While the intention of better living is a wonderful one to have, the reality is there is no reason you can afford a healthier, better lifestyle by making changes that are free. Instead of jumping in with both feet, pull back a little bit and stick your toes in the water to start.

Here are some additional tips to make a change in routine or lifestyle without breaking the bank:

Instead of Expensive Gym Memberships – go to the library and get free workout videos or borrow a few from friends. You can work out in the privacy of your own home and save a ton of cash each month.

Instead of a Gym Equipment – take small steps and try committing to walking around your neighborhood for 30 minutes each day. If you can commit to doing this each day for  two months during the nice weather, you might want to start saving for the treadmill or, even better,  just commit to doing what you are already doing in the fresh air each day. If you are ready for the big equipment, keep your eyes peeled for such items at yard sales and in the newspaper as there will likely be lots of people who also had big ambitions but little attention spans.

Instead of Expensive Juicers – start researching healthy recipes you can easily make with the stuff you already have in the cabinets. There are plenty of free resources that allow you to find information about healthier eating that doesn’t involve brand new small appliances.

Instead of Expensive Instruments – if you are interested in expanding your musical skills, don’t spend thousands of dollars on an instrument you (or your kids) can not yet play and may not even like. Instead, rent or buy used until you see if those music lessons are paying off.

Keeping your life simple helps do many things for your proposed new lifestyle. First, it helps you save money for the things that are most important in your life. Second, it helps reduce and eliminate a ton of clutter you do not need to disorganize your life.

New Lifestyles Don’t Need New Purchases was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

It’s not just my family either. Families all over the country, especially those affected by the recession could be losing money because of clutter.

Wasting Your Money Month After Month
The first way this clutter costs you money is because the chances are good that somewhere in that clutter are past-due bills that now contain late charges because someone forgot to pay them. Chances are also good that there are other pieces of unopened mail laying around that are also important to your financial well-being. Credit card companies may have mailed out important disclosures regarding your payment terms or interest rate. Since you didn’t open the mail, you may not have been aware of the new changes, thus you may have already incurred fees because of these changes.

What about the times you have to reimburse the cost of something you have lost in the clutter? A movie rental gone missing will cost you some bucks. How about the library book that cost you money because you forgot to return it on time or maybe you had to replace the book because you couldn’t find it at all? All of these fees and reimbursements are totally preventable. That money you spent would have been better used if tucked into savings.

Missing Out On Money
With clutter, you and your family can also be depriving yourself of additional money you could get if only you sold your junk. Remember: One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. There are probably plenty of opportunities for your entire family to sell off things that are no longer needed or useful or wanted. Have a garage/yard sale. Sell your things on eBay. Whatever route you choose to earn extra money, you may be surprised at how easy it can be to de-clutter your life and add funds to your bank account.

Removing the clutter from your life is not an easy task. You must commit a day or several to bring the job to completion. But learn the lesson early for the next few years to come – the less clutter you bring into your life, the less clutter you will later have to remove from your life.

The Cost of Clutter was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

I was thinking of some ways to slow down the progress of cabin fever over the next two months and here is what I have come up with:

Tackle The Boring Household Chores
If you are bored enough being stuck in the house, now may be the ideal time to do some spring cleaning and accomplish some of the tasks you ordinarily consider boring. Wash down the walls, vacuum the cobwebs in the corner, get down on your hands and knees to clean the kitchen floor. This physical activity can pick up your spirits. Throw on your favorite tunes and get the whole family cleaning and dancing on a boring, stormy weekend then celebrate your hard work with popcorn and a family-friendly movie you haven’t seen in a while. Turn out the lights and get cozy warm together.

Get Ready For A Spring Sale
As soon as the weather turns for the better, everyone and their mama will want to be outside. It is the perfect time to host a yard/garage sale and there is no better time to prepare than now. After the holidays, kids may be more likely to part with the old to make room for all the new. Give everyone an empty box and have them gather their goods. Let kids who are able to help, get in the act of sorting and pricing the goods for sale. Once you have organized and priced everything on the floor, pack up your stuff and it is ready to go when the weather turns warm again. With a few well-placed advertising fliers, you can rack up a nice chunk of change in one afternoon. Plus, you are getting a jump on the spring cleaning and you have a whole day to look forward to of lounging around outside, helping customers take away your stuff.

Get Organized
If you are not up for moving around or get bored in the evening hours, settle in with a calendar and a notebook and start getting mentally organized. No one wants to sit home on the nice days making plans, so get a jump on things in the dead of winter. Coordinate your kids calendars, family budgets, necessary paperwork, and all the other things that tend to get out of control when you have no time. You can also divide up the things you want to get done in the upcoming weeks before spring hit the air. Divide lists into simple projects that take only a a few minutes to accomplish to the larger tasks that can take a whole weekend. The next time boredom strikes you can reference your list and find something constructive to do. Make sure you create age-appropriate categories for the rest of the family to help you out with instead of lounging all day in front of the television.

Find Your Inner Kid
Nothing can break up boredom faster than an impromptu pillow fight. It can be so easy to get grumpy and stressed out being snowed in your home with the kids. Break down your stress levels and jump down on the floor for some good old fashion play with your kids. Host a day of anti-bored games that involve as much physical activity as you can manage safely at home then play some actual board games to wind down later in the evening. The kids will love the playfulness and probably be much less stressful to you if you are all releasing the pent-up energy together.

Get In the Kitchen
Bring the family together for a day of baking or cooking for the freezer. The heat from the oven will help conserve your oil bills and everyone will reap the rewards of great foods for dinner and desert. Research kid-friendly recipes on the internet and let the little ones do a safe project on their own to keep them busy while the older kids get to cooking. Nothing like a great smelling kitchen to beat the winter blues. Comfort food is also a great solution for feeling out of sorts.

Beating Down Cabin Fever was created by and is property of American Consumer News.