If you go into any bookstore, or hop on Amazon, you will find numerous books putting forth habits to improve your life. You will find books on meditation, waking up earlier, making lists, and numerous other topics all with the goal of improving your life. One habit that I think is often overlooked in its power to change your life is frugality.
While I have not read his book, The Power of Habit, in it Charles Duhigg puts forth the idea of keystone habits. While we have many habits in our lives, a keystone habit is one that affects many areas of our life, outside of the area of the habit. I can say without equivocation that frugality has done this for me. While we expect frugality to just affect our financial position, I can tell you it has had positive effects on my health.
For the majority of my first thirty years on this planet I would floss twice a year. Not coincidently these times lined up with my dental cleaning appointments, as it would be the dental hygienist doing the flossing. For thirty years the hygienist would get after me to floss more, but they would also tell me that my teeth looked great, so I did not see the need. About two years ago, at the end of my appointment, my hygienist highly recommended I purchase a $300 mouthwash and toothpaste combo to combat the gingivitis that had developed from my lack of flossing. I did purchase the medication, but also went out that evening and bought floss picks as I never wanted to spend that kind of money again on something that was easily within my power to prevent and for extremely cheap. Having to enter that $300 into my spreadsheet hurt and I vowed to do my best to prevent such an expense from occurring again.
In an effort to save money on tour I walk or ride my bicycle almost everywhere I go. While the main reason for me doing this is to save money on Uber/Lyft, it has benefits that reach far and wide. Numerous studies have been done that show that as little as thirty minutes of physical activity a day not only helps improve your physical health, but also your mental health. As this article states, “Just 30 minutes [of walking] every day can increase cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and boost muscle power and endurance. It can also reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers.” Walking and bike riding helps me save money by reducing doctor visits and health complications that could arise from a lack of physical activity.
While I eat at restaurants a decent amount while on the road, if I am in a city for more than a week I do my best to buy groceries and cook. When I am home I definitely do most of my cooking in house. Again, the main reason I do this is to save money, but the benefits are numerous. Cooking at home allows me to better portion control my meals and also allows me to eat healthier. One restaurant meal has the potential to have the total calories I need for an entire day and rarely do I know all the ingredients in the meal. As with the examples above, cooking at home not only allows me to save money by not eating out, but also has the potential to save me money in the long run by reducing doctor visits and other health consequences.
Can you think of any areas in your life where frugality benefited you in ways you did not expect?
P.S. Image by Natalia Ovcharenko from Pixabay
