When you’re broke, getting sick usually comes down to this: you’ll either get better with rest and OTC drugs or you won’t. Unfortunately, waiting out an illness is not just a risk to your health. It can do a number on your budget, too.
What Happens When You Delay Basic Health Care
Skipping checkups and preventative appointments allows that case of the sniffles to evolve into a full-blown sinus infection. Next thing you know, you’re stuck in emergency rooms paying out of pocket for costly medical care and prescription medication.
At this point, most people on a tight budget might look for a loan by phone. You can research loans over a phone even while sitting in the waiting room. You can apply via quick, convenient application and, if approved, use your funds to pay for your urgent expense without delay.
While getting a loan by phone can help you in an emergency, you could avoid the extra strain on your immune system and budget simply by seeing a doctor right away.
A Budget Can Help You Prioritize Your Health Care
A budget is a spending plan that reveals how much money you have to make ends meet each month. Knowing this limit can help you identify expenses worthy of your cash and which ones do nothing but waste your money.
Debt joins non-essential frills that steal cash away from priorities, like a health savings fund that covers doctor appointments and medication. Limiting your non-essential spending, paying off debt, and prioritizing savings can help you get medical attention as soon as possible.
Admittedly, this is a tall order when you’re broke, but don’t focus on the big picture. Sometimes, making small changes to your spending habits can have an impressive financial domino effect.
Less spending means you’ll be able to contribute to more than just your minimum payments on credit cards, and you can start saving towards your emergency healthcare fund. Eventually, you’ll pay off entire loans, freeing up even more cash to invest in health insurance that can help you cover medical expenses.
3 Other Ways a Better Budget Can Improve Your Health
The perks of paying off debt extend well beyond your finances. Your mental and physical well-being will see the positive effects of living a debt-free life, too.
1. Less Stress
Whether you have maxed credit cards or outstanding installment loans, debt of all kinds can stress you out. Chronic stress overwhelms your body and wears down your immune system, eventually leading to stomach issues, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes.
Wiping out debt may not eliminate your financial anxiety, but it removes a large stressor from your life.
2. More Sleep
Anxiety is one of the biggest causes of insomnia. Losing sleep over your finances can jumpstart a frustrating and tiring cycle, as insufficient sleep can take a toll on your body, increasing your chances of worsening your anxiety that keeps you up at night — not to mention your risk of developing whole host of health issues.
Knowing you have a safety net in your budget can help you conk out and reap the benefits of deep, restorative sleep.
3. Better Confidence
Knowing you single-handedly balanced your budget and wiped out debt is a serious confidence boost. After years of feeling as though you’re controlled by your finances, you’ll be the one in control. This self-confidence can promote better mental health, giving you the conviction to take on other problems in your life.
Sit Down with Your Budget Today
If you’re ready to invest in your health, feel confident, get better sleep, and reduce your stress, check out these budget tips to pay down debt and save more money.
