Image via Unsplash
 Guest post by Dana Brown
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 Living on a tight budget shouldn’t mean you can’t afford to treat yourself. Self-care is an important part of maintaining your physical and mental health, and sometimes you need an extra push to accomplish your self-care goals. If you want help reaching your wellness goals this year but don’t have a lot to spend, try one of these budget-friendly self-care gifts.

A Journal

Many of us keep journals when we’re young, but we tend to stop as we grow up and adult responsibilities take center stage. However, journaling has big benefits for adults too: Writing helps you process emotions, reflect on experiences, and set and pursue goals. In fact, the stress-busting benefits of journaling are so great that it even improves immunity and overall health. A nice journal is a great motivation to write — check out Barnes & Noble’s selection of journals to find one that fits your style and your budget.

New Bedding

Are you constantly waking up because you’re too hot, too cold, or your blankets have become a tangled mess? Sleep disruptions affect your entire well-being, from your energy to your moods, so it’s important to take even minor bedroom discomforts seriously. A plush comforter, soft sheets, or a weighted blanket could be just what you need to take your sleep to the next level. And you don’t have to spend hundreds on this self-care gift: Kohl’s is full of great deals on new bedding, and when you use Kohl’s promo codes to shop, you can score cash back.

A White Noise Machine

If it’s noise, not uncomfortable bedding, that keeps you up, try adding a white noise machine to the bedroom. White noise masks background sounds that interrupt your sleep, and unlike a TV or radio, white noise doesn’t stimulate your mind to keep you awake.

A Meditation App

Regular meditation reduces stress and anxiety, improves moods and focus, and decreases pain and inflammation in the body. Those are big claims for such a simple practice, but research backs them up. For most people, the biggest hurdle to meditation is getting started, but meditation apps can help. Headspace is the most highly recommended meditation app. Try it out for free; if you like it, you can subscribe for as little as $7.99 a month.

Art Supplies

Did you love art as a kid but rarely pick up a sketchpad as an adult? Art has therapeutic value no matter your age. Even if you’re not artistically talented, putting pen or paintbrush to paper relieves stress, builds self-esteem, and promotes creative thinking. Drawing and painting are the most budget-friendly ways to create art, but you can also get into sculpting, jewelry-making, dancing, creating music, or another art form. Secondhand stores are a great source of supplies, or you can look for deals at stores like Michael’s.

An Electric Toothbrush

Self-care isn’t just for mental health. Good self-care also means tending to your physical health needs like oral hygiene. If you’re still brushing with a manual toothbrush, do your mouth a favor and switch to electric. Electric toothbrushes make it easier to reach every part of your mouth and encourage you to brush for the full two minutes that dentists recommend. Visit Philips’ website for discounts and price comparisons for the leading Sonicare toothbrushes.


There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself as long as it fits your budget. However, be careful not to spend money you don’t have on self-care gifts! A gift to yourself is a great pick-me-up, but the financial stress of going over budget outweighs any self-care benefits. When you balance your need for self-care with your finances, your health and your wallet benefit.

More often than not, people tend to think happiness can only be found in either material things or by attaching ourselves to someone else. Most people out there only know how to be happy from external things but never internally which is actually the true way one can become a happier person.
Sometimes when we feel sad due to a certain incident, we tend to forget that our happiness is right in the palm of our hands and only us can truly make ourselves happy, but only if we want to. If you have never considered this, then this article is most definitely for you as you are about to dive into a new world and discover how you can achieve a higher level of happiness the natural way.

MEDITATION

Meditation is a concept that is widely overlooked by most people mainly because they don’t understand what it is about and what it actually does for us internally. Meditation is an act in which your body and mind becomes in tune with one another. A natural state in which every bit of noise and disturbance within you leaves and you become totally at peace with yourself. After a period of meditation, your mind soon learns to enter a relaxed state in which any form of stress gets blocked out thereby leading you to a relaxed happier state. An easy way to start is just to sit in a room and concentrate on your breathing. Just breath in and out and count your breaths. Start with about five minutes and work your way up to more time.

EXERCISING

When I say exercising, it doesn’t always have to be the intensive type that leaves you totally drained. Little activities in your daily life could count as exercising. This method is especially useful for people facing various overweight related issues and depression. Now, even though you aren’t depressed or facing overweight issues, you could still benefit a great deal from exercising. This is basically a win-win situation if you ask me.
Not only does exercising keeps one fit but during the process, endorphins get released which takes you to a happier state. You can see why I defined this as a win-win situation. Aside from all that, it gets to release built-up tension and gets your blood pumping. You’ll soon begin to see how your life changes for the better from just a little bit of daily exercising.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

There’s just something so pleasant about the great outdoor that leaves you in a total serene state. You may not know this but people who spend more time in natural environments are usually happier than those in urban environments. You might be thinking “I don’t have the time”, but you could always try to create the time with little free moments you have. Think of it this way, It’s the weekend and instead of staying at home, drive up the countryside on that warm afternoon or somewhere close to the sea and see how that outdoor feel improves your present state.

BE ACTIVE

Everyone in life is going through one form of a problem and while you should always try to get through it, it is also advisable not to dwell on these issues for a lengthy period of time especially for things you can’t change. Reason being you’re basically overthinking and that does more harm than good to the body which would thereby lead you to a moody state which I’m sure no one wants. In order to avoid this from happening, keep yourself as active as possible. Pick a hobby, do something fun, read a book. These little distractions will help keep your mind in the present and end up improving your happy state.
Even though everyone is different, we should all learn to see situations from the positive and not let the negative take control of our lives as this could do more harm than good in the long run. We all have the ability within us to make ourselves happy so why not take control of it and use it to the fullest, after which you’ll begin to notice great changes in your life.

BE MORE POSITIVE
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Even when you are feeling low it’s best to think in a positive way. Thinking in a positive way will actually create positive results in your life. Being positive can change your outlook.