Living on a budget is something which no one wants to have to do, but which a substantial amount of the UK population have to, especially whilst the country recovers from the global recession which has damaged the economy over the past few years.

Just because you live on a budget, though, it doesn’t mean you have to be unhealthy and all it requires is a little forethought and planning to ensure you stay healthy without breaking the bank.

For instance, one of the most common mistakes people on a budget make is that they purchase lower quality food from shops, such as microwaveable meals, rather than spending the time growing their own fruit and vegetables, which is a lot cheaper.

The reason behind this is that there is a common misconception that vegetable gardening is difficult, yet with a little planning it really isn’t.

Take two major meal components throughout the summer, potatoes and lettuces. Both of these can be planted in tubs in the garden and as long as they’re watered regularly, no other maintenance is needed, yet after 12 weeks you should have a bumper crop of potatoes and lettuces to cover a good few meals – and that’s only from one medium size tub each.

There is also a recurring theme amongst those living on a budget that meals have to be simple, which is a term that is often associated with unhealthy meals (although you may not know that the ‘simple’ meal you’re eating is as unhealthy as it actually is).

Take fish, chips and mushy peas as an example. The quickest and easiest way would be to go to a fish and chip shop or fry your own oven chips; use battered or breaded frozen fish and mushy peas from a tin. These ways, however, are also the unhealthiest (and can in fact be the most expensive).

Instead, make your own chips and cook them in the oven, use frozen fish without any batter or bread crumbs and use frozen petit pois. Buying the actual products may cost you more initially, but a bag of potatoes, frozen fish and frozen peas will usually make three of four meals for two people.

In addition, if you’ve been living on a budget for a while, chances are you will have heard about cash back websites – and if you haven’t heard of them, you really need to check them out.

In essence, cash back websites give you money for carrying out your online shopping as long as you go through their website first.

With offers from a substantial amount of major retailers and companies, there are some fantastic bargains to be had on suitable items for healthy living after the cash back has been Viagra Jelly taken into consideration, such as a completely free gym pass or discounted grocery shopping.

If you’re living on a budget and are trying to eat healthy, you have to stop thinking that it’s not a possibility. With just a small amount of planning and preparation, it soon becomes apparent that eating healthy can be done – and it can also save you a lot of money, too.

Author Bio: For more information about gym accessories, visit the Fitness First, web shop.

Category: Fitness
Keywords: gym, health clubs, fitness