Many people have made the switch to a frugal lifestyle as a result of the recession. Most people are glad that they did this but there are some people who can’t wait to get back to living a more lavish lifestyle one day. Before you jump on that bandwagon, you may want to think about the fact that living a frugal life could be a lot healthier for you.

Some of the ways that living frugally makes you healthier include:

• Frugal people tend to eat healthier. Of course, this isn’t always the case. Some frugal people are living off of Ramen noodles and microwave burritos. However, most frugal people are eating fresh produce and other healthy inexpensive foods. This type of frugal diet keeps you healthier.
• Frugal people walk and bicycle more. A lot of people are giving up their cars and even public transit since these modes of transportation are expensive. They walk and bike more. This keeps them fit which makes them healthier.
• Frugal people are creating a healthier environment. A lot of frugal choices are also green choices. People are wasting less water and electricity in order to save money. They’re making their own household cleaners instead of using expensive chemicals. A greener environment results in healthier humans who live in it.
• Frugal people may experience less stress. Debt creates a lot of stress. Frugal lifestyles reduce or eliminate debt. This often reduces stress. Since stress can cause a variety of different health problems, people who live frugally may end up healthier.
• Frugal people make an effort to stay healthy. A lot of frugal people are simply more conscious about trying to avoid getting sick. They don’t want to spend the money on healthcare so they’re taking better care of themselves and keeping their immune systems strong.
• Frugal people make conscious choices. Ultimately, the reason that frugal people are often healthier than their non-frugal counterparts is because the frugal lifestyle is one that is based on making conscious choices. Instead of being on automatic pilot, frugal people think through every decision. Sometimes this is all it takes for people to start making healthier choices in their lives.

Being frugal isn’t going to keep you healthy all of the time. However, it could be one key factor in living a healthy life. You may want to think about that even as the economy improves and your options for spending more money open up again.

Guest post by Kathryn Vercillo. Kathryn is a writer for Promotionalcodes.org.uk which gives away free discount code (like this La Senza discount code) and also publishes money saving tips.

The following is an interview with Karen McCall, founder of the Financial Recovery Institute. Since 1988, McCall has counseled individuals, couples, and businesses through a holistic, transformational approach that results in a stable and secure financial foundation.

Barbara Bryn Klare, a communications consultant and award-winning finance writer, is the interviewer. Co-founder of an international business writing firm, she believes women write their own financial destinies. Visit her Personal Finance and Women and Money columns at SF Examiner.com or her blog, The UpSide of Money, which takes dry financial concepts – like saving and investing – and infuses them with a fresh, UpBeat approach.

Barbara Bryn Klare: Tell me about your background and why you started the Financial Recovery Institute.

Karen McCall: Quite honestly, I was a mess with money. 25 years ago, I had a horrible secret: I had a teak bowl on top of my fridge filled with unpaid bills I had never opened, some even from the IRS. I was overextended, naïve and in a fog about money. Even though I had a Pacific Heights address, and all the right clothes, I was in trouble. People often think, “How can a financial expert know how I feel?” So many people have shame and embarrassment in their relationship with money. I’ve been there.

BBK: How did you recover financially?

KM: First I went to a budget counselor. They gave me a monthly payment plan based on a budget THEY thought up. I couldn’t stick to it. My beliefs and attitudes about money hadn’t changed.

BBK: What was lacking in their method?

KM: I believe there is a gap that therapists, budget counselors, and even financial planners don’t fill and that Financial Recovery counselors can. CPAs give tax advice, financial planners teach how to grow and invest. Even therapists didn’t take my financial problems seriously – or didn’t know how to handle them.

To tackle your money problems effectively, you have to have strong practical skills AND the ability to go inward. At the Institute, we teach our counselors that the client’s process is 1 – first getting conscious and connecting with your money, 2 – assessing, evaluating and prioritizing, then 3 – making strong choices about earning, spending and saving. We teach about needs vs. wants, and learning to go from wanting to fulfillment. All our counselors-in-training go through the process themselves, so they develop awareness and empathy.

[Writer’s note: Financial Recovery counselors are certified by the Financial Recovery Institute only, which is not an accredited program. They cannot give financial advice.]

BBK: How many people has the Financial Recovery Institute helped, do you think?

KM: With the Ripple Effect, probably thousands. I have helped hundreds in my twenty-year career [Karen retired last year from counseling].

BBK: What has been the most rewarding part of Financial Recovery counseling for you?

KM: Having long-term relationships with my clients over the years. Many come back saying, “I can’t believe I am paying you and I have more money than before!”

Ultimately, it’s watching someone go from making do and doing without, in other words, living a life of deprivation, to going to a fuller, creative quality of life – a life of fulfillment and a vision for that life.

You can achieve clarity, understanding and peace with your relationship to money instead of anxiety, stress and chaos.

BBK: What’s on the horizon for you professionally?

KM: Well, I still get responses to my first book, “It’s Your Money.” It’s just a small book that I wrote! Now I am writing the book I always wanted to write about financial recovery. It will be out soon.

The following is a guest post by Rhonda Sherwood of itsHERmoney.com. Rhonda is a Certified Financial Planner and a Financial Management Advisor.

As women, we are likely to outlive our spouses or partners by an average of 5 years. Although this may seem financially insignificant when planning for a 20 to 25 year retirement, it could potentially be our most expensive years.

Things Women Need To Know

• 80% of men die married, while 80% of women die single. 75% of women living in poverty today were not poor before they were widowed.
• In 2005, women earned 84 cents for each dollar earned by men.
• The average income of a married woman is less than that of single women because the former take on more family responsibilities.
• Many women either stop working or work less hours when they have young children. This means they are not contributing to a company pension plan or an RRSP.
• Women tend to either be self-employed, have part-time jobs or work for a flat rate, all of which influence the savings.

So How Has This Really Impacted Us?

Let’s see - we need the same monthly income to live on as men but continue to earn less. Our broken work patterns or part time jobs have drastically impacted our ability to save and hence, the future value of our RRSP’s and pension plans are affected. And due to the increasing divorce rates we have found ourselves not only to be the primary caregivers for our families but in many cases the sole or main financial source. What money or time is left
over to put towards planning our retirement?

As compelling as each of our stories is, the fact remains the same; older women who are single or widowed are most at risk for poverty. Although one would think that the likelihood of spending our Golden Years in a state of financial hardship would be more than enough of a motivation to get us into serious planning mode, less than 35% of women today actually do so. So if you take anything away from my words let it be this, it does not matter whether you are single, married, widowed, a business woman or a stay at home mom; take charge of your retirement planning today. Regardless of income, you will be the one who decides your level of financial security in retirement.