To save money you can start making deposits in your health savings account immediately. This means thrifty disease prevention instead of costly treatment. With less money to spend you are more likely to engage in creative improvising. Creativity immediately counteracts stress and a sense of loss by fulfilling you – the Yin and Yang of things. Seize this moment for a fresh new mindset. The moment is all that any of us have. Consequently, if one moment is bad, another is better. Here are some tips to live better on less:

1. Instead of eating out, eat in. Aim for lean proteins and seasonal fruits and vegetables. Stretch your protein dollars with beans and lentils. Rich food isn’t healthy for your cardiovascular and digestive systems. Added bonus: you are restoring a sense of hearth to your home.
2. Mind your calories with portion control. Don’t be greedy and eat more than your fair share. We have forgotten what a real portion looks like. When we prepare too much food, we end up throwing it out and feel bad about the waste, sending a poor message to the next generation.
3. Lose weight while you sleep to maintain proper hormonal balance which will suppress appetite during the day. Your body regenerates while you sleep. To get 8 hours of sleep you shut the lights/ TV/ computer and lower the thermostat in cold weather (as you sleep better in a cooler room) which reduces costs.
4. Don’t buy many of the costly over-the-counter headache pain relievers if you get headaches more than 15 days a month because they actually perpetuate headaches.
5. Cut out or at least cut down on those allergy medications. When you are in balance, so are your allergies. Stress exacerbates allergies. Adjust your diet and exercise to help you out.
6. Use positive words for a free placebo effect. Optimism keeps you healthy. How should you be optimistic about the recession? Look to the Irish who call this a “Pre-boom era.”
7. Free your mind of distractions by focusing on your breath or visualizing your happy place on earth. Reap the extraordinary benefits of meditation which include: stress management, a boost to the immune system, healing for the cardiovascular system and improved focus. A meditation is a free staycation.

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For more information on managing your stress and reclaiming your life read my book, Addicted to Stress: A Woman's 7 Step Program to Reclaim Joy and Spontaneity in Life. To listen to archived radio shows with guest experts visit Turn On Your Inner Light Radio Show