We all know we should live a healthy lifestyle but did you know that doing so is not just good for you, but also your bank account?
Those who are fortunate enough to stay healthy are likely to do better financially, James Poterba, a professor of economics at MIT, told Time.com.
So here are five things you can do to improve not only body wellness, but financial wellness.
1. Quit the bad habit
No, it doesn't really matter what the bad habit is. It's costing you, and the coin isn't always money.
It could be smoking, which Time.com noted could cost about $2,555 a year if you're buying a $7 pack every day. And that's not factoring in the treatment needed for health issues tied to smoking, which is about $35 for every pack smoked.
Or are you an avid soda drinker? One soda a day has been linked to type 2 diabetes, according to NPR, even if you don't have the obsesity associated with type 2 diabetes.
2. Cut down on snacky junk foods.
"I cut unhealthy snack foods out of my budget and by doing so, saved about $40 a month," wrote Joshua Rodriguez for U.S. News.
If you still need something to snack on why not try a healthy substitute, such as kale chips, which have about half the calories of potato chips, according to SFGate. To save money, rather than buy kale chips you can make your own.
3. Be careful with foods labelled organic
As Fitness Magazine points out, organic does not necessarily mean the food is any healthier for you. But often it is the more expensive option.
"Organic butter and sugar have the same fat and calories as regular butter and sugar," Jennifer Welper, executive chef of a weight-loss spa in South Carolina, told Fitness Magazine.
It matters more what kind of foods you're choosing than their organic status, such as picking a piece of fruit or plain nonfat yogurt over cookies, according to Fitness Magazine.
4. Get some sleep
One in three Americans gets fewer than the recommended minimum of seven hours a night, according to Time.com.
Mathias Basner, a professor of sleep and chronobiology at the University of Pennsylvania, told Time.com that being sleep deprived means "your productivity is lowered, your mood changes, and your creativity is impaired.
A 2015 study by economists Matthew Gibson and Jeffrey Shrader found that increasing your amount of sleep per week by just an hour leads to a 1.5 percent wage increase in the short run and by almost 5 percent in the long run. The study was built upon daily diaries taken from the American Time Use Survey, which "provides rich labor market information about individuals" by surveying them on their day's activities, and theoretical equations for the relationship between wages and sleep, according to the study.
5. Buy frozen fruits and vegetables
Why? Maybe you want to save money without overly comprising nutritional value. Or perhaps getting even better nutritional value. According to EatingWell, produce that's frozen tends to be harvested when it's most ripe, and is therefore at its most nutritional. Whereas fresh produce tends to be picked underripe, and then given time to ripen as its shipped and sold, it tends to not develop a full range of nutrients.
Or maybe you're the type of person who buys fresh produce out of a desire to eat healthy. But then you forget you have them, and then your crisper starts smelling slightly as the fruits and vegetables start going bad, and you have to throw them out, which also wastes money.
Buying frozen can help you there as well.
Those who are fortunate enough to stay healthy are likely to do better financially, James Poterba, a professor of economics at MIT, told Time.com.
So here are five things you can do to improve not only body wellness, but financial wellness.
1. Quit the bad habit
No, it doesn't really matter what the bad habit is. It's costing you, and the coin isn't always money.
It could be smoking, which Time.com noted could cost about $2,555 a year if you're buying a $7 pack every day. And that's not factoring in the treatment needed for health issues tied to smoking, which is about $35 for every pack smoked.
Or are you an avid soda drinker? One soda a day has been linked to type 2 diabetes, according to NPR, even if you don't have the obsesity associated with type 2 diabetes.
2. Cut down on snacky junk foods.
"I cut unhealthy snack foods out of my budget and by doing so, saved about $40 a month," wrote Joshua Rodriguez for U.S. News.
If you still need something to snack on why not try a healthy substitute, such as kale chips, which have about half the calories of potato chips, according to SFGate. To save money, rather than buy kale chips you can make your own.
3. Be careful with foods labelled organic
As Fitness Magazine points out, organic does not necessarily mean the food is any healthier for you. But often it is the more expensive option.
"Organic butter and sugar have the same fat and calories as regular butter and sugar," Jennifer Welper, executive chef of a weight-loss spa in South Carolina, told Fitness Magazine.
It matters more what kind of foods you're choosing than their organic status, such as picking a piece of fruit or plain nonfat yogurt over cookies, according to Fitness Magazine.
4. Get some sleep
One in three Americans gets fewer than the recommended minimum of seven hours a night, according to Time.com.
Mathias Basner, a professor of sleep and chronobiology at the University of Pennsylvania, told Time.com that being sleep deprived means "your productivity is lowered, your mood changes, and your creativity is impaired.
A 2015 study by economists Matthew Gibson and Jeffrey Shrader found that increasing your amount of sleep per week by just an hour leads to a 1.5 percent wage increase in the short run and by almost 5 percent in the long run. The study was built upon daily diaries taken from the American Time Use Survey, which "provides rich labor market information about individuals" by surveying them on their day's activities, and theoretical equations for the relationship between wages and sleep, according to the study.
5. Buy frozen fruits and vegetables
Why? Maybe you want to save money without overly comprising nutritional value. Or perhaps getting even better nutritional value. According to EatingWell, produce that's frozen tends to be harvested when it's most ripe, and is therefore at its most nutritional. Whereas fresh produce tends to be picked underripe, and then given time to ripen as its shipped and sold, it tends to not develop a full range of nutrients.
Or maybe you're the type of person who buys fresh produce out of a desire to eat healthy. But then you forget you have them, and then your crisper starts smelling slightly as the fruits and vegetables start going bad, and you have to throw them out, which also wastes money.
Buying frozen can help you there as well.
