Eryn Henry, Financial Professional at Rise North Capital and CrossFit athlete is what you’d call untraditional in the financial world. Her holistic approach to helping young people, like herself, meet their financial goals with the mindset that “health is wealth” differentiates her from others—backed by a tax-free saving plan.
How many times have you been told to prioritize your physical health, either by doctors, fitness coaches, or family members?
As a competitive soccer player myself, a majority of my week involves physical activity.
Whether long walks, biking, running, or training sessions, I take the time to carve out space for fitness—something many individuals can relate to thanks to the constant circulation of the importance of doing so.
The World Health Organization states that “In adults, physical activity contributes to prevention and management of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes and reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, enhances brain health, and can improve overall well-being.” While this is a vital aspect of leading a healthy life for years to come, the other side of the coin is often left out of discussions.
For younger generations, the topic of financial health is not talked about enough, which has led to misconceptions and financial illiteracy. The notion of saving for retirement in your twenties or looking into life insurance is not promoted to avoid challenging money situations in the future, just as staying fit now is recommended to prevent certain ailments, diseases, and illnesses down the road.
What exactly is financial health?
For Financial Professional at Rise North CapitalEryn Henry, a CrossFit athlete, physical health and financial health go hand in hand. Standing behind the belief that “health is wealth,” Henry bridges wellness and finances because, at the end of the day, how you manage your life in all areas affects how you live your life. As it is important to maintain physical health, prioritizing your finances to set you up for a strong future is in the same vein.
Eryn Henry
Henry did gymnastics for 10 years before entering the world of CrossFit 4 years ago—shortly before starting as an advisor—after a friend invited her out to a session where she fell in love. “All you have to do is show up, there’s a coach, and you’re doing group classes, but everyone can do it at all different levels,” Henry emphasizes. “That’s the cool thing. It’s for everyone, it doesn’t matter how much you have to scale back, you’re still going to get a great workout just by showing up, and the coach makes sure you’re doing it right.”
This aligns exactly with financial health and having a good advisor “coach” that will ensure you are financially fit as long as you show up for them, regardless of your financial situation. “It can always be better and it will always be better with a good advisor. People trying to handle their financial plan on their own, it’s too much and they never end up with the optimal outcome” she concludes.
Think of Henry as your fitness coach: She’s here to help you strengthen your wealth for the long term with proactive exercises like putting aside money for retirement savings and setting up a Cash Value life insurance plan—a tax-free savings vehicle and her go-to approach for younger professionals looking to secure their savings.
Henry describes Cash Value life insurance as a line of credit that can be used while you’re alive, which you have to be approved for, but you never have to pay back. This type of Life Insurance has been upgraded over the years just like cell phones. “You can’t lose money when the market drops, but you will go up when the market goes up to about a 10% ceiling,” she says. “This creates a compounding interest “snowball” strategy that works great in conjunction with market-based accounts. Cash Value life insurance is much different from the Term Life insurance that you get from an employer, which is only there for a specific period of time.”
Just as CrossFit is meant to keep individuals as independent as possible to avoid injuries or ailments in old age, making smart choices with your hard-earned savings now can “help you retire early with more money in your pocket,” Henry says.
“Most people don’t realize you don’t have to die to use life insurance. Because it is such a crucial piece to a financial plan for those retiring in the next 20-40 years, you need your health to be able to get it. It will ensure you have access to money in pre-retirement years, not having to pay it back while not touching any of your savings because people usually end up going to their 401(k), dipping into their retirement, paying the penalty, taxes, and all those things can be avoided.”
Eryn Henry
Henry’s not a regular advisor; she’s a “cool” advisor.
Where other firms continue to follow traditional practices, Rise North Capital embraces the up-and-coming generations with cutting-edge technology, AI, and virtual meetings.
Rise North Capital is what you’d refer to as a “new age,” as the firm is comprised of team members much younger than the average, and most of their business is done through Zoom. So, you can easily add a conversation with Eryn Henry into your day while taking up no more than an hour of your time from wherever you are most comfortable.
“When I’m talking to younger people, they want to be talking to somebody that’s going to be retiring when they are rather than someone that’s going to leave you or that’s not on track with this generation and knows what’s going on,” she says. “This is not something that your employer can do for you, and many people for some reason think their employer will take care of their retirement. It is not their job,” she adds.
For Henry, financial health is all about feeling secure when it comes to your financial future, which, for her, starts and ends with being proactive with retirement savings, something she encourages individuals to start as early as 25. “I know what our generation is looking at. I know where our economy is going. I know my stuff, and I know how to keep as much money in people’s pockets as possible by maximizing savings and avoiding taxes. Sadly, what most people are doing is the opposite, leaving them with less, more taxes and less access when they could have had much more, that’s why this is so important.”
“People retiring in the next 20 to 40 years, things are different for us,” she continues. “We need to be extra smart. We have inflation, we have taxes going up as the government is up to 35 trillion in debt. So where our savings are going is the most important thing, more so than what we’re saving. We don’t want to be writing the government a blank check by saving pre-tax, when we have the ability to be saving our lump sums in a tax-free vehicle” Henry discusses.
Henry is more than a financial professional, she’s a friend and wants to help you make the most out of your savings, and then some. “I tell them I’m not going to set them up and let them go. I’m going to make sure we’re seeing each other every year and making sure that plans are up to date and making progress,” Henry shares.
Like a fitness coach that you can rely on to help keep you accountable when following a workout and diet plan, Henry will always be there to ensure your goals are being met and that you are always financially secure.
“It’s refreshing, it’s impactful, and it’s so gratifying because I know every person that sets up a tax-free plan with me, they’re going to have a much more secure financial future because of me,” she concludes.
It’s never too early to invest in your financial future. In fact, Henry preaches the earlier you start, the less you have to save and vice versa. With Eryn Henry’s professional help, maximizing your savings will become second nature to prioritizing your physical health. Where you can feel financially secure and not worry about your retirement.
