9 Ways to save Money on Health and Wellness

There’s this constant debate that goes on and it’s whether health and wellness are affordable.

When it comes to that argument, I think, just like anything, it can go either way.  It can be expensive.  There are health products and health services that are super costly.

But, there are ways to make your health and wellness a priority with a small budget.

Over the years I’ve jumped back and forth with healthy living.  I remember as early as my teens being fascinated with health.  That being said, healthy living to me at age 17 was joining the track team but still stuffing my face with candy and junk.  I remember though, even at one point wanting to be a nutritionist.  Food intrigued me.

Once I hit my twenties I went back and forth constantly on taking care of my health and then falling off the bandwagon.  And it’s been like that for many years.

But recently I’ve been faced with a new reality.  It’s called, I’m not getting any younger.

Anyone else in that boat?

Months ago I started realizing that if I don’t get serious about my health now – if I don’t stop floundering back in forth between eating well for a month and then eating like garbage for 3 months, my minor health issues will only get worse.

And frankly, ain’t nobody got time for that.

I’m 36 – young or old depending on which side of 36 you are sitting at while reading this. 🙂  But I know that there is a good chance I could have a lot of life left.  Personally I want whatever life I have left to be lived with energy and a zest for life. I want to be in good enough health to chase my dreams, to try new things, and to just enjoy my life.

Of course, you can do everything right in the health department and still get sick.  But, I figure we should give ourselves the best chance possible to avoid getting sick if we are able.

When you are on a limited budget, paying for your health can be difficult.  The funds may not be there.  You may struggle with guilt every time you buy a health product.

That is something I have had to come face to face with.  Every time I would buy a supplement that helped me,  or maybe a higher quality grocery product that was better for me, I struggled with guilt.  I mean, how could I buy myself an expensive item like almond flour when I still had debt to pay down?  Or how could I buy supplements when I couldn’t afford to put my child in an extra-curricular they really wanted to be in?

It wasn’t until this year that I really had to come face to face with this guilt I had and realize that the guilt itself wasn’t healthy.

You see, we either pay for our health now, or we pay for it later.  And frankly, I am a better mom, and a better wife when I feel healthier.  I can take care of the ones I love when I’ve actually taken care of myself.

It’s really true what they say – to put on your oxygen mask on first so you can help others with theirs.

But, even if we decide we are going to invest more money in our health, there is still the challenge of figuring out how to do that and trying to be wise with our choices when we are on a tight budget.

Here are some ways you can save money on health and wellness.

SAVE MONEY ON HEALTH AND WELLNESS

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Eat in season.

This is one of my favorite things to do with produce.  If you eat in season you will pay less.  My kids have learned this is what we do as well now because when we shop and they see something like clementines in April they know that we generally won’t buy them till later in the year when they are cheaper (and often taste better too.)

We also shop the sales and can get healthier, cheaper food that way.  We use Checkout51 which is a cashback coupon app.  While many products on there are not healthy, they sometimes do have cashback for gluten-free products, supplements, or other healthy items.

Grow a garden.

Growing a garden is a great way to eat healthy on a budget.  Growing your own produce gives you an abundance of vegetables that are plain good for your health.

Forage.

We love picking wild berries and apples in the summer months.  I have friends who love to go foraging for things like fiddleheads.  Of course, if you forage make sure you are safe about it.  There are a lot of poisonous berries and plants out there and so if you are unsure of something never chance it.  Investing in a book about foraging can be useful for this kind of thing.

Buy Cheaper health food options

There are cheap foods that are healthy, you just have to pick the right ones.  Consider buying things like:

Apples

Carrots

Beans

Lentils

Brown Rice

Oats

Plain Yogurt

Spinach

Multigrain pasta

Sweet potatoes

Tomatoes

Squash (in the fall it’s incredibly cheap)

When deciding what to consume on a healthy diet, go for the groceries that are healthy for you but easy on your budget.

Make your own personal care products.

Health is not just what we put in our body, but also what we put ON our body.  Thanks to the internet you can find recipes for a ton of products to make yourself.  Buying all-natural body products can be costly, but they are often cheap to make yourself.

Make your own cleaning products.

Our health is also affected by what we clean our homes with.  It’s so simple to make your own cleaning products.  I make an all-purpose cleaner that uses just a few ingredients. I use vinegar, baking powder, and essential oils to do a lot of my cleaning and it allows me to clean my home for a very small price.  Just like body products, all-natural cleaning products are often expensive to buy but are insanely cheap to make yourself.

Exercise at home.

You don’t need a fancy gym membership to get in shape.  Exercise videos, going for a walk, or using exercise equipment at home are all great ways to be healthy.  I like to walk or jog on my treadmill which I bought for $50 secondhand.  It has no bells and whistles, but that’s okay because it still does the job!  It is nearing the end of it’s life now, but I’ve had it for over 5 years and have gotten a lot of use out of it!

Replace candles (and air fresheners) with essential oils and beeswax candles

If you are burning paraffin candles, it may be a good time to get rid of them.  After having a bit of a health scare with my lungs, I started to look at what I was breathing in around me.  I discovered that paraffin candles contain a lot of toxins that I just don’t want to be breathing in.

However, I understand the desire to have something giving off a delicious scent in your home!  That’s why I replaced my paraffin candles with diffusers and essential oils.

Initially you may be thinking that the oils would be too expensive.  However, some bottles are as low as .05 cents a drop.  There are 250 drops in most bottles.  That means if you diffused 4 drops of a bottle of essential oils every day (you only need a few drops in your diffuser) it would last you 62 days before you needed a new bottle.

I used to buy the three wick candles and they would burn for about 50-60 hours.  If I burned a candle everyday for 4 hours (I generally diffuse my oils longer than 4 hours) it would only last me 15 days.

And before I switched over I was buying the expensive candles because I found the cheap ones didn’t really throw their scent very well.

If you still want the glow of the candle, consider switching to beeswax.  I like to burn beeswax candles along with having my diffuser going.  For a tutorial on how to make your own beeswax candles to save money, check it out here.

Take care of your teeth to avoid more expenses down the road

Okay, I’ll admit it.  I thought oil pulling was something “weird.”  I had no plans of trying it.  However, about a month ago I was struggling with some bad tooth pain.  I couldn’t make it to the dentist due to some stuff going on at our house.  So, after googling what could help, I settled on an essential oil for temporary pain relief, and trying my hand at oil pulling which is known to help fight against plague and gingivitis.

After oil pulling for days I was pain-free.  Oral health is so important.  If we don’t take care of our teeth and our gums we always pay for it later, physically and figuratively.

There are things you can do to take care of your oral health at home in between dentist visits that may lessen the expense at your next visit if you avoid things like cavities.  Try oil pulling which may improve oral health.  Brush your teeth at least twice daily.  Reduce the amount of sugar you eat.  Floss.  All those things are a lot cheaper than emergency dental procedures that may have been preventable.

Going to the dentist is not cheap, but sometimes it IS necessary.  However, sometimes a visit is preventable (aside from regular cleanings) if we avoid developing cavities and other oral health issues.  Again, this is not something that is entirely possible – I know people who have excellent oral health practices and still manage to get many cavities due to things like deep grooves in their teeth or low enamel, but if there are ways we can take care of our teeth at home to minimize the damage, we should do it.

(If you want to learn more about oil pulling, check out this article.)

YOU DON’T HAVE TO CHOOSE

You don’t have to choose between living well financially and taking care of your health.  If you are on a tight budget you will need to be a little more creative in how you can take care of yourself, but it definitely is possible.  Don’t overwhelm yourself or your bank account by trying to change too much at once.  Make little changes, find out what works for your body, and build on that.

In the end it is worth it if it means we can live our life to the fullest, with energy and stamina, and less sick days, right?