When you’re trying to improve your all around health, you’ll want to focus on creating reasonable goals for every area of your well-being. From your diet to your intake of substances to your workout routine, you won’t want to leave any aspect of your health out of consideration. Although some of your health goals may take a while to reach, it’ll feel good to take little steps to reach them.
For folks who are living paycheck to paycheck or saving aggressively for goals like home ownership and early retirement, it can be hard to make healthy choices without having limitless funds to spend on your well-being. As you may know, it’s much easier to make healthy decisions when you can afford to spend money on the most convenient option. Sometimes, when you aren’t paying as much money for your health and well-being, you’ll end up spending more of your time and energy doing something. For example, if you want to eat healthy, you won’t be able to hire a personal chef to prepare foods with ideal nutritional profiles. You may have to spend more time preparing healthy meals yourself than someone rich if you have limited resources.
Is It Possible to Be Healthy on a Budget?
When you’re concerned about your health as a whole, you may wonder if your budget allows for improvement. Thankfully, no matter how low your budget is, it’s possible to make healthy choices on it. Even if you need to make healthier choices for free like walking upstairs instead of taking an elevator, prioritizing your wellness on a budget is doable.
Cut Down on Alcohol
One of the free ways you can focus on your all around health without spending a lot of money is by lowering your drinking. If you find that you have a problem with substance use disorder, you may not be able to do this on your own. When you notice that your drinking is affecting your family’s finances or your health, it’s time to reduce the amount of alcohol you drink or cut it out altogether.
Some folks who struggle to drink may need to attend a program for alcohol detox before it’s possible to reduce alcohol consumption safely. Before you make drastic changes to your drinking, you’ll want to consult with a doctor. A medical professional will be able to monitor you for any signs of organ failure or other concerns that can come with long-term alcohol use. Since alcohol withdrawal can cause many health issues, it’s important to take it seriously.
Exercise at Home
Gym memberships can be expensive and the cost of entry can be a serious turnoff for people looking to improve their all around health. Workouts from home can prove to be a cost-efficient way to cut back on spending. Every little bit counts. For those who want all the benefits of working out at the gym with an instructor without paying for it, you may want to watch your favorite instructor on YouTube and follow their workouts. You can also create a home gym with essential exercise equipment.
One possible way of staying in shape is taking the exercises outdoors. If you have outdoor patios, you can do several exercises while avoiding the hassle of actually going anywhere. If you’re looking for something easy, break out the dumbbells and get a few sets in as you sit out in the sun. Just remember to keep some water nearby so you don’t get dehydrated.
Play Affordable Sports
Organized sports have been one of the best incentives to stay in shape since they were first created. Countless people have spent hours of their days bolstering their all around health while playing a game they love. But unfortunately, the cost of some sports is expensive. Cleats, pads, bats, gloves, and all the other forms of equipment needed to play can break the bank. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find ways to get out and have fun without worrying about your finances.
One game that has entertained people for hundreds of years is the great game of golf. Golf does carry its price tag, but those costs can go down drastically if you bring a friend. Renting a golf cart can be rather expensive for a few hours of fun. Working out a deal with your friend to split the difference can save you up to hundreds of dollars in the short term.
Set a Budget
If you want to improve your all around health on a budget, you’ll need to know how much money comes into your bank account every month. You should also see what you spend on rent or unnecessary items at gift stores. Your budget will want to account for discretionary spending and needs so that you know where every dollar is going. Budgeting apps may be helpful.
Do Creative Exercises
When you’re working on your all around health with limited resources, it can pay to get creative with where you find opportunities to move your body. Some folks may find that it’s challenging to make time to complete an exercise routine. Others might not have the space in their apartment to workout or the resources to afford a gym membership.
For many folks on a budget, the easiest way to work out is by taking advantage of opportunities to do physical work. Whether you join a crew of movers on the weekend or you take on work in the construction field, these can be great ways to get into the best physical shape of your life without following a workout routine. If pushups and laps around the track feel boring to you, then finding an industry that gets you moving can be a great alternative.
Eat Out Less
Eating out can be fun and convenient, but it can also take a toll on your health. Even if you’re visiting the best Italian restaurant with the most authentic and healthy ingredients, you still may find that your health isn’t ideal if you don’t enjoy home-cooked meals often enough. To take care of your well-being, you’ll want to cut down on eating out. This will also help shave down areas of your budget like entertainment. With the money you save on restaurants and coffee shops, you may be able to afford higher-quality ingredients when you prepare breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in the comfort of your home.
As you cook your meals, you’ll enjoy a sense of mastery that can benefit your all around health. Self-esteem is just as important for your health as your physical wellness can be. When you feel proud of the meals you cook, you may feel less inclined to order takeout when it’s time to have guests over or take your spouse on date nights to restaurants. This will be better for your body and your wallet.
Set Clear Goals
One of the best ways you can alleviate stress and improve your all around health is by creating well-defined goals. It can be stressful and upsetting when you don’t even know what your goals are for your well-being. Sometimes, having vague goals can also cause conflict within your household or family system since family members may fight about what the common goals are for the family unit.
Sometimes, your goals may have multiple steps you need to take before you can work towards your actual goal. For example, if you have a high tax bill, you may need to research avenues for tax relief before you can take steps to handle your taxes. On the other hand, if your goal is lowering your cholesterol, you might need to know what your current cholesterol levels are before you know what a healthy target would be for that range.
Exercise Outside
One of the ways that you can improve your all around health is by exercising in the great outdoors. As we mentioned above, creating a home exercise routine might be a good way to save money. However, even if you have a gym area set up in your home, you might get bored of going through the motions in the same setting. This is where getting outside and going for a run or doing yoga in your backyard can be a nice change of scenery for your workout.
If you have a hard time finding the space to exercise in your yard because you have too many trees in it, you may want to call tree companies and request a tree removal service. Alternatively, if you feel self-conscious exercising in your yard, trees can be a natural fence that’s good for you and for the environment. When you’re taking your workout to the great outdoors, you can also explore free places to hike or take yoga classes in parks to meet like-minded individuals on a similar health journey.
Drink More Water
One of the most cost-effective ways to ensure that your all around health improves is increasing the amount of water you drink. For many of us, staying hydrated can be challenging. Whether you find that your schedule is too busy to squeeze hydration into your schedule or you have a hard time having enough of a water supply to keep yourself hydrated, there are a lot of reasons why we might not drink as much water as we’d like. Instead of beating yourself up for not drinking enough water, you should take this as an opportunity to improve your well-being and see your past efforts through a compassionate lens.
If you don’t have enough money in your budget to afford to buy bottled water all the time, you may want to look into ways to make your water supply healthier to drink. For example, it might be a good idea to invest in a water filtration system. While this can cost some money upfront, it can save you money in time. When you can drink water from your home, you will save money when you go out in public if you remember to bring your water bottle.
When your main issue with hydration is remembering to drink water, there are some cheap and free resources to help you with that. You can download an app that reminds you to drink water or set timers on your smartphone or smartwatch to take a sip of water. It might sound silly, but it’ll be worth it if it helps you with your overall well-being and health goals.
Track Your Progress
Sometimes, you may be able to see how you’re progressing in your health journey on a budget based on the results that you can see with the naked eye. For example, when you’re trying to eat healthier, it’s not hard to see the change when the foods on your plate have transitioned from cookies and candy to fruits and vegetables. If you have financial goals like managing your business’ finances better, though, you might find that you’ll need a professional like a bookkeeper to tell you how you’re progressing with your goals.
For some folks, tracking progress formally through professionals holding you accountable may be the best way to go. For others, simply checking in periodically to see how close you are to your goals and milestones may be enough. Ultimately, when you’re trying to improve your all around health, you get to be the person who decides how you want to track your progression towards your goals. Although it can be helpful to get an outside perspective on how you’re doing, you might not be able to afford professional help in all areas of your life if you’re trying to live frugally.
As you can tell, it’s not impossible to look after your all around health even if you don’t have as many financial resources as you’d like. Sometimes, taking care of your health on a budget can be as rewarding as caring for yourself when you have more financial abundance. As you improve your well-being, you may find it easier to increase your income by going back to school or taking on a promotion. Since the saying that “health is wealth” rings true for a lot of people, you might notice that your quality of life improves as your health does even if your financial situation stays the same.
