Self-care on a budget

self-care on a budget

Self-care on a budget and natural ways

self-care on a budget
self-care on a budget

Does self-care have to cost anything. Many things can be accomplished using free and low-cost methods. In this blogpost I have entered several different ways to cheap and costless ways to self-care. I have taken five issues and put them into this blogpost. Self-care on a budget.

 

 Self-Care on a Budget

 Sometimes, the source of a lot of our stress is money. So many people worry about how much they’re making, how much they’re spending, and so on. Naturally, when it comes to improving yourself both physically and mentally, you don’t want to go stressing yourself out about expensive options for them.

The good news is that you don’t actually have to spend a lot of money in order to get into a good self-care routine. First, physical fitness can appear to cost a lot on the surface.

You might be thinking about getting all new gym clothes, gym bags, water bottles, supplements, a membership, and so much more. Truthfully, though, that’s not really necessary.

All of those things can either be substituted for something cheaper, or gotten rid of altogether, helping you cut costs immensely. When it comes to gym accessories, the less you have the better.

You don’t need a ton of stuff, so you really don’t even need a bag unless you intend to change at the gym. As far as clothes go, anything vaguely comfortable and athletic is good enough, such as a t-shirt and shorts.

Bottles

You don’t need to and buy top brands. For water bottles, you can find cheap reusable bottles – you don’t have to invest in trendy, top notch bottles. In terms of supplements, they’re not really necessary, as you can get the nutrients and vitamins you need from carefully picking out certain foods.

Finally, you don’t even need a gym membership in all honesty. Plenty of people have made gyms at home with readily available equipment to help them stay in shape. You can do bodyweight exercises without machines, too.

Mental health is very similar. People like to think of it as having to go out and get expensive massages and spa treatments or pay a ton of money with a therapist, but you can get really far in terms of mental health just by doing things at home, or really anywhere, all for free.

For example, meditation can help immensely and that is entirely free. If you don’t know how to do it, you don’t need to hire a coach, but just go online and learn about which methods work best.

You can also do some fairly cheap self-care spa days from home with some cheap ingredients from your local grocery store and some instructions from the internet. Talking out your problems with others is like a free form of therapy, and can even help create bonds. self-care on a budget.

 

Your Self-Care Should Be Pleasant, Not Painful

self care
self care

 

 Overdoing things is a common mistake that many people make whenever they’re tackling a new challenge in life. Doing too much self care right off the bat can cause you to burn out and not continue with your efforts, which ends up being more harmful and stressful to you later on.

Some people try too hard to get themselves where they want to be in terms of self care, and end up doing more harm than good. One example of this could be in terms of physical fitness and self-care.

While it’s certainly good to have a regular workout routine that caters to your health, you need to ease yourself into it. If you’ve hardly worked out in the last decade, and suddenly decide to work out almost every day of the week, your body is going to take to it poorly.

You can’t just suddenly go from sedentary to lifting weights almost every day. Your body will likely get more exhausted than you’d like, and you might even end up doing damage to certain tendons or nerves that you over-used too suddenly.

Injury

If you end up getting injured during a workout, chances are that you’re not going to go back any time soon, doing more long term damage than anything. This same idea applies to mental health, as well.

It’s good to take time to yourself for the sake of your emotional well being, but it’s not good to have too much free time. If you end up isolating yourself for longer periods of time, you’ll start to feel distant and will be more susceptible to things like depression.

You need to operate within reason, taking a day or two to yourself and then continuing as you normally would and socialize. You should also be wary of whose advice you choose to take in terms of your mental health.

If you try to listen to every person’s options for what to do to improve your mental health, you’ll probably be getting a lot of conflicting opinions and won’t make a whole lot of progress.

You need to be independent and think about what option sounds the best for you instead of trying so many different things and ending up frustrated. Additionally, you could come up with something yourself that you think would work well.

Don’t get caught up in trying to please everyone, or you may end up taking some bad advice and set yourself back even further. Don’t overdo it right out of the gate and cause yourself needless anxiety.

 

Socializing Is Strategic Self Care

self care
self care

 

Something that is always recommended for people struggling with their mental health is to take some time for themselves. While this is great advice for those who are feeling extremely stressed out, it’s not a fix-all solution.

Some people find a lot of support in a group, and others might already be feeling isolated, so they don’t want to spend even more time alone. In that case, socializing can be a very effective tool for self-care, but it must be approached with caution.

Socializing for self-care can either be beneficial or detrimental, entirely depending on how you go about it. There are plenty of ways to be social. You can find a group with similar hobbies and interests and spend your time doing those things with them.

You might also have a group of friends from work or school that you enjoy spending your free time with, and this can be done anywhere. Many groups like to do some fairly common activities, like going out to bars or doing various things like attending sporting events.

One tricky thing about socializing is ensuring that you’re hanging around the right people. It’s crucial that you surround yourself with people who are going to help better you or act as a support system.

self-care efforts

You don’t want to get involved with people who have skeletons in their closet, people who are manipulative, and so on. These kinds of people will burden you in your life, detracting from your self-care efforts.

Even if you’re hanging out with the right people, you’ll want to be sure the things you’re doing together are being done right and in a productive way. If you’re blowing through a ton of money going out all the time, but are struggling with finances, try to plan some cheaper activities to do together.

Similarly, it’s fine to go out to bars with friends, but if you’re getting heavily intoxicated regularly, you’re not practicing any healthy behaviors there. As long as you do it right, socializing can be an incredible way for you to help better yourself.

You’ll make new friends, build a support system, and be able to share your joy with others. Being able to laugh and have fun with people without worrying about the outside world is almost magical, and it can help you in so many ways.

As long as you’re doing things right, you’re going to feel a lot better before long. Find a balance for working productively, tackling other self care issues and adding socialization to your schedule for a well-rounded, enjoyable life.

 

Supporting Others Is a Way of Engaging in Self-Care

self-care on a budget
self-care on a budget

 

Self-care doesn’t always have to concern you and you alone. Many people benefit from helping others. Whether it’s something you enjoy doing for the sake of it or because it makes you feel good about yourself, doing volunteer work and other means of helping others can boost your mood and help you in your path to self-care, both mentally and physically.

There are so many ways that you can help and support others, and one of the most common ways is via volunteer work. Volunteering is free and can often help you get more connected with your local community and help you make connections with other people.

Just the sheer social aspect of it can make it a mood improving activity for a lot of people, but there are all sorts of other aspects as well. For example, some forms of volunteer work can help you work on your physical self-care by doing somewhat laborious work.

You might be volunteering to help clear out a local hiking trail, which will involve a lot of walking and moving somewhat heavy objects like tree branches. Simple things like this can help get you active and improve your physical fitness.

Volunteer

The other aspect of volunteer work are the mental self-care improvements. It can often feel nice just to know that you’re helping someone else out there. For example, food banks and food pantries almost always need some volunteer workers, and by helping out, you’re ensuring that someone out there is getting a meal that they might not have gotten otherwise.

This can be uplifting and inspiring, making you feel as though you can and will make an impact on the world around you. By combining all of the factors that play into volunteer work, such as feeling included and social, feeling like you’re helping, and feeling better physically, this can be a fantastic way to help take care of yourself.

It might seem a little selfish to do volunteer work for the sake of feeling good about yourself, but at the end of the day, everyone benefits from the situation. There are plenty of websites and apps that you can use to find various volunteer opportunities around you, so don’t be afraid to start searching.

You might find that there are a lot of unique opportunities out there that you might be very interested in helping out with. You’ll be feeding your soul and spirit and lessening your own stress while helping others lower theirs as well. self-care on a budget.

 

Taking a Spiritual Approach to Self-Care

self-care on a budget
self-care on a budget

 

Self-care isn’t something that’s always meant to be taken on alone. Sometimes we need others there to help us and to guide us, but those people aren’t always available to us or perhaps they’re not the best resources.

For that reason, it’s always viable to turn to a more spiritual approach to your self-care practices. It could be religious or not, but by turning to a higher power, you might find it a lot easier to do what you need to do.

For many people, the most prevalent example of this is religion. Whether it be Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or any other number of religions, you’ll likely find that it has a set of codes and morals to live by for an ideal life.

These can help guide you in your times of need, when you’re not sure what route to take or how you should approach a situation. It can also be more about spirit than any particular deity or god.

Many people find things like chakra or aura to be guides on where their lives are going and what they should do next. This can help you reflect on your life and where you’re at from an objective standpoint, and can help influence your decisions on what to do about it.

Having that kind of basic guide and structure can go a long way in delivering peace of mind for you. Another important aspect of spiritual self-care is comfort. Feeling as though you’re on your own or having to rely on other people can feel desolate at times, and you might be unsure of what you’re even doing.

Spiritual pratices

Spiritual practices can help you feel as though you’re not alone, that you have someone watching over you and guiding you through the toughest of times, which can be an incredibly comforting feeling.

No matter what it is that you choose to practice for a better feeling of self-care, you should feel some kind of improvement in yourself from it. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or weakened by something as a part of your spiritual approach, perhaps it might be time to look elsewhere for some guidance.

Spiritual approaches should only ever help you and guide you – they should never lead you astray or cause you to suffer in any sort of way. Don’t let something like that get in the way of your self-care success. It’s simply not worth it that way.

Use a spiritual approach when you want to tap into that next level of enlightenment that comes from a place deep within your soul. It can be very healing and comforting, regardless of which path you choose to embrace. self-care on a budget.

Erlend Sølvberg, wellness blogger

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