FRLN47: Managing Temperature When Sleeping With Another Person, 401K Optimization, & Being The Best Partner
Fit Rich Life
Newsletter #47
Weekly Tips, Tools & Strategies to Alchemize your Fitness, Money & Life
Newsletter Archive
“We put our love where we have put our labor.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Philosopher
Greetings Fit Rich Fam!
>>read this on my website to bookmark it for later or to view the archive for older editions<<
We're solidly in the middle of the first month of the New Year.
My wish for you is that you're already making significant strides towards having the best year yet.
Without further ado, let's proactively build your Fit Rich Life.
This is your weekly dose of actionable tips, tools & strategies to take your Fitness, Money, and Life to the Next Level.
FITNESS: If you sleep with a partner get two comforters.
Optimizing your sleep when sleeping with a partner is critical to long-term health, fitness & happiness.
My experience working with a lot of coaching clients and through personal research is that men tend to run hot and women tend to run cooler.
Temperature plays a huge role in our quality of sleep.
If you’re too hot or too cold this will detract from your quality of sleep.
By having your own comforter or duvet you can ensure you are at your optimal temperature and so can your partner.
You can still cuddle under one comforter for the first part of getting into bed together for 5-20 minutes then move to your separate comforters before falling asleep.
Another alternative is to invest in a mattress cooler pad like the Eight Sleep, which can set individual temperatures for each side of the bed.
I invested in the Eight Sleep Pod Cover as a birthday gift to myself last year and it has improved sleep quality for both my partner and me.
The Eight Sleep and other cooling pad alternatives are not cheap, so starting with two comforters may be the wiser move initially until you have enough disposable cash to invest in the next level.
If you do decide to invest in an Eight Sleep Pod Cover or Mattress please use my referral link. It's an easy way to support this Newsletter so I can continue to produce high-value free content.
MONEY: Double-check your 401K investments.
Even if you regularly contribute to your company 401K it’s good to double-check that you’re invested in the right funds.
By default, many 401K providers will have you invest in funds that have high expense ratios and/or may have some kickback for the 401K provider to have you invested in that particular fund.
If this is the case, it’s rarely good for you as an investor.
I recommend putting your 401K investments into an S&P500 index fund, a total US stock market fund, or a target date fund.
All of these are well-diversified and should be fairly low-cost.
I’d choose whichever one has the lowest expense ratio.
I've worked with several clients who were contributing to a 401K for years only to realize that the money was just sitting there in cash (meaning it wasn't even invested).
Let this be a reminder to ensure that you’re contributing to a 401K if your company offers one, set up a solo 401K if you’re self-employed, and ensure that you’re investments within your 401K are invested in solid index funds.
Also, consider front-loading your 401K as I mentioned in an earlier edition of the Newsletter.
LIFE: How to be the best husband or wife.
At the end of your life do you want to look back and confidently state that you were the best partner your significant other could have asked for or do you want to leave that to happenstance?
Your primary romantic relationship should be a top priority in your life.
Many say that while their actions say otherwise.
This is why 50% of all marriages end in divorce.
Here is a system I've used over the years to ensure that I'm being the best husband I can be:
Every Sunday I'll ask my wife to rate me 1 out of 10. A 1/10 means my wife is wondering why she married me. A 10/10 means she thinks I'm the best husband she could have married.
If she rates me anything below a 10 I ask her what I would need to do in the next week to score a 10.
Then I take action on what she shares with me to ensure I am doing my best to get a 10/10 in the coming week.
I'll repeat this process for a few months to ensure I'm highly aware of what brings my wife relational happiness and that I've built the habits that will ensure she feels like I'm doing a great job as a husband.
Here are some follow-up notes to ensure implementing this system goes well for you and your partner:
DO NOT (I repeat "do not") offer to rate your partner. You are doing this for you. If they volunteer to do the same, go ahead and rate each other, but make sure that you go into this to improve your performance as a partner (not trying to improve your partner).
Aim for an 8 or above average over the period you implement this system. Seeking perfection is a recipe for unhappiness and everyone has their own internal beliefs about what a 10/10 would encompass.
Have your partner take "The Love Language" quiz to ensure you understand what your partner's primary love language is and can make sure the way you are loving your partner each week is in a way that is optimized for the way they best receive love.
Keep a list of the things you've done for your partner in the past week and share them with your partner before asking them for your score. A big part of feeling like we're being well-loved is taking conscious note of the actions our partner is doing towards contributing to the relationship. Make this easy for them.
Closing Thoughts:
What are you going to do differently this year so that you're not in the same place (or worse) as you were at the beginning of last year?
I like to ask myself this every year so that I continue to make progress and grow in the areas of my life that are important to me in the current season of life that I am in.
Progress is one of the few things that reliably creates lasting happiness and satisfaction.
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I am sending you all lots of Energy & plenty of Dragon Magic!
Your Fitness, Money & Life Coach,
Justin David Carl
P.S. Below is my latest solo podcast that covers my top 14 Life Lessons of 2023. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.
Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:
1. I run a custom-tailored 1-1 & group mastermind coaching program that will empower you to achieve your dream body, master your money & live your best life. Yup, it's a proven Fitness, Money and Life Coaching Program unlike anything else out there. You can book a free consultation with me here or just drop me a note on Instagram to find a time to connect.
2. If you work in an office introduce me to whoever handles your office snacks, catering & employee experience to take your work wellbeing to the next level. I'm a founding member of Garten, a tech-empowered employee experience & wellbeing platform that top companies utilize to power their most important asset (their people). Email me at >>justin@garten.co<< to set up a meeting.