Making Financial Space for Wellness
- Lisa Wright Burbach
- Sep 23
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 28
Lifestyle: Making Financial Space for Wellness
Let’s say that you have 2 apples, and I tell you that I have a life-changing, amazing deal if you buy 3 apples!! That you can’t afford not to buy 3!! Will you buy 3? No, you’ve already said you can’t afford it.
I really dislike the argument “You can’t afford not to,” because most of the time, it’s true, we can’t afford to do it, no matter how good the deal is. However! We can set our priorities to allow us to plan differently. One of the areas we can do this is by making financial space for our health.
Getting healthy doesn’t have to break the bank. Investing in your health now means paying less for illness later. You can start budgeting slowly and keep things super simple. You are worth it!
My husband and I used to eat out more frequently, but we wanted to live a healthier life, and eating out isn’t very healthy! We decided to make some changes. I love to cook, so we decided to spend more money on groceries and create great, restaurant-quality (or better) meals, and spend less money on dining out, essentially diverting the funds from the restaurant budget to the grocery budget. As a result, we were able to eat healthier meals that were as good as any restaurant while not spending any more money than we had been spending. It has been a great experience. My skills have grown, we are more adventurous, and now try foods we may not have tried otherwise. We still go out to eat and enjoy that too, just less often. We made a financial decision to invest, or in this case, divert funds, to invest in our health.
What things could you do to make financial space for your health?
Take a look at your subscription services. Is there one you really don’t use? You could cancel it and divert that money towards things to help you live a healthier lifestyle, like a gym membership, healthier foods, etc.
Pay attention to sales at the grocery store and for larger items.
Menu planning is a great tool to help you save money. One important step is to stick to the grocery list and avoid adding extra items that you didn’t budget for.
Shop from home when planning your meals. We all end up with cans of things pushed to the back of the cupboard or items that have been in our freezer since the ice age! Plan a meal around those items to help reduce future shopping expenses.
Try using dried beans instead of buying cans. If you have an electric pressure cooker, you can toss most types of beans into the pressure cooker, cover with 6 cups of water, and cook for 26 minutes with slow release. If not, soak the beans overnight and slow-cook them the next day. Dry beans are healthy and very inexpensive.
Sit down and decide what your health priorities are and where you should spend money.
Will you be like us and put more money into groceries?
Join a gym, take a yoga class?
Buy exercise equipment?
Maybe you have another area you want to invest in for your health.
Once you have set your priorities, it will be easier to see where you need to make financial space for your health and create a plan and budget for it.
Then follow through.
Plan ahead for larger purchases. For example, we like to use the “Envelope system” for large items. We have a digital “envelope” where we set aside money each month and save up for the thing we want.
There’s so much on the market when it comes to fitness. I mean, fitness is a $30 billion+ industry. That’s billion, with a B. So obviously there’s a lot available and so many things that you could buy. But what do you really need to start being fit? And what don’t you need that the industry is trying to convince you to buy?
Well, I can tell you that big pieces of equipment like weight machines, treadmills, or bikes are absolutely not necessary. If you’re just getting into fitness, don’t think that buying a fancy treadmill will suddenly make you super fit and a regular runner. What if you don’t even like it? Then you won’t use it, and it was a waste of money. If you do want it, it’s a great thing to plan and budget for.
Before purchasing expensive equipment, I recommend trying out a gym first. Most gyms offer an introductory special, where you can try it for a week or a month at a great price. This will allow you to try out all kinds of equipment and see what you actually like. Then you can decide if you should invest in any equipment or if it makes more sense to continue using it at the gym. A less expensive item is exercise bands; you can work your entire body for a small price. You can also get a full body routine in with just your own body weight. There are wonderful exercise routines on YouTube for free that use your body weight and no equipment.
In summary, becoming financially fit can allow you to make space for your health, too.
Prioritize your wellness needs.
Make room in your budget by shifting funds, saving money, or giving up something like a subscription service to make room in your budget for your wellness needs, like a class for example.
Or find free ways to reach your goals.
Be a wise grocery planner and shopper.
Plan for large expenses and save up for them.
Keep in mind that your health isn’t just for this moment, but it’s for tomorrow. A small expense today could save you great expenses in the future.
Be bold and consistent.
Hire a coach to help you make a plan, consider it the financial planner of your wellness.
I saw a great meme that said I don’t exercise so I can be skinny, I exercise so I can pick up my grandchildren, climb stairs, and get up from the toilet without help when I am old! This is so true! We take care of our health today for tomorrow, and I believe in you! Start by making financial space for your wellness and with a plan. You’ve got this!
Looking for help reaching wellness goals? Let's chat!
Dinner Ideas for this week:
Buffalo Chicken Wraps
1 pound ground chicken
½ cup chopped onion
1-2 cloves garlic
1 Bottle Franks Buffalo Sauce
Lettuce leaves (keep uncut to make small cups)
Blue Cheese and Ranch for toppings (optional)
Sauté the onion until translucent, then add the garlic and sauté about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and cook until done, no pink. Once the chicken is done stir in about half of the Buffalo sauce and stir through until heated. Scoop into lettuce leaves and serve.
Optional, top with blue cheese crumbles before serving. Serve with celery and carrots with Ranch and Blue Cheese dressings. #buffalochicken
CURRIED QUINOA CHICKPEA BURGERS - by The Minimalist Baker
Sloppy Joes by Ellie Krieger
We do not add the beans because beans seem weird for slppy joe, but chef's choice.
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