Tonight’s guest post comes from a lovely Pennsylvania blogger who I had the pleasure of meeting a few weeks ago: Lauren from Say What You Need to Say! She’s somewhat of an expert on budgeting for a healthy lifestyle, so I’m stoked that she’ll be sharing a few of her tips here.

Hi Une Vie Saine readers!

My name is Lauren and I am a part time health blogger (www.saywhatyouneedtosayblog.com), full time financial education director for a financial institution in South Central Pennsylvania. My job is my passion and I am truly blessed to be able to inspire, teach, and motivate young people every day on the fundamental skills they need to make wise financial decisions with their life.

Aside from my role as a financial educator, I also have a huge passion for health, fitness, and overall wellness. I am a certified group fitness instructor and teach part time at my local gym.

Although the goal of my program is to reach students before they are faced with financial difficulty, it’s inevitable that most adults today are struggling with their finances. One question that I get asked frequently is how I manage to balance healthy living into a maintainable budget. Let’s face it; being healthy is not cheap.

I’ve recently spoke on this topic at The Healthy Living Summit and wanted to share some of my best practices with you all.

4 Steps to a Successful Spending Plan

  1. Determine all income sources and expenses. – Write everything down. I suggest taking a pen and paper with you everywhere for 3 days. Every single time you make a purchase, whether it be a pack of gum or a $200 shopping trip, write it down. Track your spending for a few days to see what your habits are.
  2. Balance your income and expenses. – You always want the amount of money you have coming in to be greater or equal to what is coming out. The only way to know this is to compose a budget.
  3. Review income and expenses- Find out where you can cut back. Start with your variable expenses and go from there. You want to stay away from your fixed expenses because those are the ones that are not easy to alter. If there are ways to add more income, start there before adjusting your necessary costs.
  4. Manage your system- This is the hardest part. Things will come up and you’ll have to make changes throughout your budget, but don’t get discouraged. So long as you have the fundamental aspects of budgeting down, you’ll always know how to get back on track.

We are all different; therefore, how we manage our money should not be one universal rule. The important thing to remember is that budgeting, tracking spending, and managing your finances is all about what works best for YOU and your family.

Here are a few ways that I make it work……

Be a Savvy Shopper- Throughout the week, I think of recipes I want to make and try to bookmark them. On Friday, I write a weekly menu, trying to utilize a few core ingredients that can be used in more than one meal. (For example-if I buy broccoli, I will make stir fry one night and a soup the next) On Saturday, I write out my list of what I will need for the week. On Sunday morning, I browse the circulars, compare sale prices, and cut coupons. I only buy something from the coupons or sales if I actually need it. If I already have 2 bottles of ketchup, I don’t get 3 more and it’s likely it will go on sale again when I run out.

Make Dining Out a Special Occasion- I like to eat good food. I only pay good money for good food. So when we go out to eat, we expect to shell out a little more than your average trip to Denny’s. I also love to cook so my rule of thumb when it comes to dining out is that I wouldn’t choose to go somewhere that I felt I could make better meals at home. That is why when we do go out, it’s on a special occasion. We celebrate not only the aspect of eating well but the entire experience. Try to pick a goal when it comes to dining out, such as only once a week, 3 x a month, and so on. That goes for ALL meals! :)

Workout for Free- Utilize free pass or trial offers at gyms. Many will allow you to check out their clubs for a day or even a week. Once you decide if this is something you will commit to, make sure you talk to them about special rates or discounts. The gym is one place where you can negotiate.

Invest in a workout program DVD such as Insanity, P90X, or Jillian Michaels Shred (all some of my favorite). It’s a one-time rate but you’ll have them forever.

Budgeting is much like healthy living. It may not seem easy at first, but the more you do it and the more is becomes a part of your life; it just gets easy. And just like healthy living, if you slip a few times, it’s okay. Just get up, dust yourself off, and try, try again!

How do you help cut costs when it comes to healthy living?