10 Financial Reasons to Walk

We all know that walking has health rewards, but it can have financial rewards as well. Here are ten financial reasons you should consider walking:

It’s free. This is the most obvious reason. You have to pay to own or rent a car, hop a bus, or ride the subway. Airplanes, helicopters, yachts, hot air balloons, and submarines are expensive ways to travel. Walking to get from Point A to Point B requires only comfortable footwear (or none if you’re at the beach).

Therapy is expensive. Taking a regular walk gives you a good opportunity to clear your head or to think things through. Talking to a professional may be therapeutic, but it’s not certainly not free. And you can walk for more than your allotted 50 minutes.

Free entertainment. Did you ever notice that when someone else drives you to work or along your regular route, you suddenly see a lot more? Expand your tunnel vision! Look at gardens, neighborhoods, galleries, and store displays that you wouldn’t see if you just drove by like a zombie. Just be careful not to increase your shopping as a form of entertainment.

It improves your health. Poor health is expensive. Yeah, we all know this one. If you walk regularly, you’ll be healthier. If you’re healthier, you’ll have fewer medical costs. With the rising cost of healthcare in the U.S., you could be saving millions of dollars.

You can contribute to worthy causes. You can participate in a large group walk in support of research and treatment of various illnesses, aid for the homeless, etc. If you’re not a regular walker, you can choose a short 3k walk, or you can opt for a multi-day trek. You get some exercise and more importantly, you do something to benefit others who are less fortunate.

You can save the environment. OK, this isn’t strictly speaking a financial reason to walk, but it’s all about going green these days, right?

You spend less money when you do your shopping on foot. If you’re someone who doesn’t drive a car to do your grocery shopping, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You have to be a lot more selective about which heavy items end up in your bags, backpack, or granny cart. And think of all the money you save by not buying bulky antiques and other things you can’t carry away from a yard sale or flea market!

You can’t cover as much territory. Many of us are so used to jumping in the car and driving here and there to buy this and do that. When you walk, you can’t do it all, which may in turn limit your spending. Of course, this theory doesn’t work if your one stop is to the diamond jewelry store.

You don’t get stuck in traffic. Not only is sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic a drag, your engine is running the entire time you are stuck wasting gas that is getting more expensive by the day. An added benefit is that you free yourself from the road rage stress that comes with traffic jams.

You find spare change. Believe it or not, there is money to be found when you walk. You won’t get rich this way, but nothing beats free money!