Five Cheap Ways To Practice Self-Care
Self-care does not have to break the bank.
Scroll TikTok or Instagram for 10 minutes and you’ll see endless videos elaborate and expensive self-care routines. Of course, there’s NOTHING wrong with splurging sometimes and spending money on yourself. But there are plenty of ways to practice effective self-care for free or even on the cheaper side!
Here are five cheap ways to practice self-care:
1) Reading
If you read this blog post from October 2022 about World Mental Health Day, you know that reading is a form of mental self-care! Of course, we can spend hundreds of dollars at a bookstore. But for an inexpensive alternative, try reading books from your local library. If you like the book after reading it, you can always buy the book afterwards to read again!
Plus, using a library card is a great way to support your local library and its funding!
2) Move your body
Moving your body is not only good for physical self-care. Clearing your mind through movement can also act as forms of emotional and practical self-care too! But gym memberships can be expensive.
Don’t underestimate the impact you can make on your physical and mental health by going for a walk outside or completing an exercise video from YouTube.
3) Journaling
You probably saw this example coming…
It’s no secret that journaling can do great things for your emotional and mental health.
If you’re like me, you probably have quite a few half-used notebooks lying around the house that you can use for journaling. If not, there are other ways you can journal too! There’s art journaling or even video journaling. You can draw out your feelings to help you process them or even record yourself while you just talk about what’s on your mind (as if you were writing).
The medium you use doesn't matter. What’s important is that you are intentionally reflecting on your thoughts.
4) Financial check-ins
Few people like to talk about finances as a form of self-care, but we can do hard and unenjoyable things!
An inexpensive way to practice self-care is to schedule bi-weekly or monthly meetings with yourself (or you partner/spouse) to check-in on your finances. The frequency is completely up to you but I schedule bi-weekly check-ins that align with my paychecks!
Be honest with yourself during your review. How are you doing with your finance goals? Is there room for improvement? Do you need to adjust your budget?
5) Cultivate your evening routine
Practical self-care includes those habits and practices that make your life just a little bit easier. One cheap way to practice self-care is to cultivate an evening routine that can make your morning easier.
At night, I like to shower, pull out my clothes for the work day, and write down (or identify) three things that I must complete the next day.
When you prepare for the morning during the night before, you’ll have more time in the morning to slow down and practice gratitude or other rituals to help set the right tone for the day.
It’s your turn! What’s your favorite cheap (or free) way to practice self-care?