Paige Power

  Thrift store shopping? I follow a lot of social media accounts that focus on budgeting and frugality. One thing that often confuses me is how many of the posts I see are focused on shopping. There are many budgeting posts about finding sales and they often include photos of things people have purchased, like home décor for example. I’m confused Honestly, I’m confused by this approach. If you want save money, stop buying items that aren’t 100% necessary to live. Buy food, buy insurance, and buy medication. You need these things to live. But you don’t need more pillows for your couch. I’ve seen people who post about the great deal they got by visiting a local fast food establishment and using a coupon or when a great deal is happening and all I can think is that the ultimate cost to their health will be substantially higher. Who wants donuts? I see people who post about the sale at the grocery store where they bought a decade’s worth of donuts that they will freeze for co...

  If you are an American you understand the challenge we face when it comes to the cost of health care. In fact 66% of bankruptcies are due to medical bills. That’s about 530,000 families that file for bankruptcy every year in the U.S. Being obese is associated with an extra $2,500.00 in medical costs annually. Just to be clear, being obese is categorized as having a body mass index of 30 or higher. How heavy is that? Well, I am at the high end of normal with a BMI of 24.8. If I gain a pound or two I’ll be within the overweight category. If I gain 24 pounds I’ll be in the obese category. So the threshold for me is pretty tight. I’m careful to watch my weight because I’ve read that managing my weight is one thing I can do to maintain my health. Overall the cost to Americans for medical care related to obesity is nearly 150 billion dollars every year. According to an article published on the National Institute of Health website weight loss of 5-10% can have significant health con...