Your 2026 State of wHealth
- January 8, 2026
- by Dennis McNamara
“Community is a form of wealth. And like any form of wealth, it compounds when you nurture it.” - Dennis McNamara
Aligning money, time, and energy with the life you’re actually living
Each year in my practice, I sit down with clients for something we call a State of wHealth.
It isn’t a performance review.
It isn’t a checklist.
It’s a pause…a conscious moment to step back and look at the life we’re building and what our resources are actually supporting.
Because deep down, most of us already know this: money is meant to serve life, not replace it. And when it quietly becomes the end goal instead of the tool, something inside usually starts to feel misaligned.
The idea of a wHealth Audit comes from that same place. It’s an invitation to take an honest look at how you’re spending your time, energy, attention, and money in this season of life and whether those choices are genuinely improving how your days feel.
The Goal Is Alignment
In a State of wHealth, clients rate themselves from 1 to 10 across several domains including, finances, physical health, mental and emotional health, rest and recovery, relationships, autonomy, mission and purpose, and spirituality.
There’s no perfect score. What matters isn’t the number itself, but the pattern it reveals.
One client rated himself a nine financially, but a four in relationships and a five in physical health. From the outside, everything looked solid. He was earning well, saving consistently, doing all the “right” things.
But with his partner present, a different story emerged. Resources were being accumulated faster than they were being experienced. Money was working, but it wasn’t being directed toward the areas quietly asking for more care.
That realization didn’t spark a new financial strategy. It sparked a different conversation.
Over the next year, the couple made small but intentional shifts. Fewer late nights at work. A shared commitment to fitness. A standing monthly date night. Nothing dramatic. Just alignment.
And the result wasn’t perfection, it was balance.
Financial Clarity Is the Foundation, Not the Finish Line
As a financial planner, money naturally anchors many of these conversations. It’s tangible. Measurable. Easier to quantify than energy, fulfillment, or connection.
But financial clarity isn’t about optimization for its own sake. It’s about understanding the role money is playing in your life and determining whether that role still makes sense.
Often, financial anxiety has less to do with scarcity and more to do with uncertainty. When people don’t know where they stand, they tend to assume they’re behind.
Which brings me to another client.
When Financial Anxiety Is Really About Something Else
This client rated both his finances and his relationships a five. As we talked, it became clear that the tension wasn’t coming from the numbers…It was coming from distance.
His two daughters lived in different parts of the country, and he rarely had time with them together. That absence carried more emotional weight than he realized and it showed up everywhere, including in how he felt about money.
When we reviewed his finances in detail, something clicked. He was living on roughly a third of what he could comfortably afford.
That shifted the conversation. We stopped talking about returns and started talking about memory dividends.
A few months later, he rented a house in Colorado and brought his daughters and their families together for a week.
The anxiety didn’t vanish, but it softened. Not because he earned more, but because his money finally began supporting what mattered most.
Once again, the answer wasn’t accumulation. It was alignment.
What Time and Energy Reveal Before the Numbers Do
One thing I’ve seen again and again is that misalignment shows up in energy long before it shows up on a balance sheet.
Fatigue. Irritability. A constant sense of being “on,” even when life looks good on paper.
That’s often a sign that one area of life is compensating for another.
Money can buffer stress…for a while.
Health can be postponed…for a while.
Relationships can absorb neglect…for a while.
Even purpose can masquerade as rest…until it can’t.
Eventually, the system asks for recalibration.
A true audit isn’t about fixing everything at once. It’s about noticing where the load has become uneven and choosing to respond before the cost becomes too high.
Your 2026 wHealth Audit
You don’t need a formal process to begin. Just a moment of honesty.
Ask yourself:
- Which areas of my life feel genuinely supported right now?
- Which ones feel quietly under-resourced?
- Am I using my time, money, energy, and attention in ways that reflect what matters most to me today?
- If nothing changed over the next few years, would I feel at peace with that?
Finding your personal balance across the domains of wHealth isn’t about radical overhaul. It’s about stewardship. It’s about making intentional choices while you still have the freedom to choose.
The Raad Life: Five Quiet Takeaways
- Money is a tool, not the point.
When money stops serving your life and starts quietly replacing it, something is out of balance. - Alignment matters more than optimization.
You don’t need to perfect every domain. You need to notice where resources are accumulating without being applied. - Imbalance shows up in energy before it shows up on paper.
Fatigue, irritability, and restlessness are often early signals that one area of life is compensating for another. - Memory dividends matter.
Experiences, connection, and presence compound in meaning long after the money is spent. - A wHealth audit is an act of stewardship.
It’s about using time, energy, and money intentionally while you still have the agency to choose.
About the Author:
Dennis McNamara helps successful professionals design a life they can thrive in. He believes this is achieved financially, mentally, and physically. A seasoned fiduciary with deep expertise in evidence-based investing and long-horizon planning, he blends wealth management with longevity science to help clients build both net worth and well-being. Co-founder of wHealth Financial Advisors, Dennis is known for translating complexity into clarity and guiding people toward a future they’re genuinely excited to live.