Fresh produce, healthy foods, a gym membership and gear… how do you afford to live healthy?! Here’s exactly how I do it!
First things first… it’s important to me that “LG” as in my blog and my approach promotes health in all facets not just in the gym and kitchen. To me, a healthy lifestyle includes health in my body, mindset, relationships, career, home life, andddd finances.
Now, just like most of us, I’m guilty of an unnecessary splurge here and there. Realistically, I probably didn’t need the over-priced suede boots I purchased last winter as a lady living in hot and humid Texas. But, anyways…
I’ve lead a healthy lifestyle both while in college on a limited budget and now as someone who makes a comfortable living, so I’ve learned a think or two on how to afford a healthy lifestyle. It’s not hard, so I want to share my tips!
LIFE LESSON FROM KATY PERRY…
Did you hear Katy Perry’s comments on her American Idol salary? Supposedly, Katy Perry is earning $25 million to be a judge on the television show.
The way I grew up, you never spoke about your salary, savings or anything money related. You keep it hush hush. Even if you’re proud of how much you earn, you don’t share it.
Opposite to that, Katy Perry was openly thrilled. She talked about how proud she was to be a woman making an historically high salary as a judge on that show.
I only bring this up because I feel like money is a taboo subject, but why?! Shouldn’t we be proud to say… I worked my ass off in college to earn a nice degree. I hustled in the work world to land that job, start my own business, work on this project.
I don’t know maybe it’s just me who feels this way, but I’m going to go there and talk about money.
4 MONEY PRINCIPLES I HAVE
Okay, the first 2 are a tiny bit boring, but my last 2 priceless are uniquely Lauren, so hear me out…
1. KNOW YOUR NUMBERS
You’ve likely heard this a million times, but you have to know your numbers. What are you brining in each month? What are your mandatory expenses? How much/what percentage are you putting into your savings account?
While this seems elementary, it’s not exactly something we all do. I did not do this my first year earning my own living. The year after I graduated college, I made a lot of financial mistakes/had nice learning experiences to put it nicely. This was one of them.
I now know my numbers as in I know the average of what my electric bill is each month. I know the number down to the penny of what I owe in property taxes each year (yikes if you live in Texas lol). I know what percent of each paycheck I put directly into savings. It’s not exactly fun to figure this out, but it’s crucial to having healthy finances.
This is a HUGE wake up call if you haven’t done this already. I started doing this about 2 years ago. I print off my online statement from chase that gives you your purchases line by line. Maybe take 3-4 months to account for any outliers and then track your purchases by categories.
Some of My Categories:
- Food (groceries)
- Food (dining out)
- Home (bills)
- Home (additional expenses)
- Misc. Bills
- Wellness
- Entertainment
- Clothing/Decor/Shopping
- Upkeep (haircuts, nails, etc.)
- Children (you could also do pets as a category)
- Gifts
- Other
I feel like I may be missing a big category or even two big ones, but here’s a starting point. Then, I total up how much I spend in each category. This gives me the black and white hard numbers of where my money is going each month.
Knowledge is power because once I see this, I know where I can tweak if I want to. I remember this was the first realization I had on how much money I spent/wasted on eating out. Back when I worked a job for around $8/hr, I saw I spent $13.50 on lunch M-F, which seems reasonable in the moment but I could easily bring that down to less than $3 for a lunch that I made and packed. Hey… that’s money that can go toward new sneakers lol (or into savings if I’m feeling responsible).
3. SPEND BASED ON YOUR PRIORITIES
This is a pretty simple and straightforward… I spend my money based on my priorities. For example, I literally could care less about televisions. I’m sure many of you’ve seen my Snapchats and IG stories from awhile back when I literally had a 20 inch, six year old TV in my bedroom. It was a random brand but it worked for the hour or two I watch of television in a day.
I have friends who spend $$$$ on the latest and greatest TV with sound bars, and other gismos and gadgets I don’t even know about. They think I’m crazy for having a total of 2 TVs in my home. Yet, I’ll spend $100 on a pair workout pants, which my mother still gasps at lol. I wear workout clothing every. single. day. My workout outfits are more important than my dressy and every day outfits.
I spend based on my priorities so that my money goes to things I genuinely enjoy. I’ve found it a way to feel good about your purchases and not guilty #ByeByeBuyersGuilt
4. QUALITY QUALITY QUALITY
It may seem that buying expensive, quality items is a budget-breaker, but I see it as the opposite. If I’m spending my money on something that is a priority to me, I almost always buy a quality item.
Take my $100 dollar workout pants for example… I find Lululemon workout pants to be my favorite legging for both quality and aesthetic. I purchased my very first pair of Lululemon leggings back in college and remember forking over what seemed like a small fortune for workout pants. But… I wore those leggings for 5 years (I’m not exaggerating). I would wear them with boots and my winter jacket to classes then right to the gym. I wore them to run errands. I even wore them out with my girlfriends. (#TeamLeggingsAREPants lol)
I’ve spend $25 on leggings that fell apart after one washing or sagged every time I did a squat that they’re now sitting in the back of my closet… a complete waste of money. The way I see it, if it means a lot to you, find a quality item and invest. Also, quality doesn’t always have to be expensive!
THE VERY BEST FINANCIAL TIP FROM A FRIEND…
I had a girlfriend who once taught me a $1 per use rule and I still think about it every time I’m on the fence about purchasing something. Here’s the rule… purchase it if you’d use it enough times with $1/use to reach the cost of the item.
For example, if a water bottle costs $35 which you think it too high but you’d easily use that water bottle 60x in the first 2 months, go for it! On the other hand, if you’re considering buying a $300 dress for a wedding and you don’t see yourself every wanting to wear that dress again, find something a little less expensive. How great is that tip?!
HOW I AFFORD TO LIVE HEALTHY (my tips!)
GYM MEMBERSHIP: there are affordable ways to workout and truthfully, I think the most affordable option is to join a gym. You can find a gym membership for $30 or less in almost every city. By joining a gym, you get access to equipment that would cost tens of thousands of dollars to purchase yourself.
My other tip is to create an affordable home gym with an adjustable barbell and dumbbell set. Mine cost me less than $100 and it allows me to complete a full workout at home. I love having both a dumbbell and barbell option. I think the hardest part about working out at home is not having heavy enough weight for some exercises but with an adjustable kit, you can create a 10 lb dumbbell for curls or a 40 lb dumbbell for deadlifts!
FOOD: this is where you can really make or break your budget. First off, if you’re on a tight budget, nix eating out from your list. With what it costs to enjoy a fancy dinner and drink out, you can practically purchase an entire week’s worth of groceries. If you have a slightly larger budget, maybe limit your meals out to 1-2 times per week unless that is a priority of yours!
To save on purchased food, I have 2 main suggestions. First off, always create a list. Whether you’re grocery shopping or running to target, take the time to make a list of what you need and don’t buy anything else. When I don’t have a list and I grocery shop, I come home with 20 items I don’t need that end up expiring because I didn’t plan for them. Bonus points if you meal plan then grocery shop (more on that in my grocery shopping system linked below!)
My second tip is to not only sh0p the sales but stock up when there are sales. Everyone suggests shopping based on what is on sale each week, but that doesn’t work for me because then I end up buying things that are on sale but not necessarily what I like. So, when items I do love are on sale, I go outrageous on the stock up. If you have the space for it, this can save lots!
HERE I posted my Grocery Shopping System (and some free grocery shopping list printables if you’re interested)
I hope this post gave you a new idea or two on how you can make healthy living a bit more affordable for yourself. Even if you have a healthy budget, it’s always nice to find ways to push more into savings and spend less while getting as much as you need!
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