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Afraid a healthier lifestyle won’t fit in your budget? Good news: there are
many strategies for making nutrition and fitness more affordable. Many
of these strategies boil down to having a plan, doing your research, and
making small lifestyle changes that can have a big impact down the line.
At The Simple Dollar, we believe healthy living doesn’t have to be at odds
with living within your means. Keeping a long-term view is the key to
making smart financial decisions — and healthy decisions, too!
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget (2017) How to eat right and stay fit without paying a fortune
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Why Prioritizing Your Health Makes Financial Sense
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Getting fit can actually help you save money.
There are plenty of situations in which the healthier choice and the frugal
choice are one and the same. It’s true that junk foods tend to be slightly cheap-
er than whole foods at the grocery store (about $1.50/day less than healthier
options, according to researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health). But
what if you made up that negligible cost by eating out less often? That’s a rele-
vant question for the average American, because in 2015, spending at restau-
rants exceeded grocery spending in the U.S. for the first time ever. How much
might you save by skipping the drive-through once a week — and what healthy
foods could you buy instead?
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Why Prioritizing Your Health Makes Financial Sense
Eating at home is a lot less expensive than eating at a restaurant, especially if
you prep meals in bulk. Plus, when you cook at home, you can control what
goes into your meal. You can make healthy substitutions or reduce the salt or
oil. You can control portion size. In this case, cooking for yourself is both the
healthiest and the thriftiest option.
Additionally, there are many direct and indirect costs associated with poor
health. Being significantly overweight can increase your risk of developing di-
abetes and heart disease, among many other conditions. Poor nutrition can
cause anemia, and lack of exercise is associated with higher risk for certain can-
cers. Long-term, staying healthy will keep healthcare costs low — and quality of
life high.
Why Prioritizing Your Health Makes Financial Sense
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Fitness is an investment in your future.
What’s the point of being frugal? Broadly, financial independence: the freedom
and financial means to live life on your terms. For most people, retiring well —
and even early! — is a major piece of the FI puzzle. But even if your nest egg
makes retirement a breeze financially, poor health could put a damper on your
Golden Years.
Everything you do today to stay healthy is an investment in your future, just like
a 401K or Roth IRA. Eating well and exercising can keep many health concerns
at bay, protecting your mobility and independence so you can fully enjoy your
retirement.
We believe a healthy lifestyle is possible on any budget.
In this guide, we’ll cover tips, tricks, and resources that can make healthy
living more affordable. Armed with this information, you’ll be able to make a
personalized action plan that includes:
• Smart nutrition strategies
• Ways to keep fitness affordable
• Weight-loss resources for everyone
We’ll begin with simple strategies for eating well on a budget, then move on to
staying fit on a budget.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Why Prioritizing Your Health Makes Financial Sense
Ready to get started? Let’s go!
Affordable nutrition Eat better on the cheap with these 7 simple strategies.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
1. Plan your meals in advance.
Never grocery shop without a grocery list! There are many health and financial
benefits to creating your meal plan — and corresponding grocery list — before
you hit the supermarket.
Having a meal plan:
• Reduces likelihood of impulse buys.
If you limit yourself to buying the ingredients for your planned meals,
your wallet and your waistline will thank you. (Resolving to buy only
the ingredients your menu calls for — including pre-planned, healthy
snacks — can help you resist tempting junk food.)
• Ensures you’ll have a healthy option ready on busy days.
Decision fatigue is a real thing — especially when it comes to
choosing what’s for dinner. If you have healthy groceries waiting to
be cooked at home, you’ll be less tempted to swing through the drive
through or head to a restaurant when life gets busy.
Affordable Nutrition
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
• Prevents waste.
If you know the quantity of perishable items like eggs, produce, or
dairy you’ll need for this week’s meals, you won’t buy too much. This
will help you avoid excess groceries spoiling before you have the
chance to use them.
• Gives you control over what you’re eating.
Prepackaged meals aren’t just more expensive than the raw
ingredients for a similar meal would be. They also tend to be loaded
with bad stuff like sodium and preservatives. Similarly, when you
order a meal at a restaurant, you don’t know exactly what you’re
getting. Preparing meals yourself gives you the freedom to make
healthy substitutions that can help you meet your fitness goals.
You’ll be more likely to stick to your plan if it’s convenient. So take steps today
to make things easy for future you! Start by creating several weekly meal plans
to keep in your rotation (including breakfasts, lunches, dinner, and snacks). That
way, you can pull a ready-made menu when it’s time to make your grocery list.
Get The Simple Dollar’s Meal & Grocery Planner
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
Meal plans and menus from The Simple Dollar:
$150-a-Week Grocery Budget and Meal Plan in Real Life
26 Favorite Cheap-and-Easy Meals
Related:
A Walkthrough of Our Weekly Meal Planning Routine
Meal Planning Ideas for Busy Families
How to Plan Ahead for Next Week’s Meals and Save Money
How to Turn a Cupboard Cleaning Into a Great Meal Plan
11 Tactics For Meal Planning That Will Save Money
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
2. Buy (and prep) in bulk.
Bulk meal prep is one of the simplest ways to balance your budget with
nutritional goals. Overall, groceries purchased in bulk usually cost less per unit
— up to 89% less than smaller-portion packages.
Shopping and cooking in bulk is a little different than preparing smaller
portions, but it’s not as complicated as you might think. With a few adjustments
to your routine, you can make the jump this week.
Meal prep strategies
Join (and strategically shop) a wholesale club.
Wholesale clubs (AKA warehouse clubs) offer members-only bulk pricing on
items ranging from grocery to paper products and home goods. Creating a
monthly meal plan will allow you to buy nonperishable/freezable ingredients
in bulk (and reduce the number of visits you’ll have to make the club monthly).
But even if you don’t plan a month’s worth of meals in advance, it makes sense
to buy pantry staples like rice, flour, oats, and certain meats in bulk.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
When planning your bulk shopping list, The Simple Dollar’s founder Trent
Hamm recommends asking yourself: Am I going to be able to use all of this
before it goes bad? If an item has limited shelf life and can’t be frozen, you
could end up wasting some of it, which negates the per-unit savings. To avoid
waste, think critically before purchasing perishable items in bulk. If you can
freeze extra portions or need a lot of it in the near future — say, prepping for
a family barbeque — buy it at the club. If not, it might make more sense to buy
that particular item at the grocery store.
Want to try a wholesale club but afraid to commit to an annual membership
fee? Take a trial membership for a spin! Watch for promotions in mailers, in the
newspaper, or on deal sites like Groupon. If you don’t find a trial advertised,
it’s worth calling your local club. In addition to trial memberships, many offer
special “open house” days when you can shop without a membership card or
single-day passes.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
Related:
The Ultimate Guide to Buying in Bulk
Maximize Your Savings at a Warehouse Club
Waste Not, Want Not: Strategies for Warehouse Club Shopping
Six Strategies for Maximizing the Value of a Warehouse Club
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
Get friendly with freezer meals.
The freezer meal phenomenon deserves all the positive press it gets! The idea is
simple: designate one day per week or per month to prep multiple meals, then
freeze them to enjoy later. By opting to prepare homemade freezer meals, you
can save money and time.
When you’re preparing multiple meals at once, you can buy groceries in bulk
to save per serving. Plus, having meals on standby will help you avoid the
temptation of fast food on hectic days. Once prepped, freezer meals are the
ultimate convenience food. Consolidating meal prep for the week or even for
the month means minimal time in the kitchen outside your prep day — and who
doesn’t want that? It’s efficient, too; you’ll only have to clean the kitchen once.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
Strategies that go hand-in-hand with freezer meal prep
• Slow cooking
If you don’t have a slow cooker, you should! Slow cooker freezer meals
are incredibly low maintenance, and they require very little cooking
know-how to get right. Simply pull the prepared meal from your
freezer, drop it in/turn the cooker on, and go about your day. A hot,
home cooked meal will be waiting for you when you get home — no
babysitting a skillet or preheating an oven required.
• Meal swapping
Making extra-large batches of meals is efficient and cost-effective.
But eating the same meals on a regular basis can get old. Solution:
organize a meal swap to vary your freezer meal selection and share
your favorite frugal recipes with friends and family.
• Disposable pans
Try freezing casseroles and other baked items directly in disposable
foil pans (if you have the space in your freezer, that is). When you’re
finished, simply rinse and recycle the pan. That way, you can enjoy a
homecooked meal without prepping or scrubbing a pan the night of!
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
Related:
Our Family’s Seven Favorite Make-Ahead Meals
Preparing Your Own Skillet Meals In Advance
The Ultimate Guide to Making Meals in Advance
How Making Meals in Advance Saves Time and Money: Make-Ahead Lasagna
Can Once-a-Month Cooking Really Work?
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
3. Shop smarter.
Highly processed foods are convenient, but often, they’re neither the most
frugal nor the healthiest option. Impulse buying snack foods and pre-prepared
meals can run up your grocery bill and set you up to consume lots of empty
calories. But impulse buys aren’t inevitable. To minimize temptation:
• Stick to the perimeter.
Think about the layout of your favorite grocery store. Most nutrient-
dense foods, from produce to dairy and fresh meats, are arranged
in refrigerated cases along the outer edge of the store. By primarily
“shopping the perimeter,” you can avoid the processed foods in the
center of the store.
• Eat before you shop.
When you’re hungry, you’re more likely to choose high-calorie foods,
according to a 2013 Cornell University study. Set yourself up to make
good choices by eating a healthy, filling snack before you head to the
grocery store.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
4. Make healthy substitutions.
The ability to tweak recipes for healthfulness is a major advantage of home
cooked meals, so take advantage! Here’s a list of common substitutions to get
you started. Note: results may vary, depending on the recipe — but don’t be
afraid to experiment!
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Affordable Nutrition
Trade This For That Good to know
All-purpose flour
Corn Syrup
Mayonnaise
Milk
Pasta
Potatoes
Sugar
Vegetable Oil
Whole wheat flour
Maple syrup, agave, honey, or cane syrup
Plain yogurt, sour cream, or mashed avocado
Almond Milk
Spaghetti Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Stevia
Olive Oil
Whole wheat flour can affect taste, texture, and baking time, especially for more delicate items like pastries. Try substituting 25% of your all-purpose flour with wheat flour to start. If you like the results, you can up the percentage of wheat flour next time you make it! (Whole wheat flour absorbs liquid more readily than all-purpose, so you may need to add a little more liquid to compensate in some recipes.)
Different substitutions work best for different purposes. Agave may be a good place to start, since it has the mildest flavor of the substitutes we’ve listed. Note: you’ll want to stick with corn syrup when making candy or caramel to prevent graininess.
Different substitutions work best for different purposes. Avocado works well as a sandwich spread or in tuna/chicken salad. Plain yogurt is a fine replacement in most recipes, especially dressings and rich dips. Sour cream will work in a pinch, but it has the most noticeable flavor; it may add a tangier taste to your recipe.
Use plain, unsweetened almond milk to minimize differences in taste.
Baked spaghetti squash has a pasta-like texture. Learn more about how to prepare at TheKitchn.
While white potatoes and sweet potatoes both have a place in a healthy diet, sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index. They’re a great substitution in mashed potatoes or as an accompaniment baked/roasted dishes.
Stevia is plant-based and has zero calories. It’s available in liquid concentrate, powdered extract, and dried leaf form. Because Stevia tastes sweeter than refined sugar, substitution ratios are drastically less than 1:1 and may vary by type.
When baking, you can also try swapping oil for applesauce. (This may make baked goods more moist, so you may need to add additional flour to compensate.)
5. Keep a food journal.
Keeping a food journal can help you lose weight and keep your food spending
in check. A 2008 study found that adults who kept a food journal 6 days per
week lost 2X as much weight as those who journaled 0-1 days per week.
Why do food journals work so well? First, they encourage self-monitoring, which
fosters awareness of both healthy and unhealthy eating patterns and helps to
target areas for improvement. Second, they emphasize awareness of portion
sizes. In America, average portion sizes have increased by somewhere in the
neighborhood of 138% since 1970. But many people underestimate how many
calories they’re consuming in these supersized portions. Keeping a food journal
puts the spotlight not just on what you’re eating, but also how much. (As a
fringe benefit, reducing the amount of food you consume can help lower your
monthly food bill, too.)
It doesn’t matter whether you journal on paper or in an app. Whichever method
you use, focus on recording the basics like food type, portion, and context of
the meal to identify where your challenges lie — and how best to tackle them.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
6. Get professional help.
Struggling to meet your fitness goals? Seeing an expert may be more affordable
than you think. Visits to a dietician or nutritionist may be covered under
your health insurance policy under the umbrella of “nutrition counseling” or
“nutrition therapy”. Compile a list of questions to ask your insurance provider to
find out what type of expenses are covered (and which would be out-of-pocket).
Dietician vs. nutritionist: what’s the difference?
Both dieticians and nutritionists can offer nutritional help, but qualifications
differ between the two professions. Learn more about the differences between
the two roles, then ask your doctor which type of nutritional counseling is right
for you. Depending on your insurance provider, a referral from your doctor may
be required for coverage.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
Role Qualifications Scope of work
Registered dietitian nutritionist (R.D.N.)
Nutritionist
Bachelor’s degree in dietetics, public health nutrition, or a related field
Completion of Dietetic Internship (D.I.), which equals 1,200 hours of experience
National licensure exam
75 continuing education credits every 5 years to maintain RDN credential
Title is not protected by law in all states. In states where title is not protected, nutritionists can perform nutrition counseling without a license. (Learn more at the Center for Nutrition Advocacy.)
Nutritionists may study nutritional science and may also have professional certifications like Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS).
General nutrition education
Creating personalized nutrition plan
Diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders
General nutrition education
Creating personalized nutrition plan
7. Go meatless.
If you’re an omnivore (read: not vegan or vegetarian), consider preparing
meatless meals at least once per week. Meat products are typically the most
expensive items on most omnivores’ grocery lists — and excessive consumption
of red meat is correlated with increased risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes,
and more. Going meatless even once a week could reduce your grocery bill and
improve your health long-term!
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
Our favorite nutrition apps
Paprika Recipe Manager
This handy app ensures your meal plan and your grocery list are always on
hand. Use Paprika to clip recipes from the web, add recipes to your meal plan,
and — the best part — pull ingredients from your meal plan to your grocery list
with just a few clicks. Ingredients in your grocery list are automatically sorted
by department, and items that appear in multiple recipes are added up for you
so you know the total amount needed. If you need to adjust the number of
servings for freezer meal prep, the app will multiply ingredients for you. And it’s
available for pretty much any device. (Check out our tips for meal planning with
Paprika.)
Download for: iOS | Android | Windows | Mac
Flipp
It’s a weekly circular. It’s a coupon manager. It’s awesome! Flipp compiles
circulars from your local stores (800 retailers at time of writing) in an attractive,
easy-to-navigate package. It also allows you to search and “clip” digital coupons,
which you simply present through the app at checkout. If you choose to use
its shopping list feature, Flipp will search deals at local stores to automate the
couponing process. And it’s completely free.
Download for: iOS | Android
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
Ibotta
Ibotta brings cash back to grocery purchases — and online shopping, clothing stores,
and more! It works like this: first, add rebates for the products you’re planning to buy.
Next, go shopping as you normally would. After your shopping trip, take a photo of your
receipt as proof of purchase. Then wait for your cash back to roll in! Ibotta rebates are
actual money, not points, so in addition to redeeming for gift cards, you can transfer
them to PayPal or Venmo to cash out.
Download for: iOS | Android
Fooducate
Ever wondered how healthy your morning granola bar really is? The answer may surprise
you. Fooducate is a website/app that helps you find healthier alternatives to your favorite
packaged foods. It makes eating well simpler by assigning foods a letter grade, explaining
the why behind the score — and suggesting better alternatives for you to try. If you
download the app, you’ll also get a food/exercise tracker.
Download for: iOS | Android
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
MyFitnessPal
Last but not least, MyFitnessPal is a longstanding favorite among food
journal apps. Its user-supported search functionality is the real headline, with
nutritional info for dishes at popular restaurants, packaged foods, whole foods,
and everything between. (The database includes 5,000,000 food items so far!)
Just enter the type of food and the serving size to log calories and more. You
can use it to log exercise too — and any exercise you log will be subtracted from
your calories consumed for a complete picture of your day.
Download for: iOS | Android
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Nutrition
Affordable fitness Try the following tips and tricks to spice up your fitness routine
without breaking your budget.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
How to score an affordable gym membership
Becoming a member of a gym can be a good investment in your fitness — as
long as you’re willing to go often enough to justify the membership fees. If
that’s you, and you’re wondering how to make a gym membership fit in your
budget, it’s worth doing your homework to get the best deal possible. Here’s
where to start.
Know when to join.
Most people focus on fitness in the first few weeks of January. (New Year’s
resolutions, anyone?) But at many gyms, the best deals may be found in the
summertime. When the weather is nice, lots of people prefer to exercise
outdoors. That means fewer signups for gyms and potential savings for you.
If you don’t see an advertised sale, ask if your local gym will waive your signup
fees or give you a two-for-one deal if you sign up with a friend.
Other times to consider joining: the end of the month or in December, when
gyms may cut membership costs to meet monthly or yearly quotas.
Affordable Fitness
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Shop bargain class passes.
Discount sites like Groupon and LivingSocial regularly offer sets of fitness
classes at a discounted rate for new customers. Shop discounted class passes
to sample new types of classes or to take multiple local gyms for a trial run
before you sign a contract.
Look for freebies.
Leverage free or reduced cost gym visits to choose a gym you’ll enjoy for the
long term and/or score a sweet welcome gift when you’re ready to commit.
Common types of gym freebies include:
• Trial memberships
• Guest/day passes (Go to a friend’s gym!)
• Sign up and get _______ (pool access, personal training session,
massage, etc.)
• Complimentary or reduced-cost membership tier upgrade
If you don’t see what you’re looking for advertised, call and ask! Local gyms may
offer freebies to earn your business if you express interest.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Fitness
Check with your employer and insurance provider.
You’ve done your research, you have a list of possible gyms — but you’re looking
to lower the costs of membership even further. When you’re looking for ways to
trim your fitness budget, don’t overlook your employer and insurance provider.
If you work for a midsize-to-large company, local gyms could offer a “preferred
employer” discount you could take advantage of, so it’s worth dropping HR a line
to find out. Additionally, many insurance providers have negotiated discounts
with national gym chains. Call the customer service number on your insurance
card to find out if you’re covered.
Visit the Y.
If there’s a YMCA in your area, check their rates. Some local branches set your
monthly membership fees based on annual income. Additionally, financial
assistance may be available to help you cover the cost of membership. Call or
visit your local YMCA online to learn more about programs available in your city.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Fitness
Related:
Exercise Your Right to Negotiate at the Gym
Investing in Yourself: Exercise
Five Inexpensive Gym Alternatives for Exercise
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Fitness
Making personal training fit within your budget
There are many benefits to working with a personal trainer, from help
developing a customized workout regimen to learning proper form that can
prevent injury or strain. If you’d like to give it a try but aren’t sure your budget
has the room to spare, try these tips before you dismiss the idea. You might be
surprised how affordable personal training can be!
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Fitness
Sign up with a friend (or group of friends).
According to Thumbtack, the 2017 average cost of personal training falls
around $40/hour. (Enter your zip code in the calculator to get an average for
your area.) If that’s higher than you’re comfortable with, many personal trainers
offer discounted hourly rates when you share a session with other people. Use
a directory like IDEA or FitnessTrainer to find trainers in your area, then contact
them to ask about group rates.
Try a free or low-cost boot camp.
Boot camps are a great way to get to know experts within your local fitness
community — many personal trainers lead community boot camps to meet
potential customers and demonstrate their expertise. To find out about boot
camps coming up in your area, search Eventbrite, discount sites like Groupon,
and your city’s event calendar.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Fitness
Practice on your own.
Maybe you can swing one or two sessions per week, but three would be too
much for your monthly budget to absorb. That’s okay! Once you find a personal
trainer you’re comfortable with, work with them to design a personalized
workout you can do yourself on the days you don’t meet.
Check with your gym.
If you have a gym membership or are in the market for one, inquire about
the gym’s personal training services. It’s common for gyms to offer free initial
sessions or reduced-cost sessions for gym members — so don’t be afraid to
ask!
Reduce unhealthy spending (and put that money toward personal training).
Want to do something good for your wallet and your health? Search your
budget for opportunities to trim spending on unhealthy activities or habits.
Maybe it’s your morning fast food or latte run, your weekend bar tab, or high
spending on cigarettes. Try reducing that area of your budget by 1 /3 or ½ and
putting that money toward personal training instead. You’ll free up room in
your budget, and kicking unhealthy habits could help you meet your fitness
goals even sooner.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Fitness
Get plugged into your local fitness community.
Working out alongside other people promotes accountability and can help
you stick with your fitness routine when you might otherwise get discouraged.
Community-based fitness works — and it’s more fun than working out alone.
Get to know people in your city who enjoy the types of activity you do, make
friends, and enjoy working toward your goals together! Here’s how to get
started.
• Join some Meetup groups.
Ever heard of Meetup? It’s a directory of local communities in every
category you can imagine, from entrepreneurship to book circles and
board game groups. Use the free app or website to search for biking,
running, hiking, and other fitness groups in your city. Whatever your
workout of choice, there’s probably a Meetup group near you built
around it!
Affordable Fitness
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
• Find an accountability partner you trust.
When you start to get tired, an accountability partner will keep you
honest. When you feel tempted to skip a workout, your accountability
partner can encourage you — and you can do the same for him or
her. Whether it’s guilt or a sense of competition that motivates you,
you’ll be more likely to stick with a routine if flaking means standing
someone else up. Having trouble finding a friend or family member
who’s willing to step in? Use a service like WellSquad to find your
accountability partner.
• Watch for community events.
Check your town’s event calendar and keep an eye out for
advertisements — your city may offer free or low-cost clinics, classes,
and more! (Eventbrite is also a good resource for this.) In the past
year, my city has offered yoga and Zumba classes, Saturday boot
camps, and athletic conditioning sessions. If you don’t see what you’re
looking for, check in surrounding cities, too.
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Fitness
Our favorite fitness resources
Gym memberships and personal trainers offer a host of benefits you won’t get
when working out alone. But if you’re looking to mix up your fitness routine at
home, there’s a huge variety of free and almost-free resources online.
Strava
Looking for an online fitness community with a stellar app? Check out Strava.
It’s part social network, part fitness tracking, and completely awesome. Strava
is compatible with just about any fitness device you can think of. Use it to track
your workouts, measure performance across metrics like heart rate and mile
breakdown, and join groups. Strava can help you find new running and biking
routes by highlighting popular routes nearby. It can even help keep you safe
when exercising alone; its popular Beacon feature (available with Premium)
allows you to share your location in real time.
Download for: iOS | Android
SparkPeople
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Fitness
If your goals include weight loss, look into SparkPeople. It’s an online
community, calorie counter, and personalized fitness program all in one —
essentially the Swiss Army Knife of fitness tools. You can use it to explore
healthy recipes, keep a food journal, or research diet tips from nutritionists.
Joining is free, as is downloading the mobile app.
Download for: iOS | Android
7 Minute Workout
Even on your busiest day, you can probably carve out seven minutes for a
workout! The free 7 Minute Workout app walks you through a variety of quick-
hit circuits that include short sets of exercises meant to tone, build endurance,
and promote weight loss. The programs you’ll find in the app are based on HICT
(high-intensity circuit training) for a quick, effective workout. Voice prompts
between sets guide you through the circuit, and videos of each move help you
learn proper form to reduce the chance of injury. On days you can’t make it to
the gym or meet with your trainer, the 7 Minute Workout is a great way to get
your heartrate up with minimal equipment or fuss.
Download for: iOS | Android
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Fitness
WellSquad
An accountability partner can do wonders for your motivation. If you’re having
trouble finding someone IRL, try WellSquad. Much like an online dating site, it’ll
use a questionnaire and “exclusive algorithm” to match you with a compatible
workout partner. WellSquad integrates with multiple fitness devices so you
can share your progress with your team. You can also message with fitness
partners or connect with “Squad Leaders” (certified fitness trainers and
registered dieticians) in your community to kickstart your fitness journey. It’s
free to join and find a fitness partner in your area, though there’s a monthly fee
for access to Squad Leaders.
Visit online: WellSquad.com
Endomondo
Advertised as a “personal trainer in your pocket,” Endomondo is a low-cost way
to get coaching and encouragement during your workout. This free app helps
you choose a workout plan (via a quick Fitness Test), set goals, and train to
meet them. You’ll get real-time audio feedback while you run, bike, or do 40+
other activities, so you’ll know when you’re on track and when to push harder.
Metrics tracked include calories burned, miles logged, and rate of improvement
over time. The optional Premium version includes personalized training plans
for even faster results.
Download for: iOS | Android
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Fitness
StrongLifts
Want to add weight lifting to your fitness routine? StrongLifts will help you train
smart. Based on the StrongLifts 5x5 program, the free app offers guidance on
when to add or subtract weight, what to do when you hit a plateau, and how
long you should rest between sets. And with single-tap logging, you can focus
on your exercise rather than running a timer.
Download for: iOS | Android
Couch to 5K
Aspiring runners, this one’s for you. The popular Couch to 5K program
helps you train from zero running ability to a 5K (that’s about 30 minutes
of continuous running) in just 8 weeks. It’s broken down into 3-per-week 30
minute sessions that gradually increase your running-to-walking ratio to get
you running your local road race in no time. There are many C25K apps out
there; we like Zen Labs’ version. It’s free for both iOS and Android.
Download for: iOS | Android
Calm
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Fitness
Consider adding meditation to your fitness routine to foster a healthy body
and mind. The Calm app offers guided meditations of various lengths, so
you can get a mindfulness boost even on busy days. The flexibility to choose
the accompanying music from a list of soothing options helps to tune out
background noise — a useful feature for the times when it’s difficult to find a
quiet place to practice, especially for beginners. You’ll get access to a variety
of meditations with the free app download, but you can also upgrade to enjoy
premium features like the Daily Calm (a new, themed meditation each day) and
meditations for commuting, walking, calming anxiety, and more.
Download for: iOS | Android
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
Affordable Fitness
Making a plan
We hope this guide has empowered you to make a plan you can stick with. Feel
free to use the resources we’ve covered to design a plan that both fits within
your budget — and helps you achieve your nutrition and fitness goals. Good
luck!
The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a BudgetThe Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget
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