Many people assume a healthy lifestyle is expensive; however, the opposite can be true. By using the right approach, you can save money in numerous ways while improving your health.
Healthy Living Saves Money
Before digging into how to save money while enjoying a healthy lifestyle, it’s important to understand why healthy living is worthwhile. Along with helping you feel better, living well can result in other kinds of cost savings.
Since healthy eating usually means dining at home instead of heading to restaurants, that reduces your food-related spending. Walking or biking instead of driving lets you limit your fuel requirements and minimize wear and tear on your car, both of which keep money in your pocket.
Some health plans include free or reduced cost access to dietary counselling, gyms, yoga and other healthy living resources. Check with your insurance provider to see what benefits you can take advantage of.
Tips to Save Money While Living Healthy
Start a Vegetable Garden
A vegetable garden is an excellent way to save money while enjoying a healthy lifestyle. On average, a food garden yields 0.5 pounds of produce per square foot during a growing season. If you dedicate 600 square feet of growing space, you could get about 300 lbs. of vegetables – around $600 worth – all while only spending about $70 to make it happen.
Along with the cost savings, gardening is a great workout. Plus, it’s a reason to spend time outdoors in the fresh air, promoting better health.
Bike to the Grocery Store
Most people know that biking is healthier than driving. Plus, one study showed that driving is six times more expensive than bicycling, so it’s a real money saver. While that’s notable on its own, it only scratches the surface of what’s possible. If you decide to bike instead of drive to the grocery store, you’re setting yourself up for more benefits.
First, you can only buy what you can reasonably carry on your bike. That may encourage strategic shopping, ensuring you focus on your list. Otherwise, you may have trouble carrying everything back. In turn, that can prevent impulse spending, leading to cost savings. Second, since you can’t buy a lot all at once, you’ll need to bike to the store more often. That means you’re heading out to exercise at a greater frequency.
Use Non-Traditional Weights
Working out at home is typically more cost-effective than a gym membership; however, not everyone wants to buy wight training equipment. That’s why it can be helpful to look for non-traditional weights that you already have at home.
A gallon of water weighs about 8.3 pounds, making gallon jugs with built-in handles reasonable stand-ins for light hand weights. You could also try canned goods, bags of beans, paint cans, large laundry detergent bottles, or books.
If you have kids, there are exercises you can do with a small child. You could lie on your back and do modified chest presses by lifting your kid instead of traditional weights. Similarly, while on your back, you could have them lie against the soles of your feet and hold their hands for balance. Then, you could use your legs to lift them into a “flying” position. Just use care and always be safe when playing with children.
Make sure you don’t swing or pick up children by the arms as part of an exercise. There’s a chance it could cause injuries, so it’s better to focus on options that don’t stress the joints.
Grow Fresh Herbs
Finding ways to make your healthy homemade meals tasty makes a difference. As one study showed, about half of people walk away from their diets because they find healthy food boring. By finding ways to excite the taste buds, you’ll increase your odds of success.
One way to begin is with fresh herbs. They give you a way to imbue meals with flavor. Plus, by growing your own, you’re avoiding the high cost of fresh or dried herbs at the store. Starting an indoor kitchen herb garden is far simpler than many people expect. And with that approach, you’ll have a reliable source of outstanding flavors all year round.
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