MORE WAYS TO SAVE
No health claims made- use advice at own discretion.
Buy in Bulk
Some shopper clubs exist, so check them out! I prefer buying quality organic products at a deep discount though, and saving up all my really big purchases together.![]()
Start An Organic Business from Home!
You can save money by selling even just to yourself. Once you understand the products, you can let others know about them. Becoming an independent representative of ONE Group is simple since there is a chain of support for you. Customers buy directly from the company on your website. This video explains how to start an organic product business from home with ONE group.
Assess Alternatives:
It is important to find your overall savings (say, as a percentage) so as to compare. When I pay for chiropractic care (which insurance usually covers except a small fee!) I offset that with the money saved (no more muscle relaxants, pain prescriptions, aspirin, and antacids to counter the aspirin!) When I invested in work-out tapes and classes, I found that stretches and exercise helped reduce my need for chiropractic care to a bare minimum; so that cost soon paid for itself also.
Detoxing Cheaply
Once you avoid taking more toxins into your body, you can enjoy the benefits of reducing toxins already there. Try MCS and enviromental health sites / blogs for information. My favorite info sources: The Maker's Diet, Debra's List and Q & A Blog, and the EHC.
TASTY DIET!
I feel gratitude to several authors every time I eat a wonderful home-cooked meal, organic frozen dinner, or wild-caught canned salmon in salad! The Maker's Diet (also Great Physician's RX) was immensely helpful, and so was the Zone Diet, Atkins, superfoods lists, and more. The Maker's Diet also made me aware of toxins and many other aspects of health, plus I learned of Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions (which is much more than a cookbook!) I cannot imagine health without organic food (especially steroid and hormone-free beef), superfoods, probiotics, omega 3 (in fish or supplements), complex carbs balanced with protein, even if from eggs; enough fats - the good kinds! -and sprouted grains. (Check where "Sprouted" grains appear on a label; they should be at the top or they are not a major ingredient!) Stevia, real butter, olive, coconut and other oils that don't go rancid, and raw, unfiltered honey are all part of my healthy diet. Frozen or fresh are far more nutritious than canned foods; and applesauce, protein powder and almond butter make an awesome instant breakfast.
Fresh for Potency
Food is again a good example. Fresh-squeezed juice has nutrients which are lost within a few days when sitting on a store shelf (so why pay more for juice when fresh or frozen fruit is cheaper?) Freshly-made products, like fresh fruit, are at peak potency. They smell wonderful; and I personally wouldn't wait 30 months to use them, even though that is the shelf life most of my One Group products have.
Read Labels
Once in awhile I find a product with all "good" ingredients on the shelf at a health food store, and it may be cost-effective to buy. In all too many cases my stocked-up purchases have at least one ingredient I now know I don't want. To keep track, it would be worth keeping a folder on my desktop, but currently if I cannot return it and if it has mostly good ingredients, I just use a marker to circle the offending ingredient(s) on the container so I remember to replace it with a better product when I finish it.
Avoid Adding Toxins to Yourself & Your Environment!
You ultimately pay a price you can't afford when electronics and other items are produced irresponsibly and not recycled safely. These add to your body burden. Exposure to toxins in your products is a known risk to cancer and other conditions; "cheap" can come with a price you cannot afford! Avoid plastics (especially 3, 6, & 7 plus styrofoam!), petrochemicals, mineral oil, "fragrance," and items processed with chemicals. (Check www.thegreenguide.com and other sources for more on toxins). This goes for synthetic foam also - which is an irritant, and old foam breaks down into really nasty hazards. *There is a new, non-chemical way to process rubber! It seems not to trigger allergies to rubber (which may actually be reactions to the chemicals used!) Essentia rubber is processed with water plant extracts and essential oils; and there is only the fragrance of essential oils unless you specify no-odor. www.essentiadirect.com More soon on all this...
Readers - send non-commercial Health Tips to green4christ@sbcglobal.net
WAYS TO SAVE
Pursue health, reduce toxins, & stay on a budget! financial stewardship goals! No health claims made - use advice at own discretion.
Books, Blogs, Free Info
Books cost little up front, and often less than the price of ignorance! Many times what you learn from any of these resources can save a lot in terms of health and related purchases. I learned from The Maker's Diet program and elsewhere about the health advantages of opening windows. Because indoor air quality is often up to 30 times worse than outdoor air quality, It is wise to open windows for at least a few minutes in the mornings and evenings, even in hot or cold weather. This "free" solution enhances other solutions, whether or not you also remodel to reduce toxins or buy air purifiers.
Exercise, Stretches, Holistic Care
Functional fitness, stretches, and conventional exercise are free or low-cost. Even free workouts or stretches I found online helped regulate my body levels, increase energy, and just made me "feel good". As Crown Ministries would cousel believers, do not spend what you don't have! Use what is free, or affordable, or save up! Many centuries-old therapies help your spine, circulation, fluids and energy to flow unrestricted, relieving muscle aches too. These can cost less than conventional medicine. Chiropractic care is the one most often covered by insurance. I spend a lot less money and time by going to my chiropractor once in awhile (it was more often at first) - than by getting constant refills at my local pharmacy like I used to, plus paying for office visits! There is not even much waiting at the clinic I go to (Chiro Plus). Compare this to medications, which are chemicals; I personally developed reactions to several of them. If there is pain, isn't it better to address the source than to mask it? I feel better being off all medicine, as much as I can avoid it; and my family doctor is happy for me. No medicine can put misaligned bones in their places and allow my body to work the way it should, but a chiropractic adjustment does. I'm sure it is preventing serious, expensive problems down the road as well.