Healthy is hot right now. It’s trendy, sexy–which I think is great! But unfortunately that means companies have latched onto the glamour factor of getting healthy and used that to charge a premium for healthy products and services.
That’s fine if you have the discretionary income to spend on things like $7 green smoothies, $18 barre classes, or triple-digit Lululemon attire. We pay for plenty of things we don’t need that make us happy–shoes, throw pillows, luxury cars–so why not pay extra for stuff that makes us healthy too?
But the fact is that you don’t HAVE to take out a second mortgage just to get in shape and feel good. Here are 5 cash-saving tips for getting buff and beautiful–without going broke and bankrupt!
#1. Adhere to the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen for Produce.
When it comes to buying organic, some things matter more than others. By now you’ve probably heard of the Dirty Dozen that are important to buy organic, but there’s also now a Clean 15–the inverse of that which we can feel pretty good about buying nonorganic. Make the Clean 15 a regular part of your shopping list!
#2. Be Mindful of Memberships.
Boutique fitness studios are on the rise–and fitness trends suggest that the big box gyms will go by the wayside soon, to be replaced with private studios and virtual fitness programs. (Like yours truly.) And while boutique fitness studios can be super fun–think trendy club-like memberships like Tracy Anderson Method, SoulCycle, and PureBarre–they aren’t a prerequisite to getting fit, and they’re not necessarily going to give you a better workout than you can get at a $10-per-month Planet Fitness membership. Honestly, you don’t even need a gym membership to get fit. I think the best workouts I’ve gotten are my 25-minute at-home workouts with zero equipment–stuff like push-ups, lunges, burpees, etc. They’re not necessarily the most FUN, mind you, but they absolutely work.
#3. Make Stuff.
Make your own green smoothies at home. (I like frozen bananas, a bit of frozen kale, flax milk, flax seeds, stevia, peanut butter, and Garden of Life organic vanilla spiced chai protein powder–at about $1.65 per smoothie it’s loads cheaper than hitting up your local juice bar.)
Make your own yoga mat spray. I combine 1/4 cup (cheap!) vodka with six ounces of water, 5 drops of lemon essential oil, and 10 drops of tea tree oil, into a spray bottle that I use for EVERYTHING–my yoga mat, sweaty gym shoes, the fabric interior of my car, and as an air freshener. You can use any essential oils, really. Lavender is also a nice touch if you want it to do double-duty as a nighttime pillow spray.
Ladies, make your own sports headbands.
Um, make dinner! (haha–obvious but true)
#4. Use Amazon Subscribe and Save
I get my protein powder and Zevia stevia-sweetened sodas on Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program, and I spend about 25% less than I would at the store. Plus, that’s one less shopping trip!
#5. Replace Your Household Products and Cosmetics With Natural, Low-Toxin Products
Household chemicals in things like laundry detergent, hairspray, toothpaste, and soap can actually get absorbed into our tissues and set us up for a sluggish metabolism at best and, at worst, chronic disease.
Swap your drugstore brands with products like Honest, which are comparable in price and can be purchased at 15% off when you enroll in their online bundles.
Finally, keep in mind that, ultimately, your health IS a worthy investment. No, you don’t necessarily have to have all the glamorous bells and whistles of whatever is on-trend. But if it makes you more likely to actually do it, it may well worth be the cost. Investing in your health now will pay huge dividends–not only in future medical costs–but in the quality of the life you live.
BONUS: Grab a free yoga lesson with my Gentle Yoga Video–a 15-minute guided yoga practice that’s a perfect way to wind down before bed.
