet and exercise. But every little bit helps.

Until Next time, and as always, remember, Gay Money Matters.

DAVID RAE, CFP®, is a West Hollywood retirement income specialist with DRM Wealth Management. Helping the friends of the LGBT Community make smart financial decisions for over a decade. For more information about reaching your financial goals visit www.davidraefp.com  

Fiscally Fit: Barry’s Bootcamp Way