Women doing resistance training – Image Courtesy of Pexels
You may not be aware, but you can save money with better health. The savings you make with better choices can directly impact your wallet. Meaning you have excess money you can use for the important things in life and take steps towards financial freedom. Here are some ideas.
Light Exercises Help with Multiple Issues
You don’t need to spend tons of money on a gym membership to reap the benefits of exercise. And even if you are somewhat immobile or have social anxiety, you can perform light exercises at home. Simple stretches, jogging, and beginner yoga are excellent for using your muscles and toning them. This can help reduce many common ailments, such as back pain when sneezing and stiff muscles and joints. But it also helps boost the immune system to prevent colds and flu. So you can reap the rewards of exercises at any time, no matter your fitness, and for free.
Access to Cheaper Insurance
Insurance premiums and fees can be pretty expensive. But it’s important to have insurance. Many insurance companies want you to get a medical exam before they decide to give you a policy and how much it will cost. If you live a healthy life, you may be able to get cheaper life insurance or health care benefits and premiums. This could be true for both new customers and current customers who want to change their tariff. So it makes sense to take care of yourself when it comes to insurance. And the cost could go down as your health goes up.
Save Money with Better Health and Fewer Medical Bills
In the United States alone, the cost of treating obesity is over $200 billion each year. Most of these costs go to treating diseases like diabetes and heart disease that are linked to these conditions. Keeping a healthy lifestyle makes sense if you want to lower your chance of getting sick and spending a lot on medical care. It’s more likely that you’ll stay healthy and avoid expensive health problems. So even gym costs might be worth it in the long run, having paid for itself within a year if you dedicate yourself to living a more active and healthier lifestyle.
Healthier Eating Boosts Your Health
Fast food and processed meals may be easy and sometimes cheap. But they aren’t good for your health as a whole. Fresh fruits and vegetables are better for you and could be less expensive sometimes. Compare how much candy costs to how much a bunch of grapes does. If you stick to healthier choices, you could save cash and time and improve your overall health and wellbeing. And you will take in better nutrients for increased physical and mental health. As a result, you will have more emotional control, increased energy, and better motivation.
Don’t Forget to Hydrate
Cutting out most drinks that aren’t water can make you healthier and give you more money. Even if you live in a place where it’s more convenient to buy bottled water, it’s probably cheaper than other drinks. Water is good for your health and has almost no harmful effects, except if the water is dirty or of low quality. When you buy drinks like soda, you’re giving your body things it doesn’t always need, such as excess sugars and completely empty calories for excess weight. This is one of the leading causes of conditions such as obesity and diabetes.
Eat Less when Dieting for Cheaper Food Bills
Dieting can help you in many ways, such as by making you healthier and saving you some cash when you eat less. You also eat less when you go out to restaurants less often and spend less money on food in general. Also, when you decide what you’re going to eat and know what it is, you only eat specific foods and drinks that are generally better for you. As a result, you eat much less of them unless you eat in between meals, which isn’t really a good idea. Eating between meals can be prevented with better nutrition that helps you feel fuller for longer.
Extra: How to Save Money on Fuel
Fuel prices keep going up, just like the prices of everything else. That means you could get hit where it hurts, in the wallet. But in this time of more people, global warming, and waste, you can improve your health a little by spending less on fuel. Here are some suggestions:
- Learn how to drive efficiently and economically.
- Keep your car in good condition.
- Drive with as little weight as possible.
- Don’t use the in-vehicle AC.
- Consider carpooling with a colleague.
- Find the cheaper fuel stations in your area.
- Try fuel loyalty and cashback cards.
- Invest in an electric vehicle.
- Run or jog to work if it’s close.
- Cycle to work if it’s a little further.
Even if you only do one of these, you can save money. But putting most or all of them together will save you a lot of money. For example, if you can go without your car for a couple of days a week, you’ll be able to keep that money for more important things, like saving for the holidays.
Try to Kick Your Vices
Vices like smoking are common yet extremely damaging to finances, fitness, and mental health. The good news is that the average amount of cigarettes smoked each day keeps going down. Yet even if you only have 10 smokes a day, you will save more than $1,000 a year. Not to mention the cash you might be able to save on related doctor appointments and other medical care. Drugs, gambling, and drinking cost a lot, both in terms of money and health. Try looking for support groups and counseling if you struggle with dropping any kind of harmful vice.
Relax in Ways that Don’t Cost Money
Reading a book or going for a walk are both good alternatives to watching TV. Most people agree that reading is much better for the mind than watching Netflix or movies. When you read a good book, you think more, and your brain actively engages more than when you watch TV. If you know how to read well, you won’t have to spend nearly that much. You can get reading material from your neighborhood library for free, and eBooks are also very cheap. Amazon’s Kindle library often has great sales where you can get eBooks for less than $1.
Your Wardrobe is Stable when Healthy
If you’ve tried to live healthier throughout your life, your weight may have gone up and down in the past. When your weight goes up and down, you might have to buy clothes in different sizes since some of your old clothes might no longer fit. But if you focus on living a healthy life and keeping your weight in a healthy range, you might not have to buy as many clothing items as your weight changes. And this will directly impact the amount of money you need to spend on clothing. This is welcome when you consider the increased costs we are experiencing.
Save Money with Better Health for Your Mind
Money can affect how you feel and think. Money worries can make you feel more stressed and anxious, which can hurt your mental health. Studies have also shown that what we eat has a big impact on how we feel. For instance, the B vitamins, iron, and folate in vegetables can help relieve the symptoms of depression. If you have signs of depression, you may not be motivated to keep your spending in check. Also, you might be tempted to buy more impulsively and spend money on the things that make you feel better temporarily but are ultimately bad for you.
Cut Gym Costs by Exercising at Home
Exercise can take the place of more expensive hobbies, but it is not really expensive itself. So skipping the fitness center and its fees is one way to save money and still try to live a healthy life. Unless you live in a tiny house, you will have enough space to exercise. And even if you do, there’s a whole world outside. Memberships to gyms are getting more expensive, so don’t waste your money on them if you can work out for free at home or jog around your local park. You can also invite friends over and exercise together to stay socially active.
You Can Work More when Healthy
Suppose you implement the rules for healthy living, like working out consistently and eating nutritious foods. In that case, you’ll probably miss less work due to illness. And if you miss less work, you could be earning more cash as a result. But you’ll also have more time and opportunities to move toward your career aspirations. This is an understated yet powerful way that living a healthy life may impact how much money you make over your lifetime. This is money you can use for important things like pensions, investments, and housing.
Summary
Finances and physical and mental wellbeing are directly linked. Yes, you can save money with better health. First, you can exercise and eat better to reduce the number of medical visits. But this can also reduce insurance costs. You can also kick any vices and commit more to work.
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