Health Viewpoints
‘Tis the season to spend a lot of money—or so endless advertising would suggest.
Holiday overspending can take a toll on our fiscal well-being and that can hurt our actual health. That’s especially true for millions of Americans holding record-high credit card debt.
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Americans are spending more than they earn and borrowing at high interest rates to cover the gap.
A recent poll found 60 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, an increase of two points from last year. For younger Americans, that number rises to 73 percent.
And as you would likely expect, debt is a leading cause of stress for Americans. It is also something most people are too ashamed to talk about, which can make it even more difficult to deal with.
Stress isn’t just psychological pressure. It is a neurological and hormonal shift in your body’s most intrinsic systems. It changes your digestion, your brain function, your decision-making, and more.
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Stress undermines our daily health habits. Stress can cause us to exercise less, absorb fewer nutrients from our food, eat poorly, and gain weight.
Stress even ages the immune system.
So if you are about to enter the holiday season with more debt than you want, give yourself permission not to overspend. That may be easier said than done, but the typical expert advice is to set a budget and let that define how you gift. And if you feel compelled to overspend, then you have an excellent opportunity to look inside and see what drives your spending.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.
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