Pay for Your Health Now With Time, or Pay for It Later With Money
"I can't afford to be healthy" is the most expensive lie you'll ever tell yourself—here's why the bill always comes due
Let me paint you a picture. It's Tuesday night, you're exhausted, and you just spent 45 minutes scrolling through TikTok watching other people meal prep their perfect little chicken and rice bowls. You think to yourself, "I really need to get my health together." Then you close the app, order $35 worth of Chipotle for one person, and tell yourself you'll start fresh on Monday. Again.
Or maybe it's Saturday morning. You wake up feeling like garbage because you had one too many glasses of wine while watching Netflix last night, hit snooze four times, and now you're running late. You grab Starbucks on the way to run errands—a $7 latte and a $6 breakfast sandwich because you didn't have time to eat at home (and also because you need all the grease and caffeine you can get). Later, you'll pass by that boutique fitness studio and think "I really should join a gym," but then the light turns green and the thought is gone almost as quickly as it came in.
We've all been there. I've been there. And here's the thing: "I can't afford to invest in my health" is the most expensive lie we tell ourselves. Not because you actually need to drop hundreds of dollars on the latest wellness trend, but because that excuse is keeping you exactly where you are. Comfortable. Safe. Stuck. And eventually? Sick.
Because the reality is you're going to pay for your health one way or another. You can invest in it now with your time and attention, or you can pay for it later with medical bills, prescriptions, and sick days. You can spend 30 minutes meal prepping today, or you can spend thousands on managing diabetes in ten years. You can go to bed an hour earlier now, or you can pay for sleep studies and medications later. The bill always comes due. You're just choosing when and how much.
And honestly? Nobody cares about your excuses except you.
The Excuse Economy: Why We're So Attached to Our BS
Let's get real for a second. Your excuses are familiar. They make you feel justified. They let you off the hook. And most importantly, they keep you small enough that you never have to risk failing.
"I can't afford to invest in my health" is just the socially acceptable version of "I'm scared to actually commit to changing my life." Because the uncomfortable truth is that we live in a world where we'll drop $50 on supplements we never take, $100 on workout clothes for a gym membership we don't use, and thousands on quick fixes that promise results without effort. But suggest going to bed at the same time every night or meal prepping on Sunday? Suddenly we're too busy, too tired, too broke.
Your excuses aren't protecting you. They're limiting you. And the worst part? You're the only one who believes them.
Your boss doesn't care why you're exhausted at work. Your kids don't care why you're irritable. Your body doesn't care why you're not taking care of it. They all just experience the result of your choices, excuse-free.
Do this: Write down your top 3 health excuses right now. I'm serious, grab your phone and type them out. Now read them out loud. Do they sound as valid as they feel in your head? Or do they sound like stories you've been telling yourself to avoid doing the hard thing?
You're Not Stuck, You're Scared
Here's where I'm going to lose some of you, but stick with me because this is the part that's going to blow your mind.
When you say "I can't afford to invest in my health," what you're really saying is "I can't afford to invest in changing who I am right now." And I know that's a terrifying thought because changing who you are means making uncomfortable choices. It means going to bed when your friends are still texting. It means saying no to happy hour. It means cooking when you'd rather order in. It means choosing the uncomfortable option over and over again until it becomes your new normal.
Being stuck implies you have no control. Like you're trapped in quicksand with no rope. But that's not true, is it? You're not stuck. You're standing at the edge of the quicksand, holding the rope, but you're scared to start climbing because climbing is hard and uncomfortable and there's a chance you might slip.
So you call it "stuck" instead of "scared" because stuck sounds like it's happening TO you, while scared means you have to DO something about it.
And here's the pattern I see all the time: We'll spend money on things that don't require us to actually change. The supplements that promise energy without fixing our sleep. The meal delivery service that costs $300 a month because meal planning feels overwhelming. The fancy water bottle that will definitely make us drink more water this time. We're constantly investing in shortcuts around our discomfort instead of just walking through it.
But the free things? The things that actually work? Those require you to show up differently. To be someone new. To prove to yourself that you're capable of change. And that's scary as hell.
So, here is my ask. Identify ONE uncomfortable choice you've been avoiding. Not expensive. Not time-consuming. Just uncomfortable. Maybe it's drinking water instead of Diet Coke. Maybe it's going to bed 30 minutes earlier. Maybe it's taking a 10-minute walk instead of scrolling at lunch. Write it down. We're coming back to this.
The $0 Investment Portfolio That Actually Works
Okay, now that we've cleared out the excuse fog, let's talk about what you can actually do right now, today, with exactly zero dollars. Because spoiler alert: the most powerful health investments don't come with a price tag. They come with a commitment.
Sleep: The Foundation Everything Else Is Built On
Going to bed at the same time every night? Free. Taking your phone out of your bedroom? Free. Not watching true crime documentaries at 11 PM? Absolutely free (though I know, I know, you're right at the good part).
Here's what this looks like in real life: Pick a bedtime. Not an aspirational "I should be in bed by" time. An actual time you can commit to most nights. Maybe it's 10:30 PM. Maybe it's 11 PM. Set an alarm for 30 minutes before that time. When it goes off, you start your wind-down routine. Phone goes on the charger in another room. Teeth brushed. Face washed. In bed with a book or journal or just your thoughts.
Do this for one week and tell me you don't feel different.
Cost: $0.
Impact: Actually being able to function like a human instead of a zombie who relies on caffeine and sheer spite.
Movement: You Don't Need a Gym Membership or Fancy Equipment
Your body wants to move. It's literally designed for it. But somewhere along the way, we decided that movement only counts if it's in matching athleisure and we are dripping in sweat.
Free movement that actually makes a difference:
Walking. Just walking. 20 minutes. Outside if possible. No podcast, no music, just you and your thoughts.
YouTube workouts. There are literally thousands of free, high-quality workout videos. Pick one. Do it. Stop researching which one is "best."
Take the stairs. Park farther away. Do squats while your coffee brews. Dance while cooking dinner.
Desk stretches every hour. Set a timer. Stand up. Move your body.
The key isn't finding the perfect workout. It's moving consistently. Your future self doesn't care if you did pilates or went for a walk. She just cares that you moved.
Cost: $0.
Impact: Better mood, more energy, improved sleep, and not feeling like you need a crane to get off the couch.
Stress Management: Because You Can't Supplement Your Way Out of Burnout
Deep breathing costs nothing. Saying no costs nothing. Five minutes of silence in the morning costs nothing. But they're worth everything.
Try this right now: Breathe in for 4 counts. Hold for 4 counts. Breathe out for 6 counts. Do that 5 times. Did your shoulders just drop like 2 inches? Yeah, that's free stress relief.
Other free stress management tools:
Saying no without explanation or guilt
Turning off notifications for literally everything except texts and calls
Not checking email first thing in the morning
Sitting in your car for 5 minutes before going inside after work
Actually taking your lunch break
Cost: $0.
Impact: Not snapping at everyone you love and actually being able to enjoy your life instead of white-knuckling through it.
Nutrition: It's Not About Perfection, It's About Planning
Meal planning on Sunday for 2 hours will save you 10 hours of decision-making and $100+ in takeout during the week. Drinking water before coffee. Eating protein first at every meal. Cooking one extra serving at dinner for tomorrow's lunch.
The free nutrition shift that changes everything: Stop trying to be perfect. Start trying to be prepared.
Batch cook on Sunday. Make a list before grocery shopping. Keep hard-boiled eggs in your fridge. Pre-cut vegetables. Make your environment work for you instead of against you.
And here's the thing about nutrition: You probably already know what to do. You don't need another meal plan or another diet book or another macro calculator. You need to stop making it complicated so you have an excuse not to start.
Cost: $0.
Impact: Stable energy, better digestion, saving hundreds on takeout, and not feeling like you need a nap by 2 PM every day.
Mental Health: The Investment That Compounds Daily
Journaling. Free. Therapy apps with free resources. Free. Setting boundaries. Free. Not saying yes to everything. Free.
Try these prompts:
What am I avoiding right now?
What story am I telling myself that might not be true?
If I loved myself completely, what would I do differently today?
Five minutes. Pen and paper. That's it.
Cost: $0.
Impact: Clarity, emotional regulation, and actually processing your feelings instead of burying them under online shopping and reality TV.
Start Where You Are (With What You Have)
Here's the thing about free investments: they're only free if you actually do them. And that's where most of us get stuck. We collect information like it's going to change our lives. We save articles and screenshot tips and tell ourselves we'll start on Monday. Or after the holidays. Or when things calm down. Or when we can afford that fancy program that will finally make it easy.
But nothing makes change easy. Nothing makes discomfort comfortable. Nothing makes the scared feeling go away except doing the thing anyway.
So here's what I want you to do. Right now. Not later. Not Monday. Right now.
Go back to that uncomfortable choice you wrote down earlier. That one thing that's free but requires you to show up differently.
That's your starting point.
Not all five categories. Not a complete overhaul. Not the perfect wellness routine. Just that one thing.
Do it today. Then do it tomorrow. Then do it the next day. Don't add anything else. Don't complicate it. Don't research a better version of it. Just do the thing.
Because here's what I know for sure: Six months from now, you're going to wish you started today. You can spend the next six months collecting excuses for why you couldn't, or you can spend them collecting evidence that you did.
The time will pass either way. Your choice determines who you become while it does.
The Bottom Line
Nobody cares about your excuses except you. But everyone benefits when you stop making them, especially you.
Your health isn't waiting for you to be able to afford it. Your body is experiencing the effects of your choices right now, today. Your energy, your mood, your sleep, your stress levels, they're all responding to what you're actually doing, not what you wish you were doing or what you're planning to do someday.
"I can't afford to invest in my health" isn't the problem. The problem is thinking you need to afford something in order to start.
You don't need money. You need commitment. You don't need more time. You need different priorities. You don't need the perfect plan. You need to take the first step.
And that? That's free.
So what's it gonna be? Are you going to keep investing in your excuses, or are you going to start investing in yourself?
Pick one thing. Do it today. Prove to yourself that you're not stuck, you're not too busy, you're not too broke. Prove that you're just scared. And that you're doing it anyway.
The woman you're becoming is waiting. Stop making her wait for conditions that will never be perfect. Start with what you have. Start with free. Just start.