Good morning Dinks. I am happy to say that the warm weather has finally arrived up here in the Northeast. With the warm weather comes the need to spend as much time as we can outside in the sunshine. When people know that bikini season is upon us they have a need to eat healthier and be more active.
Just like any new hobby people are sometimes skeptical about trying new things because it may cost a lot of money to get into a new sport or adopt a new lifestyle. But I am here to tell you that eating healthy and being active doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, if you know where to look.
I personally hate spending money on items and activities that I can do myself for free. I don’t like to get fake nails because I can just grow my own and I hate paying for a gym membership when I can find fun activities to do outside or at local community centers for free.
I also hate paying more than I have to for anything. I always shop for discounts and coupons; if an item that I want is not on sale I talk myself out of it and ultimately decide that I don’t really need it.
What is your favourite money saving tip for eating healthy and being active?
Use fillers when cooking meals. So often people like to stuff their bellies full of meat and vegetables but the truth is that portion sizes we eat on a daily basis are probably half of the actual amount of food that we need to eat to survive. Food is one of the biggest expenses that we have, but it doesn’t have to be. If we cut down the portions of our meals we would actually save a lot of money. The next time you buy a steak or chicken breast cut it in half and make two meals out of it instead of overeating. You will save calories and money.
Shop the flyers and take a walk. This is my shopping rule of thumb and if you are trying to live healthy and save money it kills two birds with one stone. I always check out local flyers and walk around my neighbourhood to do my weekly grocery shopping at two different stores. I like knowing that I am getting the best deal on the products that I need each and every week. Spending a few hours walking around in the sunshine is the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon and if I can only buy as many groceries as I can carry I will never waste money or food and I will never overspend.
Find free fitness activities in your neighbourhood. Healthy living is becoming so popular in cities all around America that many stores, shops, schools and community centers are offering fitness classes for free. My office building actually has a gym that employees can freely use at their will. My employer also offers health and wellness seminars a few times a year on how to eat better, how to improve your posture and how to make time for exercise every day.
Photo by wickerfurniture
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
Nice tips. Another one that my wife and I do is growing our own vegetables. It probably doesn’t save a ton of money, but it’s nice to be able to know exactly where the vegetable came from and they seem to taste better from your own garden.
These are all great ideas! We actually garden quite a bit. It gives us the opportunity to be active outside, plus we get to eat all the yummy veggies thanks to our hard work.
We also have a free workout room at our work that I take advantage of, though I do have a $10/month gym membership as well. Funny fact: deep dish pizza is purchased MUCH more in the winter vs. the summer. Think crust is purchased way more in the Summer than the Winter. Same logic – people will be wearing less clothes in the Summer.
As we have gotten older our meals consist less of meats but much more vegetables and salads, olive oil and olives and fruits. My biggest nemesis is desserts but the rest of my eating is pretty good.
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