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Not exercising is costing you $10,000 every year!

Not exercising is costing you $10,000 every year!

We all know we should be getting in better shape—but wouldn’t it feel a whole lot easier if you also knew it could save you serious money? I’m a sucker for saving cash, and today, I’m going to show you how prioritizing your health not only improves your life in obvious ways (like living longer and better) but can also put an extra $1,000 in your pocket every single month!

Let me walk you through how I came up with these numbers and add yet another compelling reason to make exercise a priority. But before diving into the dollar amounts, let’s quickly establish the connection between regular exercise and improved health outcomes across the board.

Exercise: The Foundation of a Healthier Life

Decades of research leave no doubt: exercise is essential for living a long, healthy life.". For anyone skeptical, here are just a few compelling stats:

  1. Cardio fitness is longevity: Moving from the bottom to the top of VO₂ max decreases your risk of dying from any cause by 50%-70%. [source]
  2. Reduced mortality risk: Regular physical activity reduces the risk of all-cause mortality by 26%-31% and cardiovascular disease by 28%-38%. [source]
  3. Exceeding the minimum pays off: Exercising 2-4 times the recommended amount of vigorous activity (150-299 minutes per week) is associated with a 21%-23% lower risk of death from all causes.  [source]

Convinced? Great! Now let’s see how your gym session or morning run is not only keeping you alive longer but also padding your wallet.

The Financial Upside of Fitness

1. Healthcare Costs

Staying active slashes your risk of major illnesses—heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. Over time, those savings add up!

This study from JAHA shows that optimal physical activity decreased the medium per capita health care cost by $1,224.  For our running total let’s consider moving from the poor to optimal category which results in $4,307.35 annually – Since most people have health care let’s assume we are responsible for 20% of this and optimal physical activity saves us $860 per year or $65,618 over the average lifespan. 

2. Productivity Loss

Physical inactivity affects more than your health—it impacts your ability to perform at work and in life. Regular exercise sharpens the mind, boosts energy, and helps you handle stress more effectively. This all means more earning potential!  

The WHO estimates insufficient physical activity causes a $67.5 billion loss in productivity annually. But that figure primarily accounts for missed work days due to illness which is only a tiny fragment of this impact  [source] [source]. 

The bigger benefit is that being fit allows you to operate at 100% of your mental and physical potential. Firsthand,  I have seen how firing on all cylinders has led to faster promotions, more bonuses, and added energy to work on side hustles and diversify my income.

This one is hard to measure but let’s assume that someone who stays fit earns just 15% more over their lifetime—a conservative estimate. Based on average U.S. lifetime earnings of $2.3 million, that’s an additional $345,000, or $7,666 per working year. 

3. Reduced Lifespan

We must also consider the financial impact of premature death. The National Institutes of Health estimates that physical inactivity shortens life expectancy by 4.5 years.

While I couldn't start to put a price on lost years of life, I can calculate the economic loss. Using the same $2.3 million lifetime earnings figure this equates to a loss of $246,429—or about $5,867 per year in lost earnings.

4. Insurance Premiums

Inactive individuals often face higher health insurance premiums due to increased risk factors. This depends on insurance and many other factors, but to simplify will say from 45 to 75 unhealthy people pay 1.5 times the insurance premium of healthy individuals.

Using average premium of $8400 [source] this results in $126,000 of extra paid insurance premiums.  

Adding It All Up

  1. Added healthcare costs: $65,618
  2. Productivity loss: $345,000
  3. Reduced lifespan earnings: $246,429
  4. Insurance premiums: $126,000

Grand Total: $783,000 over a lifetime—or roughly $10,000 per year.

The Bigger Picture

While saving $10,000 a year is a compelling incentive, the real reward of exercise is its impact on your quality of life. No amount of money can buy the ability to move freely, feel strong, and enjoy good health. Exercise is one of the great equalizers—something we can’t outsource, no matter how wealthy we are.

Often, it takes a health scare or tragedy to remind us just how precious our health is. Don’t wait for that wake-up call. Make your health a pillar of your life today. Not only will it pay dividends in your wallet, but it will also unlock a richer, fuller life—because when you’re fit, everything else gets better, too.

Want to Go Further?

Follow along for the best ways to optimize your health. From exercise to supplements I have tried it all. Sign up to for new articles and I also have some articles that may be interesting ⬇️

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