Health is like money–we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it.

The comparison treats health as a kind of invisible capital: like money, it enables choices and security, yet its importance is easy to discount while it is plentiful. The quote underscores a psychological bias—people normalize their current condition and only grasp its true utility through deprivation. By pairing health with money, Billings also hints at a moral lesson: wealth is commonly pursued and carefully guarded, but health, though more fundamental, is often taken for granted until illness forces a reckoning. The aphorism functions as both warning and prompt toward gratitude and preventive care.