People who opt to live a frugal lifestyle don’t
usually cite their health as a reason that motivates them to save
money. However, there are actually a lot of health benefits to
choosing to live a frugal lifestyle. Those health benefits are
related to stress reduction, food choices, frequency of exercise
and the green living that often comes along with living frugally.
You may want to save money for other reasons but it sure doesn’t hurt that it makes you healthier
too!
Reduced Stress Improves Health
The main reason that a frugal life results in improved health is
that people who live frugally tend to have lower stress levels than
other people. This is because a leading cause of stress is debt.
People who are in debt are stuck in a cycle where they have to work
more to earn more to pay off their debt. Increased work loads
combined with concerns about making payments result in high stress
levels. People who choose to live frugally are frequently able to
live debt-free. Even those frugal people who do have debt are
likely to be able to take more downtime because their daily costs
are low. All of this reduces stress.
There are a lot of illnesses associated with stress which are
therefore less likely to happen among people who are living
frugally. At a basic level, stress reduces the function of your
immune system which means that you’re more likely to catch the
common cold and other types of illnesses. Prolonged stress can
cause heart problems, diabetes, gum disease and a number of mental
health problems (such as depression). People who are able to reduce
stress through frugal living may not be prone to getting these
problems.
Frugal Food Choices Improve Health
Another reason that a lot of people who live frugally are living
healthier lives is because they make good choices about the food
that they buy. Food is frequently more affordable when it is
purchased directly from farmers rather than when it is shipped.
Food is also more affordable when it’s bought fresh and in-season
(instead of packaged or out-of-season). And produce tends to be
cheaper than meat and packaged goods. These same things that make
food more affordable also make your diet a healthier one. Of
course, there are some frugal eaters who choose low-cost packaged
foods that are not good for them but the average frugal person
today is choosing to eat in a way that improves health.
Frugal People May Get More Exercise
It is also possible that frugal people get more exercise than the
average person. That’s because one of the best ways to save money
is to give up your car. When you replace all of your driving with
either walking or bicycling, you get a lot of exercise. Frugal
people are also more likely to make choices that involve other
exercise. For example, the frugal person isn’t going to call movers when it’s time
to move but will instead haul those boxes himself. Again, there are
some money-spending people who go to the gym and get really fit but
the average frugal person is probably
getting more exercise just in the course of daily living than
are people who don’t care about spending money.
Frugal Living is Green Living
Some of the health benefits that frugal people experience aren’t immediate. Instead, they come from
the fact that choosing a frugal life is creating a healthier
environment around them. Many of the things people do to save money
are also eco-friendly things
that save the earth. Choosing to walk instead of driving is a good
example. Others include reducing use of heating and cooling in the
home, composting food for your own garden and using homemade
cleaning products. All of these things reduce your costs but they
also make your environment healthier.
If you were asked to decide whether improving your health or saving
money was more important to you, you might have trouble making that
choice. Luckily, you don’t have to choose. Living a money-saving
life might just naturally make you healthier!
About the Author: Working in corporate
America, Andy shares his thoughts on working life, money management
and related topics. You can see more articles like this at his
personal finance and investing blog : www.savingtoinvest.com
The Health Benefits of Living Frugally
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