How to Make Healthy Choices Without Blowing Your Budget
It’s no secret that maintaining our good health often comes down to taking preventative measures rather than reactionary ones. But what feels like a secret is how to make healthy choices without blowing your budget.
Sure, there are always upmarket health products and services available. But as it turns out, there are plenty of alternatives that will allow you to maintain a healthy body and budget, so you don’t have to choose.
Find Free Fitness Videos Online
YouTube is a great resource for everything from DIY home improvement tutorials to movie trailers and audiobooks. Somewhere in the middle, there are over 30 million fitness videos available on YouTube for free.
Here are the categories of some of the most popular free fitness videos available:
- Full body workout
- Ab blast workout
- Yoga (for toning or relaxation)
- Barre (combines ballet and pilates to tone and sculpt)
- Zumba and other dance workouts
- HIIT (high-intensity interval training)
With new videos and creators popping up every day, there are plenty of options to choose from. Simply choose the category of fitness video you want to try, type it into the search bar on YouTube, and choose one that matches your needs.
You can also sort them by most popular to see which ones are tried and true. Virtual fitness platforms have been around for years, and many of them saw exponential growth after the start of the pandemic.
One fitness-based YouTube channel saw a 300%+ increase in engagement in a matter of weeks. And they weren’t the only ones.
Look for Local Health-Focused Events
YouTube isn’t the only place you can find free fitness. Many libraries and parks and recreation departments organize fitness events you can attend right in your town. Free 5Ks, yoga sessions, and tai chi are some of the most common.
Follow your town’s social media pages or sign up for alerts to find events near you. There are no free gyms, but with local events, you can build your own. We also recommend creating a designated workout space in your home for the colder months or rainy day workouts.
You can find affordable workout equipment at chains like Walmart and Target. And if you don’t mind your equipment gently used, you can also check Goodwill, other thrift stores, Facebook Marketplace, tag sales, and Buy Nothing groups.
Boost Your Step Count with a Free App
One of the easiest ways to give your health a boost is to get the recommended number of steps each day. This can vary depending on your regular activity level, age, and health, but most experts recommend an average of 7,000 to 10,000 steps per day.
Those who don’t regularly track their steps are often surprised to discover that they’re falling significantly short of this target. But you can use a free app like Samsung Health, Pedometer, or StepsApp to track your steps and work your way up to your ideal range.
Choose Affordable Meat Alternatives
With ongoing supply chain concerns and food product inflation, meat is more expensive than ever. This gives us another reason to cut back if the sake of our health wasn’t enough. High-protein items, like tofu, beans, and mushrooms, can easily be swapped in for meat-based meals. They’re better for our health and often more affordable, too.
Shop Local
The less time food products spend traveling, the less money you’ll likely spend on them. This is one reason why it’s often better to buy local produce from budget grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and other local providers.
Additionally, local food products require less processing and will get to you faster, so they’ll probably taste fresher, too.
Cheap, Healthy Dinner Ideas
Fast food and takeout may look appealing when you’re on the go or tired at the end of a workday, but they’re a costly convenience. And it’s not just our budgets that take a hit, it’s often our health, too. But how do you eat well without breaking the bank?
Our list of healthy fast-food alternatives is a great place to start. They are primarily nutritious, easy to make, and portable, making it easier for you to make healthy choices without blowing your budget. A few favorites:
