Budget-Friendly Self-Care Strategies:

Unwind and Live Your Best Life

the internet provides us with so many affordable opportunities for practicing self-care from the comfort of our homes. Free online meditations, a variety of ASMR recordings, and instructor-led yoga classes can be streamed to our tablets and laptops, and cell phones

While some of us seek out self-care in the form of a massage, in-person yoga class, or a night out with friends, there are plenty of things we can do to care for our minds and bodies. Many of them are free of charge.

A Necessary “Luxury”

Of course, there are occasions when self-care is a necessity. This includes when you’re caring for a friend or loved one who is battling cancer. When these people rely on us for so much, it’s important to pay careful attention to self-care so that you can be at your best.

To explore a few budget-friendly self-care strategies that can help you to relax, unwind, and live your best life possible — even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic — read on.

Calm Your Mind with a Free Guided Meditation

The physical and mental health benefits of meditation are vast. This century-old self-care strategy has been shown to calm the mind, alleviate stress and anxiety, and lead to an improved mood overall. When practiced on a regular basis, meditation could also lower your blood pressure, treat and control chronic pain, and help you to ditch unhealthy habits like smoking. Plus, an assortment of free guided meditations are available online through websites such as Mindful and DoYogaWithMe, or mobile apps like Calm, Insight Timer, Aura, and Inscape.

Unlock Your Auto Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR)

Also known as Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, watching or listening to ASMR could be another budget-friendly self-care strategy to incorporate into your daily life if certain sounds relax you, send tingles down your spine, or calm you so much that they just about put you to sleep. These relaxation-inducing sounds and motions (known as triggers) may include:

• Gentle whispering
• Falling rain
• Tapping
• Scratching
• Crinkling paper
• Page-turning

While watching or listening to ASMR recordings isn’t an effective self-care strategy for everyone, it’s worth giving it a shot to see how you respond. A variety of free ASMR videos are available on YouTube, allowing you to experiment with different triggers to see if these sounds or motions can help you to relax, unwind, and disconnect from the world for a while.

Experience the Benefits of Retail Therapy

According to Dr. Kit Yarrow at Psychology Today, shopping offers real psychological rewards. For example, it can help you to relax and escape from the world for a little while. But how do we do this, now that we’re in the midst of a global pandemic?

You can still experience the many therapeutic benefits of shopping if you’re stuck at home due to social distancing. All you need is a laptop, tablet, or smartphone to shop online at your favorite stores. Online shopping can feel like a mini-vacation for the mind. And it’s easy to indulge in this form of therapy while sticking to a budget at the same time.

Shopping Within Your Budget

If you enjoy shopping at retailers such as QVC, which you can do from the comfort of you or your loved one’s home, you can look for a great new outfit that you’ll be able to wear outside the house once social distancing guidelines are no longer in place — and you can find QVC promo codes and discounts that will help you to save on your purchases.

You could also declutter your closet to make room for your new clothing — especially if you have some extra time on your hands during the coronavirus lockdown — and sell your unwanted clothing for cash.

Free Indulgences

According to an Eventbrite survey, the average American spends around $199 per month on things like massages, new clothing pieces, pedicures, and other types of self-indulgences. However, caring for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being doesn’t need to be costly. In fact, some of the best self-care strategies are free or included in your cell phone or internet subscription. With access to YouTube, online retailers, and websites like Mindful, you can relax and unwind from home without throwing your budget out of whack in the process.

For more informative, thoughtful articles about living with a cancer diagnosis, please visit Facing Cancer with Grace.

 

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About Today’s Guest Blogger

Karen Weeks is a senior lifestyle blogger who believes nothing is off-limits to seniors. After retirement, she struggled to find a new sense of purpose. This lead her to learn a new skill and took a computer course. She created Elderwellness.net – a resource for seniors who wish to keep their minds, bodies, and spirits well.