Your health is your life, and your wealth represents the fruits of your labor.  I assume you don’t want to be wasteful with either of them.  Here’s how to save both at the same time:

So many people spend their health gaining wealth,
and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.
– A.J. Reb Materi

1. Reduce Your Consumption of Drugs – That includes alcohol, cigarettes, over the counter, prescription and otherwise.  Drugs are a huge financial drain, and in most cases, unhealthy for the human body.  A significant portion of the global population abuses the crap out of them on a daily basis, legally and illegally.

2. Learn to Cook and Prepare Healthy Food – People who eat every meal out tend to have lighter wallets and heavier rear ends.  With the exception of pricey, upscale dining establishments, you’ll find that most restaurants use lower-grade ingredients and employ sketchy sanitary practices that fall well below the standards you embrace in your own kitchen.  So when you eat out, you’re either spending more cash or eating low-grade product.  Regardless, you lose.  The ability to cook and prepare healthy meals is a vital skill everyone should know how to do.

3. Brown Bag the Leftovers for Lunch – Always cook enough at dinnertime so you can enjoy lunchtime leftovers the following day.  Leftovers are faster, easier, cheaper and healthier than anything you’ll find at the local fast food eatery.

4. Avoid Overpriced, Unproven Supplements – Most people assume that FDA approved nutritional supplements are proven products.  Wrong!  Do you really think the FDA has enough resources to precisely verify every new dietary supplement proposed to hit the market?  I assure you, they don’t and there is no feasible way they ever will.  Remember, the FDA concentrates its efforts on drugs, not supplements.  Under the active Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act, producers of dietary supplements do not have to verify that their product is effective, safe or at all healthy prior to placing it on store shelves.  Sometimes someone has to become dreadfully ill from a dietary supplement before it even becomes a “blip” on the FDA’s radar. 

5. Drink Filtered Tap Water – I’ve said it before, people go to work and trade priceless hours of their lives for dollars and then waste the dollars buying something that’s already free.  A Brita water filter is an inexpensive investment that makes free tap water as healthy and pure as the bottled water for sale at the local supermarket.  Since a penny saved is a penny earned, you’ll be making money every time you take a sip.  Also, substituting beverages like soda for filtered tap water is another healthy way to save.

6. Stop Driving Like a Maniac – The faster you accelerate your vehicle, the more gas you will burn.  People who are heavy on the pedal use up to 37% more gas during every mile of city driving.  At $4 a gallon, that’s a lot of wasted money.  Also, the faster you drive, the less time you have to react to hazardous road conditions.  Bottom line: Drive responsibly at or below the speed limit.

7. Brew Your Own Coffee – Is coffee perfectly healthy for you?  It’s hard to say for sure.  There is a good deal of medical research to validate both sides of the argument (see here and here).  However, one point remains certain: millions of people across the globe drink coffee every single morning.  Many of them wasting significant amounts of money on fatty, sugar and cream packed coffee beverages from Starbucks-style coffeehouses.  So the real question is: How do you make the coffee drinking habit healthier and less expensive?  The answer is simple.  Brew your own coffee.  If you like, add a dash of low fat milk and a single packet of sugar.  It’s quick, fairly healthy and way cheaper than Starbucks.  We have a Cuisinart Two-to-Go Coffeemaker and absolutely love it.

8. Wear Helmets and Protective Body Gear – How many motorcyclists, bicyclists, skateboarders, etc. do see foolishly blazing around without wearing any form of protective body gear?  It’s your life.  A quality bicycle helmet will cost you $40 and 2 seconds of your time to put it on before you ride.  If you don’t wear one and end up crashing and cracking your head open, it could cost you thousands of dollars in medical bills and take months, if not years, for your body to fully recover.

9. Stay In and Hang Out – Your home is your haven.  It’s the safest, most comfortable environment to relax and socialize in.  It also happens to be a far cheaper alternative to the local bars, pubs and clubs.  You can save money on gas and entertainment costs while avoiding a lungful of secondhand smoke.  So login to eBay, sell some stuff you don’t use, buy yourself a Wii and invite over a few of your favorite people.  Don’t forget to crank-up the tunes.  😉

10. Buy Healthy, Generic Brand Food – When it comes to the bare essentials on your grocery list, generic brands can provide the same food quality at a significantly reduced cost.  U.S. food manufacturers are forced to follow a set of standards which basically guarantees the quality of the food they produce.  Many large-scale grocery chains purchase name brand products directly from the manufacturer and simply slap their own generic brand label on the packaging.  You should always compare the generic brand’s list of ingredients to a name brand product just to make sure everything matches up.  [Read more…]