Saving Money & Being Healthy
I’m going to say if you are here, you value your health and want to live the healthiest life you can. Great, me too! I will be the first to acknowledge that being healthy can feel like a huge undertaking, though. It may feel like you have to sacrifice time you don’t have, all the things you enjoy, and money you don’t have. This may even cause you unnecessary stress which is contradictory to being healthy. Hey, I just want to let you know that I hear you. Let me say, marketing is excellent these days. This is especially true for health. Marketing is so good that sometimes you might believe the more expensive a product is, the healthier it is. This is absolutely false. Yes, in some instances you will pay for quality but eating healthy and living a healthy life should not be breaking the bank. I’m going to give you a mixture of FREE and low-cost tips, resources, and swaps to make living a healthier life more accessible on any budget.
Low Cost Nutrition
Stop searching information on the internet. This leads to more confusion and you’ll likely find yourself buying more and more expensive products. Pick a few dietitians that resonate with you and follow their FREE content (Psst - just like these blogs I post weekly and my almost daily instagram posts!)
If you really want to learn more about nutrition but you’re on a budget, do a one-time buy like my nutrition course that gives you full-circle and evidence-based nutrition information that you’ll get to keep forever to refer back to. Think of all the time and $ you could save yourself buying the real thing rather than searching around for the next magic pill that doesn’t truly exist.
Shop Smarter: here’s where I like to buy to keep groceries cheap
Meat: Aldi (the Never Any! Brand is excellent); Trader Joe’s for chicken sausage, bacon, & any specialty meats that I can’t find at Aldi
Seafood: Aldi (1/2 the price of even Trader Joe’s most of the time!)
Produce: Aldi for berries ($2-3 vs $4-6 at Trader Joe’s) & grapes, Trader Joe’s for everything else (even organic greens are $2 vs $4-5 at a regular grocer)
Canned & Frozen: Aldi (frozen fruit, canned beans and tomatoes)
Pasta, Whole Grains & Tortillas: Trader Joe’s
Bread: Aldi
Yogurts: Trader Joe’s (has great options but my fav is spurring on Siggi’s at Target or Walmart)
Milk: Aldi
Eggs: Trader Joe’s
Snacks: Trader Joe’s &/or Aldi depending on your preferences
Water: carry a reusable water bottle! Stop wasting your money on something that’s free.
You’ll also save big $$$ buying less prepared or convenience foods, but you will have to weigh what is more important to you - your time vs your money
Don’t waste $ on unnecessary items like juices, wellness shots, supplements, elixirs, açaí bowls, alkaline waters, etc - the trendy stuff. Focus on the basics first.
**Lidl can be subbed for Aldi in most scenarios, I just don’t have one nearby!
More Affordable Vitamins
Swap expensive Ritual vitamins ($30) or Care Of ($$$) vitamins for any comprehensive multivitamin like Alive! Or Rae (if you’re looking for a vegan capsule and minty aftertaste.) For women, I’d encourage you to choose a multi that has 100% of your daily folate needs. It’s common practice to supplement with vitamin D if you are low or often feeling down and have limited sunlight exposure and to supplement with vitamin D and B12 if you are vegetarian/vegan. Buy what you can afford. The most important part is that you’re taking a multivitamin.
Better Sleep
Set a night routine to wind down
Warm caffeine-free tea
Take a shower
No screens an hour before bed; read a book
Chat with your partner (no stressful to-do list talk)
Do a brain dump before bed (write all of your thoughts down on paper)
Make your to-do list for the next day before bed
Use an inexpensive sleeping eye mask: this will help block any light that might be stimulating at night and contribute to a less restful sleep
If you’re hungry, have a snack. A bed time snack 60-30 minutes before bed can actually help stabilize your blood sugar over night.
Accessible Activity
Yoga with Adrienne- FREE, body positive yoga; low impact option
Youtube Pilates - FREE; low impact option
Youtube workouts- FREE! Be weary of triggering videos.
Walking- FREE
Running- FREE
Body weight exercises- FREE
Stretch- FREE
Bike- FREE (if you have a bike)
Instagram workouts- FREE and with quarantine you can find a slew of them on instagram; I personally love Mr & Mrs Muscle, Rachel’s Good Eats, and Whitney Simmons; be weary of triggering accounts
Buy a 1-time fee fitness program that you can do at home or uses minimal equipment. This is more cost effective than classes or a gym membership but still gives you structure. Be weary of triggering guides.
Free Stress Management
Listen to music
Try meditation - you can do YouTube, a free trial, or sign up for a yearly membership with an app like Calm or HeadSpace
Walk outside
Take deep breaths
Call a friend
Carve out 10-15 minutes of solitude for yourself
Stretch
Move your body
Play a game
Journal
Make a pros and cons list
Make a realistic to do list
Brain dump
Take email off of your phone
Set time limits for your apps on your phone
Create margin in your day-to-day schedule - do not schedule something every minute of every day
Read a book
Stop saying yes to everything/overcommitting yourself
Create boundaries with work
Create boundaries with family
Create boundaries with Netflix
Sleep. Drink water. Eat nourishing foods.
Period Talk
Swap the monthly expense of pads & tampons vs for a 1 time-buy menstrual cup (I would recommend only getting the smaller cup only if you have a very light flow - even if you’ve never given birth! Trust me.)
Have. the. chocolate. - not free, just my professional recommendation :)
Cost-Conscious Non-Toxic Skincare
Acure
Alba
Cocokind
Have more accessible tips you want to share? Comment over on instagram!
xx, Desa