Health Tracking Updates
I’m on a quest to improve my health, and I had two fascinating takeaways the past two weeks that I wanted to mention:
ChatGPT Health Advice:
I recently uploaded my Ancestry DNA file and most recent set of 100+ lab tests from Function Health to ChatGPT and asked it to analyze what areas I should be focusing on based on both my genetics and my actual results from these recent lab tests.
[Note: I know there are some privacy concerns with uploading this data, but I felt it was worth the minimal risk.]
ChatGPT pointed out that I was quite low on my Omega-3 index, my vitamin D was low and I likely had a MTHFR variant that was impacting how I process certain vitamins.
This data, along with some information I gleaned from the single best health podcast I’ve ever heard, Tim Ferriss Episode 819 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick (I’ve seriously listened to the 2.5 hour show three times already) on taking creatine for brain health and sulforaphane for oxidative stress and inflammation reduction have transformed the supplements I’m taking.
I’ve added high-quality Vitamin D3, Omega-3, sulforaphane, methylated folate and B vitamins, plus a little more creatine every day.
I’m obviously not a health professional and I’m certainly not recommending these supplements for you, but I found it fascinating to put my real-life data into ChatGPT and get recommendations, and I have to say this:
I have never felt better. They have made a dramatic difference both in increasing energy levels and interestingly in reducing anxiety.
The results have been better than I could have possibly predicted when I thought to ask the AI to analyze my data.
Whoop for Health, Sleep and Fitness Tracking:
Three months ago, I bought the Whoop band to help track my sleep, steps, and health metrics. It’s a top-quality product, but I honestly haven’t had a ton of truly actionable takeaways thus far.
That changed this past week while I was on a trip.
I essentially drink zero alcohol at this point in my life, but we had a ‘going away party’ for a friend and I had two alcoholic beverages over a four-hour period.
There was never a time where I was even remotely ‘buzzed’ or drunk, and I fell asleep normally that night around 10:30pm.
When I looked at my health metrics in the morning, I was blown away to see just how much havoc those two seemingly innocent drinks caused.
My Whoop “recovery score” was a 20 out of 100 (lowest I’d ever seen was 50 previously), my resting heart rate was 10% higher than normal and my HRV (a metric that shows how your Autonomic Nervous System handles stress) was almost half its normal level.
These are catastrophic results and helps me realize in a clear way just how destructive even low-level alcohol consumption can be on my body.
This type of data will absolutely impact my decision-making in the future, and that’s the kind of actionable takeaway I was hoping for when I bought the Whoop band.
New FI Events
My friends Kim, Zuzka, and Chantl created what I believe is the first public FI event in the northeast! Their group, the ‘Women of FI,’ held a successful event a few months ago and they just created this ‘CoEd Getaway’ event for the entire FI community.
I loved this description on their website:
“The FI gathering we know and love—classic money conversations, meaningful connections, and your favorite people from the community—with a twist. This time, it’s all about the getaway: more downtime, more relaxation, more shenanigans, and more chances to co-create the weekend together.”
Learn more and buy tickets here
Camp FI Spain (and Italy?)
Stephen Baughier just passed along an exciting Camp FI update:
He just opened up ticket sales for Camp FI Spain for April 2026.
These sold out instantly last year, so I highly recommend checking out all the details ASAP.
If tickets are sold out, you can sign up for the waitlist on that same page, as he almost certainly is going to do a 2nd Camp FI Spain once this sells out.
He also said it’s 95% certain there will be a Camp FI in Italy in April 2026 as well, so sign up for his newsletter at the bottom of the homepage to be alerted when they go on sale.
$100 Monthly Expenses Cut = $30,000 Less Needed for FI
In Matthew’s ‘1% win’ below he mentioned that they made 7 changes that save $215 per month and I thought this was the perfect time to remind you:
For every $100 per month you cut out of your budget you need $30,000 less in your investable net worth to reach FI.
Here’s the math:
$100 per month = $1,200 per year.
For our FI Number we take our annual expenses and multiply by 25. So $1,200 x 25 = $30,000.
By removing $1,200 per year from your annual expenses, this need for an additional $30,000 in your FI Number is removed entirely.
Matthew and his wife cut $215 per month which equals a whopping $64,500 reduction in their FI Number!
And this is not to mention that they’ll now invest that $215 per month and get to FI that much faster!
ChooseFI Community Taking Action This Week
My taking action is 3 years in the making, but I finally graduated with my Master of Science, Finance degree while working full time. I was a part time student, which enabled me to take advantage of my workplace’s tuition reimbursement program. I was also able to start in the fall of 2022 and finish Spring of 2025 so I got the benefit for 4 different tax years, resulting in the degree being almost entirely paid for by my employer simply by delaying graduation by a semester.
- Bobby
I have finally cleared all my debt, and now able to focus on financial independence! I’m in the UK, and have opened a Self Invested Personal Pension to put my salary sacrifice in, while keeping my workplace pension to get the employer contribution. Having a SIPP means I can be invested in far better funds than the workplace pension offers, maximising my returns for retirement!
- Jennifer
- My husband and I started doing things together with OUR money, not his or mine anymore. We meet weekly to decide what to do with OUR money. It’s been life changing and we only just started 2 weeks go. Less arguments too.
- We made it a practice to tithe and save (in a HYSA) the same amount every time we earn. Right now our income is variable, and soon it should become more stable as we have a household with a corporate and combination mix, with occasional breaks for both like when we have a baby. Tithing and saving before we did anything else is like investing into the things we care most about: Our faith and our money buying is time when we need it. Happy to say we’ve almost saved 1,000 again from keeping this up. I started it on my own with $5 or $10 or $80 here or there. Now that we do it together, we’ve been able increase what we can give and save even more.
- We’re working on eating healthier together. I found out he doesn’t like regular water and now I get him the kind he will drink and in small bottles to not overwhelm him. Anything I learn about health I teach him.
- Our school ready 4 year old got into Headstart and she’ll be able to go to the same school as her siblings and for free.
- I was able to use my hotel points to buy a week of housing for a friend who has been living in her car. I wasn’t going to use them anytime soon and didn’t even know they would expire. They were well used; adding that she’s been dropping boxes of fresh healthy food off to my family for months. Giving one to another never gets old.
- Jessica
Our 1% improvements are mostly from finding PayPal charges that were pulled from our bank account. When they leave the account we only know it's a PayPal charge. Found an Apple TV subscription that we never knew we had for $9.99. Found another $52.00 recurring charge from something my wife signed up for a free trial for. Also on our cell phone bill, made a $68.00 per month cut on the protection plan and found that our free subscription for Disney Plus was now charging us $16.00 on our Verizon bill. I made a tab on my spreadsheet for ChooseFI Hacks And so far we have made 7 improvements saving $215.49 a month...this is getting addicting!
- Matthew
My big win this week was not freaking out when friends of mine were being chicken little that the sky is falling, or will eventually be falling, with the stock market because of the current political situation. They said "aren't you worried?" and I said "the stock market going up and down and up and down is precisely what it's always done and is always going to do." And I also feel great about how we have our income across many buckets; beyond the stock market, we have a pension, two rental properties, and 6+ months of expenses in a high interest savings account. Further, we have the ability to reduce our spending and/or do some enjoyable seasonal or part-time work to earn money. We could even temporarily relocate to a low cost of living country and rent out our primary residence. And we have been somewhat conservative with all our estimates in our projections, which provides even more cushion. It feels amazing not to get triggered and be fearful, but rather to feel confident in our diversification and our ability to be flexible even when those around me are freaking out.
- Becky
I started listening and reading May 2024. My best friend has been my financial rock since I've started (we are attending FI camp in August). My big win (but scary) was I took my entire bonus ($12,800) and put that into my 401K and HSA. Currently, I put 12% on paycheck into 401K. Because of these moves, I will have beaten my goal of $18,000 into my 401K to potentially maxing it out by the end of the year. In addition, I will max out my HSA for year, and then, hope to max out my IRA.
- Deja
Click HERE and let me know what you did to make your life 1% better this week!