Tag: body

For many of us, our wallet has gotten lighter recently due to the current situation. Today, I will be walking you through how to keep up with your self care on a budget.

But first, there’s something you need to do.

Make a budget

I know, it sounds obvious. But if you’ve never sat down and made a budget, there are a lot of things you could miss.

How to make a budget

My favorite way to budget is to create categories of things I may need or want to spend money on and then allot each category an amount of money based on my total amount I can spend for the month.

There are a lot more categories than one might think, so it’s important to honestly evaluate where you know you will spend money.

Let’s consider some categories.

1. Rent or dorm expenses
2. Electricity/Water/Sewer
3. Wifi
4. Cable
5. Groceries
6. Gas
7. Pet expenses
8. Health insurance
9. Car insurance
10. Phone bill
11. Money for hobbies
12. Money for miscellaneous fun things

Consider how much money you have total each month. Then, for each of those bills that apply to you and are essential, write in the amount you expect to spend. It is better to overestimate your expenses, rather than to underestimate.

Once you have the essential bills covered, see how much you have left over for hobbies or fun things.

At the end of the month, if you spent less than you thought you would, you can transfer a bit of money to your savings account so that you have a little extra money in case something goes wrong.

Physical self care on a budget

There are so many ways to take care of yourself on a budget. People tend to focus on one area of self care and leave out others, but part of self care is being balanced.

Taking care of your body is something people tend to think is expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few examples of ways you can practice physical self care on a budget:

1. Get outside: You could take a walk. You could go hiking or kayaking. Getting outside is a great way to soak up that vitamin D and get a mood boost.
2. Free online exercise videos: If you miss going to the gym, consider trying some free exercise videos online. There are lots of free videos on Youtube for all different types of exercise. I also have an app called FitOn with free exercise videos.
3. Work on your sleep habits: Do you bring your phone to bed? Are you staying up all night when you could be sleeping? Try to adjust your routine to allow for some time to wind down before bed. Make sure you’re getting 7-9 hours of sleep.

Mental self care on a budget

1. Journal: Take some time to pour your thoughts out onto the page. A daily practice of journaling is best, but even weekly will make a difference. I have a couple posts about journaling. You can find the one about gratitude journaling here and the one about journaling for anxiety here.
2. Read for pleasure: Find what kind of book speaks to your soul. Reading is a great distraction, whether you are reading fiction or nonfiction. It allows you to escape to another world and temporarily not worry about this one.
3. Group therapy: This option is almost certainly not going to be free, but it is usually significantly cheaper per session than individual therapy. You may also want to look into sliding scales for individual therapy. It is definitely still not the cheapest thing, but it can make therapy significantly more affordable.
4. Therapy workbooks: You can get a therapy workbook at a bookstore or online. The down side is you do need to know what you’re looking for to some degree. However, for example, if you know you want to work on anxious thoughts, you may be able to find a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) workbook for anxiety.

Spiritual self care on a budget

1. Meditate: There’s lots of ways you can do meditation. You can read more about different meditation practices here. My favorite way to meditate is to use guided meditations. You can find some on Youtube. My favorite app to use for meditation is Insight Timer.
2. Find a hobby you’re passionate about: For some, this may be drawing. For others, it could be scrapbooking. My favorite hobby is writing letters. It brings me a lot of joy and I would encourage you to find something that brings you that much joy.
3. Try yoga: There are plenty of free videos online that can help you get started. All you will really need is a mat and potentially some blocks for certain poses, but you can start with just getting a mat. You will also need some comfortable clothes that have some stretch to them. If you don’t have any, consider shopping secondhand.

Additional tips for college students

Consider what your college may include with your tuition. Schools usually have some options to help students with their mental health. Here are just a few of the things that many schools include:

1. A gym: That’s right, you can work out in a gym without paying a monthly membership fee.
2. Individual counseling services: I honestly believe most schools don’t offer enough, but you can usually get 6-12 sessions for free depending on the school. If you have something really specific you need to work on, it may be enough.
3. Group counseling services: From my experience, colleges usually provide significantly more group sessions than individual sessions. They are likely to be on a wide range of topics.
4. A dietitian: This can be a huge difference for students with eating disorders. I do believe they can help anyone who is struggling with things surrounding food, whether they have an eating disorder or not. Not all colleges have this option, but many do.
5. Life coaching: Not all schools have this, but some have an option where you can work with a life coach for a semester or longer. I think this is a great option for a lot of people, especially those who don’t feel comfortable with the idea of therapy but need someone supportive in their life.
6. Student health services: Most schools have some sort of health services for students. This is important if you become ill while away at school or if you just need a routine exam completed. Different schools have different levels of care that they offer, so be sure to check what your school offers.
7. Campus events: They aren’t really happening right now, but when they do, there are a lot of resources you can take advantage of. Most campus events have free food. They also often give away small items like stress balls that could be used for self care. It’s a great time to socialize with others, too. There are also sometimes events with therapy dogs, especially around exam time.

Some final thoughts about self care on a budget

This list is by no means exhaustive. There are always options out there that can help you.

If you feel as though you need immediate help and you are located in the US, please reach out to the suicide prevention hotline at 1 (800) 273-8255. You can also reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting SHARE to 741741. Both of these options are free as long as you are able to place calls or send and receive text messages on your phone.

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