Budget-Friendly Self-Care Ideas

Right now, more than ever, the majority of us are in need of some serious self-care. While indulging in a pampering routine and using luxury products can feel nice, I wanted to talk about self-care activities that truly help my mental health and that don’t break the bank. A lot of these things cost very little to no money to do and I’ve found help me get out of my head when life gets stressful. I hope these suggestions help you to feel a little less anxious and help to lift your mood.

Reading ~ This is something I’ve been talking a lot about recently, but honestly reading is one of the best self-care activities I can rely on during stressful times like these. In order to keep reading affordable for myself, I have mainly been using my Kindle and renting ebooks from my local library (most libraries have this sort of system, so make sure you research it). I really only purchase physical books when I have a gift card to my favorite local bookstores or when I am really excited about a book and expect to reread or pass it on to a loved one after I’m done reading it. Not only does reading offer a really nice and much needed break from screens, but it also allows you to immerse yourself in another world, which is honestly the thing I love most about reading. I especially try to allocate time to read before bed, because it helps me to not think about the stresses of the day and it helps me fall asleep easier.

Yoga ~ I used to do yoga all the time when I was in college and then I fell off the wagon for awhile. I recently got back into yoga this past January through doing the Yoga With Adriene 30 Day Yoga challenge. Doing yoga for thirty days consecutively made me rediscover my love for the practice and made me realize how much I missed it in my every day life. While we’ve been practicing social distancing through all of this COVID-19 craziness, I’ve been doing yoga every day through the Yoga With Adriene YouTube channel and it’s honestly one of the best things I’ve ever done for both my physical and mental health. Most of the practices are very beginner-friendly and aren’t particularly long.

Give Yourself A Manicure ~ Out of all of the pampering-type self-care activities, doing a manicure on myself is one of the most relaxing things I can think of doing. Unlike other pampering things like taking a bath or doing a face mask, doing a manicure actually requires a lot of focus, which I find much more useful when I am feeling really anxious or stressed about other things. In being really focused on painting my nails, even though it’s a superfluous task, I am distracted from all of the other craziness going on in the world and even if that lasts for just a quick 30 minutes, it helps me find center again.

Doing A Puzzle ~ Brad and I love doing puzzles together. I think like painting my nails, doing a puzzle is a somewhat mindless task that takes a lot of focus. It’s so easy to get lost in a 1000 piece puzzle for the entire day and it’s so fun and rewarding to see the final result. I feel like getting your mind stimulated is such an under-rated way of practicing self-care, and I cannot recommend it enough (especially if it means spending less time in front of screens).

Brain Dump In Your Journal ~ I tend to journal a lot when I’m in a funk or if I’m going through a particularly anxious period. I love the ritual of getting up early in the morning, sitting at my desk with a cup of tea and taking a solid 15-20 minutes to just get all of my thoughts out of my head and onto paper. Using that time to release all of my feelings is incredibly therapeutic and even if you don’t make any huge breakthroughs during your time writing, it’s nice at the very least to just have some quiet time to sit with your thoughts and think about how you’re feeling on any given day.

FaceTime or Call A Loved One ~ I’ll be honest, I don’t use FaceTime all that much, but since we’ve been under shelter-in-place here in California for the last few weeks, I’ve been using it so much more to talk to friends and family. Of course it can never replace the feeling of seeing someone in person but it does lift your mood to reach out and talk to someone. I feel like when people talk about self-care, it’s usually a solitary practice, but I think there’s just as much to be said for self-care that involves talking to your loved ones.

Bake Some Treats ~ Baking is my ultimate stress relief and it has been since I was little. I love the concentration and precision it takes to bake something, but also that it’s a full sensory experience. Some recipes also take up the better part of a day so it’s a nice thing to do when you have a lot of time to kill and you don’t want to spend that time parked in front of a screen. One of the best things about baking is that you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor for days to come and there’s nothing like indulging in a cookie before bed as another little act of self-care.