An Unexpected Benefit

At one point or another, several members of our group have challenged themselves to give something up—from alcohol to sweets to bought lunches. Not only did these participants report eating better, losing weight and having more energy throughout the day, some noticed an unexpected side benefit: a fatter wallet!

Think about it: if you buy your lunch even just three times a week at an average cost of $10 a shot, that’s $30 a week you could be saving yourself. That’s $120 a month…$1,500 a year! And that’s a conservative estimate.

Similarly, let's say you drop $100 at the club on a Saturday night (between cab fare, cocktails and eats afterward) and let's say you go out three or four times a month. Add to that dinners out with friends, dates, drinks at the watering hole after work, and the amount of money you spend on alcohol in a month really starts to add up.

Now, I’m not saying that you don’t deserve the occasional lunch out or a casual cocktail. Of course you do! But by challenging yourself to only to buy lunch on Fridays, or to sip a martini only once a month, you may find that you not only eat more healthful foods and detox your body, you pad your bank account a little.

Why not add one these challenges to your list for October?