Healthy Living on a Budget: 8 Affordable Tips for a Balanced Lifestyle
Most of us strive to live the healthiest life we can, but oftentimes we can fall victim to the fitness influencer propaganda that tells us that we need pricey protein powders, expensive supplements, multiple gym memberships, and extortionate water filters; the list is endless.
But it’s so important to try to mix in healthy habits into your lifestyle, not only just for how you look, but how you feel and your longevity and health in later life.
All of these videos and misguided messages will have you feeling like a healthy lifestyle is simply out of reach.
But I’m here to de-influence you and let you know that you don’t need a 6 figure salary to live well.
Although the six figures would be lovely.
I’ve put together 8 changes you can make today for healthy living on a budget, to feel and look healthier without draining your finances.
8 Tips for Healthy Living on a Budget
1. Meal Planning and Prepping
First on the list is planning and prepping your meals in advance and this tip may even save you money! Planning and prepping your meals, will mean that you have all the food you’re going to eat for the week prepared and ready to be warmed up or eaten.
Doing your meals this way will snuff out any last-minute trips to the cafeteria or shops at work to grab your lunch, and you can track everything you’re eating much easier than you would be eating meal deals from the store. Furthermore, it will help you not to snack and pick at the stuff you know you shouldn’t be, as you’ll already have your snacks ready to go!
Try prepping meals for the whole week by creating a shopping list based on the meals you’ll cook with affordable whole ingredients that you can batch cook. Then cook it all up and portion it out. You can freeze anything that’s left over to eliminate food waste, or create new meals from your leftovers like soups, stews, and stir fry’s.
2. Find Creative Ways to Stay Active
Contrary to popular belief a gym membership is not needed to be active and get movement in. There are a ton of free resources on the internet including home workouts, workouts you can do in the park, yoga, pilates, etc.
If you’re looking to do workouts from home then YouTube will be your absolute bestie! A lot of the workout videos don’t even need equipment. Even walking is a brilliant exercise, which doesn’t get enough credit. But as long as you try to get in a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day you’ll be well on your way to becoming a (home) gym bunny!
3. Natural Wellness Hacks
There’s a natural alternative for just about everything, and sometimes they can actually be cheaper too.
Herbs like chamomile, lemon balm, and valerian root help with promoting a sense of calm, use them in teas before bed to get a good quality beauty sleep in. Peppermint, capsaicin, and aloe vera can help with pain relief. There’s an abundance of herbal remedies that can help with just about anything!
Treat your skin to spa-quality facials, by using ingredients like avocado, honey, and coconut oil to get glowing, silky smooth skin!
Essential oils are perfect for helping you relax, sleep better, or they can be used as natural cleaning solutions.
4. Eco-Friendly = Budget Savvy
Incorporating sustainability into your lifestyle is not only a win for you and your wallet but for the environment too.
Taking baby steps to become sustainable doesn’t have to be daunting! Start with recycling, buying reusable containers and shopping bags, and investing in a BPA-free reusable water bottle. Why not try growing a bit of food as well? Start small with a herb garden, then at least you can tick those off your grocery bill.
Also, thrifting is a great way to save money and the planet, and you can usually find some absolute gems that are brilliant quality that will last you ages!
5. Boosting your Mental Well-Being on a Budget
Again, as with everything in this list above, taking care of your mental health doesn’t require a budget. Taking care of your mental health really only requires things that don’t cost a lot of money (although I’m not saying a holiday to the Maldives wouldn’t make you feel better!) which are things like:
- Meditation
- Journaling
- Spending time in nature
- Treating yourself to aromatherapy
- Yoga
- Pilates and other gentle stretching
- Listening to binaural beats to calm your mind
6. Community Resources for a Healthier Lifestyle
You may be surprised about how much goes on in your local community that contributes to healthy living. I’m sure if you get on Facebook or any neighborhood forum right now, you’ll find running and walking clubs and other free or low-cost fitness clubs and classes.
You’ll find farmer’s markets, co-ops, or food banks for affordable and fresh produce.
Also, just having that sense of community to support you, you might find making these healthier but more affordable lifestyle changes easier, as there are other people on the same journey.
7. Healthy Sleep Habits
Honestly, sleep is the most underrated health tool!
Having a healthy sleep routine, will change your life and do wonders for you but you don’t need any fancy pillow sprays, pillows, mattresses, and all the other frilly stuff you see on TikTok. You just need to get yourself into a good routine of putting down your devices early enough, lowering or controlling your caffeine intake, and getting in your herbal teas like chamomile.
Furthermore, set up your sleep environment properly. I’m talking black-out curtains, and fresh bedsheets along with keeping your room cool and quiet. You’ll be out like a light.
8. Effective Stress Management
Again, pretty much all stress management tips cost absolutely nothing, it’s just a case of implementing them into your lifestyle. Breathwork is fantastic for calming the body and mind and relieving stress. They work instantly and they’re free. There’s no reason not to use them!
You could even try a no-stress hobby to keep your mind engaged like knitting, coloring, gardening, or painting to relax.
Try to make your daily workload manageable by breaking your tasks down into smaller chunks – this will help you feel less overwhelmed resulting in less stress yay!
Balanced Lifestyle on a Budget
I’m hoping now you’ve read to this point that you realize a healthier lifestyle doesn’t cost the earth and is achievable for anyone.
I’d like to think this article has provided you with lots of cheap and free ideas on how you can lead a healthy lifestyle. From meal prepping to breathwork, and drinking herbal tea to recycling. It’s the consistency of these small habits that will lead to the big changes in your life.
There’s so many small changes you can make to ensure that you get on the path to healthy living. So try some of these out today and you’ll soon see how these tiny changes will make a big difference.
Whether you want to recycle more or increase your fitness levels the tips above can help you reach healthy living on a budget.
