- Wondering how healthy habits can save you money?
- Here are 9 healthy habits to start saving money
- 1. Leave your car at home
- 2. Grow more of your own food
- 3. Carry lunch from home
- 4. Follow a healthy diet for fewer sick days
- 5. Exercise – set up a home gym
- 6. Kick the butt and save big
- 7. Maintain a healthy weight
- 8. Did you know that weight can impact your life insurance premium?
- 9. Drinking More Water Is Free
A healthy lifestyle keeps us happy and fit. Here are 9 healthy habits to start to help you save money in the long run while saving on healthcare costs.
If there is one thing the ongoing pandemic has taught us, it is this: our health is closely linked to our finances. How many of us have wished that we had lived healthier lifestyles and had healthier habits—both of which make a huge impact on how much money we save and on our overall finances?
Wondering how healthy habits can save you money?
Let’s take a look at some examples. Someone who smokes, drinks alcohol or soft drinks and indulges in substance abuse is not only giving in to expensive habits but ends up paying the price long after consuming them as they have a harmful effect on health, which in turn put a burden on personal finances.
What if one were to cut back on these habits? It would mean long-term savings with the added benefit of good health.
Also, eating healthily also saves money. When one doesn’t pay attention to what they are eating, they end up eating more, spending more. What if they were to switch to homemade meals and healthy choices that are less expensive?
When we keep our body and mind physically fit, our chances of living a longer, fuller life are higher. Taking good care of ourselves with healthy habits reduces healthcare costs. Ready to improve your health and save more money?
Here are 9 healthy habits to start saving money
1. Leave your car at home
Could you walk or cycle instead of using the car to do some errands? Even using public transport instead of taking your car can help you to get some more activity into your day, by walking to and from the stops.
By using your car less, you will find it easier to stay in shape, and you’ll also be able to save some money by using less gas as well as parking costs. Gas prices are incredibly high at the moment, so not being so reliant on your car and being more reliant on your own two feet, can result in real savings. As an added bonus, you’re not pumping pollution into the atmosphere either.
On the subject of walking, try and aim for 10000 steps—that’s five miles—a day. It will keep you active and fit. You should aim for 10,000 steps — or five miles — a day to stay active and fit. Start small, build it up.
2. Grow more of your own food
Gardening is great exercise with extra benefits and one of the best healthy habits to start. Being outside working on your garden can help to improve your mood. Growing your own food is also less expensive than buying it at the grocery store, besides giving you the incredible joy of harvesting your produce. Moreover, you know exactly what has been used to grow it, which is ideal if you want to avoid pesticides and other chemicals.
If you grow more than you need, you can bottle, freeze, or can some of it to use later on in the year when less is growing too. Cooking at home is a lot less expensive than eating out, as well as being easier to have healthier, less processed meals.
Look after your garden tools to make this easier, such as knowing where to buy replacement parts for your lawn mower.
There is a misconception that eating healthy is expensive, but that’s not true. If you plan your meals and avoid fast food and takeout, not only can you stick to your budget but also manage a healthy weight. It’s a win-win.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to skip eating out altogether. Choose budget-friendly swaps like veggies instead of meat. Eating plant-based is good for your health and the bonus is eating less saturated fat that is in the meat.
3. Carry lunch from home
We all know that once you get to work, you get engrossed with your deadlines and before you know it, your stomach is growling. It is all too easy to go in for a not-so-healthy choice. Result? Not only do you spend more, but you also make your health suffer.
Packing your own lunch from home can save you money and the stress of making unhealthy food choices. It goes without saying that when you pack your lunch, you should consider healthy options. Bonus tip? Pack healthy snacks as well so that you are not tempted by the pack of fries or chips at the vending machine at work.
4. Follow a healthy diet for fewer sick days
Being sick and having to take the day off when you have important things to do is not fun. Added to this is the expensive doctor’s visit, medication and for some, a loss of income. Falling sick often just complicates the situation.
Why not strengthen your immune system with a healthy diet that includes fruits and vegetables? These bring you the vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy while protecting you from health issues such as cancer, heart disease, and the flu.
5. Exercise – set up a home gym
Exercise has many health benefits. It can keep you in a good mood, increase your energy levels, help you sleep better and therefore, have a longer life. All you need to do is work in thirty minutes a day of physical activity. This can mean a brisk walk, or any other activity that builds up a sweat.
Regular physical activity reduces the risk of chronic health conditions such as diabetes, cancers, hypertension and stroke. Managing these conditions can be stressful and very expensive involving recurring monthly medical bills that include frequent doctor’s visits, hospital stays, and medication. It is one of the best healthy habits to start.
When you include exercise in your routine, it lowers your health bills. You can make a gym at home with some basic stuff like a balance ball, hand weights, and resistance bands.
There are also thousands of free videos online to help you work out safely. If you like jogging, all you need is a decent pair of running shoes. This can keep you in good health for much less money than paying for a gym membership.
6. Kick the butt and save big
So, let’s say you eat healthy, and exercise regularly. But if you are addicted to smoking, you’re self-sabotaging your health. Smoking raises the risk of chronic health issues, mainly cancer and heart disease. Added to that, smoking is an expensive habit – talk about literally turning cash to ash and giving an open invitation to lung cancer and all the related medical expenses. Of course, it isn’t easy to quit cold turkey—but do consider overcoming the habit gradually.
7. Maintain a healthy weight
An unhealthy lifestyle leads to weight gain, which becomes a major stress factor. Going on yo-yo dieting does not help because it simply leads to fluctuating weight. You end up revamping your wardrobe more often than you would like and the bills pile up, along with the weight.
Why not commit to regular exercise and healthy eating instead and watch that extra weight melt away slowly and steadily even as you watch your savings grow?
Just being a little overweight can cost you more in terms of life insurance. This is because life insurance companies have strict guidelines for height and weight. Being overweight leads to further health investigations that can add a long list of caveats to your life insurance policy as this is seen as a precursor to major health issues.
Take stock now, work on losing those extra pounds and save more on life insurance.
Read: 35 reasons you should cut sugar from your diet to live healthy
9. Drinking More Water Is Free
Sure, it is nice to say cheers with sodas, soft drinks, and beers, but the sugar in these does you more harm than you can imagine. If you are serious about cutting costs and calories, switch to water as your beverage of choice.
Water keeps you healthy, and hydrated and helps you detox. Aim for 6-8 glasses of water a day.
Make the choice to lead a healthy lifestyle. Review the above 9 healthy habits to start improving your personal finances and save your health care costs in the long run.
