Health is frugal?
Hi. {waves} Miss me? Sorry I haven’t been around. Life has been anything but sane recently. My mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor the size of a golf ball on November 11th (a meningioma for those in the know) and was operated on the day after Thanksgiving. She got her staples out yesterday and is doing very well.
Right now I’m “on vacation” at my folks helping with meals, washing dishes, doing laundry (I’ll spare you my ungenerous commentary on my mom’s iron :blush: ), pushing pills and generally looking nice to prevent “unruly doctor syndrome.” My kids are having a ball with their other grandparents who have gracious volunteered to fill my shoes for a few weeks. I hope to be home by New Year’s and bring Mom with me for a few weeks to finish recovering.
So let’s jump back into our regular Out of the Box Frugality thoughts…
With the holidays just around the corner, soon we can expect the ominous barrage of New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, eat better and exercise. Then there is everyone else offering wishes for health and happiness in the New Year. Couple those thoughts with everything my family has been through in the last three weeks and I thought we could talk about an often overlooked frugal topic: health. I know, health doesn’t seem very frugal. Grocery budgets yes, health no. Humor me for just a few minutes.
The greatest wealth is health.
Virgil
As a retired, semi-retired, sometimes just plain tired health care professional, I’ve learned that healthy people engage life and in most cases, live it to the fullest. They have energy to recycle, take the time to use green resources that save money, create charities, do nice things “just because” and have time to relax. People who don’t feel their best often take short cuts that end up costing lots and lots of time and money in the course of a lifetime. It pays to evaluate how we feel and take steps, even meager ones, to improve our health so our true wealth can be reflected.
Gold that buys health can never be ill spent.
Thomas Dekker, Westward Ho, 1604
Please don’t groan. I’m not going to tell you that you need to break the grocery budget and only buy organic or become a vegetarian who runs 11 miles a day before breakfast at 5 AM. There are inexpensive, if not totally free ways to improve our diets and lifestyles for a positive, healthier outcome. When we’re trying or need to be frugal, sometimes we have to scrap the healthier food choices in the name of saving money. Sometimes we simply don’t have the money to eat in ways we would like, but that shouldn’t stop us from taking steps to keep our minds, bodies and spirits healthy in other ways.
Miscellaneous Cheap or Free Ways to Improve Your Health
Exercise. My husband worked as a personal trainer for a big name gym chain before we were married. He found that even if a person’s diet was not the best, exercising would keep them healthy. He was always astonished at the people who ate horribly, but came to the gym 5 days a week, were as healthy as horses and never got colds or the flu. Exercise alone makes a big difference.
You don’t have to have fancy sm’ancy, high dollar equipment to exercise. Walk, run, lift a 2 or 5 pound bag of flour in each hand, stretch, quickly go up and down the stairs 25 times, bench press your toddler, do plain old fashion calisthenics, borrow exercise videos from the library, go swimming in the local swimming hole (should the weather allow it) or any other activities that get you moving and increase your heart rate.
pssst! You could also use the presently owed (fill in the black) exercise gizmo stashed in the closet or currently being used as a clothes tree. Or pick up some free weights or other basic equipment at yard sales or thrift stores for a fraction of new. Skip the “miracle” machines that “guarantee” tight butts, bigger breasts or super abs. They are most likely in the thrift store because they didn’t deliver as promised.
Eat More Vegetables and Whole Grains. The nutrients and fiber provided in vegetables and whole grains can stop numerous illnesses before they start. Can’t afford them? Think again. Carrien provides a pretty convincing argument otherwise.
If you’re struggling with getting more vegetables or grains into your diet, last year I wrote a series of articles on making quick, healthy meals from scratch. The intro article sketches out some basics and the rest give specific examples. (HT to Meredith for Carrien’s article.)
Take A Good Multivitamin. Health practitioners all over disagree about whether you should or shouldn’t take a multivitamin. The main argument is if you eat a well balanced diet, you won’t need them. I agree, but trying to be frugal with the grocery budget can leave gaps in nutrition. Because of that, I strongly recommend it. Think of it as an insurance policy. The key is to buy a good one. In my not so humble opinion, drugstore multivitamins are junk. If you decide to take one, head to your local health food store and buy a $20 variety. Unlike the antique silver candle holders you can stumble on at the Goodwill for $2, price reflects quality when it comes to multivitamins. More really does equal better.
Take a List of ALL Anomalies When You Visit Your Health Care Professional. It is imperatively important that you share all the quirky symptoms you are having – absolutely anything that seems “not quite right.” Until my mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor, those “senior moments” where she grasped for common words in conversation and funky white spots that occasionally showed up in her vision, didn’t seem like much by themselves. But together, with a few other symptoms, they should have triggered a screening for a serious ailment. Mom never thought to mention them. You want to avoid getting neurotic over every little hiccup, but if your body is doing something that doesn’t seem quite right, it never hurts to ask.
Pray. There have been some really good studies done on the power of prayer in healing and health. You can’t beat it. And it’s totally free.
Although some would like to insist that you are 100% in control of your health, that’s not always the case. Accidents happen through no fault of our own and healing must take place. On the other hand, there are ailments we can ease or completely prevent through diet, exercise and maintaining a healthy mental attitude. Lack of attention to details in the same areas can produce illness if we don’t consciously watch what our family eats and what we put into our minds. Illness hampers productivity and it’s hard to be frugal when you need to be if you don’t feel well.
What frugal things do you do to keep your family healthy?
Please Note: Longstanding chronic illnesses are different than general ill health that simple diet changes can help. If you find that simple diet or exercise changes don’t positively affect your health, please consult a competent health care professional because you might just have a chronic or serious illness. And as always, before you make radical changes to your diet or exercise routine, consult your health care professional.
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One Response to “Health is frugal?”
December 5th, 2007 at 10:20 am
We take advantage of the “family rate” offered at our chiropractor’s office and get all six of us in in a couple times per year. It keeps everybody feeling better.
And I cannot emphasize enough good dental health. Fillings are so expensive, it makes good sense to be religious about brushing and flossing all the little people in the house.
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