A Healthier You Means a Wealthier You (By Anya Willis)

Photo Credit: Marta Wave via Pixels

What if we told you that being healthy not only added years to your life but that it also added money to your bank account? Eating a more healthy diet and getting at least thirty minutes of exercise into your daily routine is like getting a raise at work. Today, Pilates with Scott is happy to share some of these cost-saving ways to be your very best self.

Get Insured

Health insurance companies often provide lower premiums for their customers who choose healthier lifestyles. Being a smoker or being obese can raise the cost of your health insurance by a substantial amount, so eliminating those factors can add up to a not insignificant savings annually. Some companies also offer bonuses in the way of gift cards or cash payments for completing routine physicals and preventative diagnostics screenings.

Eat at Home

Preparing your meals at home rather than dining out or bringing in convenience foods saves you money and is a substantially better way to control your diet. According to The Ascent, Americans spend $2,375 a year on dining out and take-in meals. In fact, Americans spend half of their monthly food budget on eating meals prepared away from home. We can cut that cost while also cutting the number of foods we eat that are just plain bad for us. Healthline lists the 13 negative effects fast food has on our bodies, like heart disease, weight gain, and depression.

If you have kids, get them involved in the cooking process. Even small children can help gather ingredients and measure, not to mention samples as you cook. You can look for kid-friendly cooking tools online to get them working alongside you from a young age. There are great kitchen step stools that keep children much safer than standing on a kitchen chair while they learn to become your sous chef. In fact, being involved in the food preparation process can make picky eaters more interested in trying new foods, too.

Stay Active

Exercise has long been known to extend not just the years of our lives, but the quality of those years, too. And we don’t need gym memberships or expensive exercise equipment in order to get the most effective workout either. In fact, Medical News Today lists these 13 best exercises for our bodies and they require either no, or a very limited amount of, equipment to perform.

Yoga’s health benefits include aiding people with quitting smoking and helping people who are obese to lose weight. It can be helpful to take group or private yoga classes to make sure you’re getting the most benefit from it. There may be free or low-cost classes nearby at community health centres or, if not, many yoga and tai chi instructors offer inexpensive online classes.

Pilates is another great way to get into shape without buying a lot of equipment. Plus, it’s a very low impact workout, which is great for those with joint pain. Through pilates, you will strengthen your core, increase your flexibility, and better your posture. Pilates with Scott offers on site and online classes, which makes it easy to make your workout every time. No excuses.

Become an Entrepreneur

With more and more people opting to choose healthier lifestyles, starting your own health and wellness business can be a great investment. For instance, the pandemic greatly increased the number of people who began bicycling. All those people cycling meant huge boosts in sales of bikes and related equipment, and the need for bicycle repair shops. The levels of bread baking may have diminished, but not the trend in having bread and other groceries delivered. Catering became a big business too, especially those that focused on healthy options, including vegetarian and vegan dishes.

Those and so many more start-up business ideas could be the investment that fits you to a T. Developing a business strategy, looking at different business structures like LLCs, creating a business plan, and doing marketing research may lead you to the conclusion that this is the right time for becoming an entrepreneur.

You can always start off small and plan to grow later by keeping a lot of tasks in-house. For instance, instead of hiring an expensive graphic designer, simply use a free logo design template, then share your snazzy new design via social media to help spread the word. You can create your invoices in house, too. Find an online invoice generator and select the one that best fits your business needs and aesthetic. You can choose from a wide selection, and each can be modified to fit your needs. Thanks to great digital resources, you can DIY plenty of necessities and save a small fortune in the process.

The health of your body and the health of your finances are not as unrelated as you may think. In fact, a smarter lifestyle may be as good for your bottom line as it is for your health. Look for ways to be active without spending a lot of money, like cycling or classes at Pilates with Scott. And, if you find an opportunity, monetise your new health passion.