Financially friendly hobbies for a healthy life and planet

Environmentalism is awesome, but it can skew pretty scary, negative, and polarizing sometimes. I think we'll get farthest in promoting ecofriendly living if we ditch the elitist egos and focus on how sustainable habits make life better (and less expensive) for all of us. There are plenty of opportunities to make an impact, and the more inviting and accessible we make it the better off we'll be. Do employment recruiters source candidates by making them feel lazy, evil, and ignorant? No. They try to make people feel welcome and show them the possibilities, so that they're more likely to want on board.

Here are seven financially focused reasons to work toward a sustainable natural lifestyle.

• Playing outside is cheap and healthy

• Scarcity drives up prices

• Reduce, reuse, recycle saves you money

• Fewer things = less spending & less pollution

• We pay for junk 3x: purchase, storage, disposal

• Environmental recovery efforts increase taxes

• Energy efficiency lowers expenses, taxes, & waste

If you found that slightly boring, hopefully the activities below will be more exciting.

Healthy, fun, sustainable

The activities below are like mixing a superfood powder into a milkshake… you won’t even notice the underlying earthiness because of the other delicious flavors. Find zero cost (or at least low cost) activities that allow you to socialize, use your brain, and move your body, and you'll find healthy, sustainable fun. Some example activities and potential health benefits are in the table below, and all are reasonably ecofriendly. Finding activities that support your Four Circles of Health tend to also be environmentally friendly. After all, humans started moving, thinking, and socializing long before single-use plastics.

Note that all of these examples could be done with a loved one (social) and are good for the brain (mental). Many of them could be good for the body as well, and all are financially favorable. If you do have to buy something, save up for something quality that will last. Try to think of some other zero/low cost healthy activities on your own!

Activity	Physical	Mental	Social
Board games, cards, puzzles	X	X	X
Bodyweight exercise	X	X	X
Create something with existing supplies	X	X	X
Free music dance party	X	X	X
Make up a game to play	X	X	X
Read library book	-	X	X
Singing	-	X	X
Talk to a loved one	-	X	X
Visit a park	X	X	X
Volunteer	X	X	X
Walk, run, hike	X	X	X
Write something	-	X	X

Wrapping up

Your best life is a healthy life, and that requires a healthy planet. We need to cherish our natural resources and find ways to consume responsibly and sustainably. Finding fun, affordable, healthy hobbies that produce little to no waste is a great way to make an impact.

I didn’t get this posted by Earth Day 2024, but I’ll pretend I did that intentionally to state it’s not just one day per year (in reality, I was in bed sick).

Thanks for reading! For more connections between life, health, and finance, please subscribe and check out my book, Healthy Dough: Ingredients for the financial health you crave.