Skip to content

Top Navigation

Health.com Health.com
  • Health Conditions A-Z
  • News
  • Coronavirus
  • Diet & Nutrition
  • Fitness
  • Beauty
  • Mind & Body
  • Lifestyle
  • Weight Loss
  • Newsletter
  • Promo

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences this link opens in a new tab
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Health.com

Health.com Health.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Is Your Doctor Gaslighting You? Here's What to Do

      How to handle a physician who doubts or dismisses your symptoms. Read More Next
    • 9 Signs It's More Serious Than the Common Cold

      Doctors explain how to tell if you have a head cold or something more serious that requires medical attention, such as the flu, strep throat, meningitis, or mono. Read More Next
    • How Your Period Changes During Your 20s, 30s, and 40s

      From easier cramps to a heavier flow, here's a guide on what to expect decade by decade. Read More Next
  • Health Conditions A-Z

    Health Conditions A-Z

    See All Health Conditions A-Z

    12 Anxiety Symptoms That Might Point to a Disorder

    The symptoms of anxiety can be hard to detect. Here are the ones you need to pay attention to, and how to know if you may have an anxiety disorder.
    • Allergies
    • Anxiety
    • Birth Control
    • Breast Cancer
    • Coronavirus
    • Chronic Pain
    • Cold, Flu, and Sinus
    • Depression
    • Digestive Health
    • Diabetes (Type 2)
    • Eczema
    • Eye Health
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Heart Disease
    • Headaches and Migraines
    • Oral Health
    • Pregnancy
    • Psoriasis
    • Sexual Health
    • Skin Conditions
    • Sleep
    • Thyroid
  • News

    News

    See All News

    Shannen Doherty Reveals Stage 4 Breast Cancer Diagnosis—Here's What It Means

    "I'm petrified," the actress said when she shared the news that her breast cancer came back. Here's why a stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis can be so frightening.
    • Celebrities
  • Coronavirus
  • Diet & Nutrition

    Diet & Nutrition

    The Best (and Worst) Diets of 2020, According to Experts

    FYI: The keto diet is not number one.
    • Food
    • Nutrition
    • Vitamins and Supplements
    • Groceries
    • Restaurants
    • Diets
    • Keto Diet
    • Mediterranean Diet
    • Whole30
    • Recipes
  • Fitness

    Fitness

    See All Fitness

    10 Moves for a Cardio Workout at Home—No Equipment Required

    Stay in your living room and still spike your heart rate.
    • Cardio Workouts
    • Strength Training
    • Yoga
    • Ab Workouts
    • Arm Workouts
    • Leg Workouts
    • Butt Workouts
    • Fitness Gear
  • Beauty

    Beauty

    See All Beauty

    These 13 Women Prove Every Body Is a Bikini Body

    We're loving their inspirational, body-positive messages.
    • Skincare
    • Makeup
    • Hair
    • Nails
  • Mind & Body

    Mind & Body

    See All Mind & Body

    Why Do People Lie? We Asked an Expert

    Here's the truth about lying.
    • Body Positivity
    • Self-Care
    • Misdiagnosed
    • Invisible Illness
    • LGBTQ+ Health
    • Health Diversity and Inclusion
    • Resolution Reboot
  • Lifestyle

    Lifestyle

    20 Things You Should Throw Away for Better Health

    Clean out expired products and clutter to make way for a healthier you.
    • Healthy Home
    • Pets
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Style
    • Holidays
    • Sex
    • Gifts
    • Money
    • Tech
    • Medicare
    • Best Life Now
  • Weight Loss
  • Newsletter
  • Promo

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences this link opens in a new tab
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home Chevron Right
  2. Healthy Home Chevron Right
  3. 20 Ways to Get Healthier for Free

20 Ways to Get Healthier for Free

By Jacquelyne Froeber
May 23, 2013
Skip gallery slides
Save Pin
Credit: Getty Images
Low-cost exercise classes, free medical tests, and more ways to get healthy for less money.
Start Slideshow

1 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Good for you, and your wallet

Credit: Getty Images

Dip into our smart batch of strategies to stay happy and healthy (at no cost!).

1 of 21

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Borrow (don’t buy) your next fitness DVD

Credit: Getty Images

Join the local library—for the workout DVDs. Most libraries have a big selection, the perfect antidote to a boring (and pricey) gym routine. And because the key to sticking with exercise is to keep it interesting, you can switch it up (cheaply) as often as you want.

2 of 21

3 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Free stop-smoking help

Credit: Getty Images

If you're trying to stop smoking, there are many low-cost or free ways to get help. If you're a New York resident, you can call the New York State Smokers' Quitline at 800-784-8669 to get a free 2-week starter kit of nicotine patches or gum, plus coaching and support.

There are many other

resources and quitlines, such as 1-800-QUIT-NOW if you don't live in New York.

Quitting will not only save you money but also lower your risks for heart disease and cancer.

3 of 21

Advertisement

4 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Get a free skin checkup

Credit: Getty Images

The Skin Cancer Foundation provides free full-body skin cancer screenings conducted by local dermatologists during its annual Road to Healthy Skin Tour. Check SkinCancer.org for availability in your area.

4 of 21

5 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Download a free health calendar

Credit: Getty Images

Get a free calendar from the National Women's Health Information Center. It lists recommended health tests, reveals surprising symptoms of serious health conditions, and offers important advice on how to read drug labels and get a second opinion.

5 of 21

6 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Surf for deals

Credit: Getty Images

FreakyFreddies.com and Freemania.net have free-by-mail samples and coupons for items like hand sanitizer, bandages, deodorant, tampons, and toothpaste. Ebates.com gives cash back for purchases at stores like Drugstore.com, Bath & BodyWorks, DERMAdoctor.com, GNC, Kiehl’s, Nutrisystem, and many more. CouponCraze.com has discounts for anti-allergy bedding, humidifiers, and dehumidifiers. And RetailMeNot.com features coupons for contact lenses and supplements.

6 of 21

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Get a free radon test

Credit: Getty Images

Radon, an odorless natural gas present in many homes, is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers. Check the availability of free or low-cost test kits in your state.

7 of 21

8 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Click off the weight

Credit: Getty Images

Studies show that interactive online-weight-loss programs help people drop pounds and maintain weight loss, too. Visit CarbLovers.com—the official site of The CarbLover's Diet—for recipes, tools, and advice from experts. To get diet counseling, try SparkPeople.com. And to access calorie-counting tools, visit CalorieCount.about.com.

8 of 21

9 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Strike a pose

Credit: Getty Images

Try your Downward Dog for free—or pretty cheap—thanks to the Internet. Every week, Yoga Today streams a free, one-hour class. (Downloads cost $3.99.) Also, mark January on your calendar: That month there's usually a Yoga Day USA, when yoga centers around the country offer free classes. Why yoga? It hikes flexibility and strength, provides help for relieving stress and controlling weight, and lowers risks of heart disease and sleep problems.

9 of 21

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Bargain hard

Credit: Getty Images

Many health clubs and gyms are willing to cut you deals or give you free passes to try their facilities. Bally Total Fitness, Gold’s Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness offer free seven-day trials. Remember: Everything is negotiable. And once you’re a member, train with a buddy to cut trainer costs in half, or sign up for 30-minute training sessions instead of hour-long ones. Bonus: Besides being cheaper, the shorter workout may move faster and be more intense.

10 of 21

11 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Do a smoke checkup

Credit: Getty Images

Some local fire departments offer smoke alarms (a potential lifesaver, considering up to 20% of the alarms installed in people's homes don't even work) for free or at discounted prices.

11 of 21

12 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Create a medical family tree

Credit: Getty Images

Start planning a healthier future today by asking relatives about their health conditions and those of your ancestors. Then visit FamilyHistory.hhs.gov to create a free Family Health Portrait that reveals your risks. Raising health awareness this way can help lower your risk of major diseases.

12 of 21

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Save $170 in the shower

Credit: Getty Images

That's how much you can cut from your water bill each year by taking shorter, cooler showers, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Your budget and your skin will thank you. Hot water causes blood vessels to expand, causing you to lose more moisture, says Jeannette Graf, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. To keep your skin soft and supple, limit showers to around five minutes and think warm, not hot.

13 of 21

14 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Snag free health apps

Credit: Health.com

There are about 3,000 iTunes applications designed to boost your health and fitness, and many are free. MyNet Diary has 91,000 foods in its database to help you plan healthy meals, and its community forum is reviewed by a registered dietitian. Free Menstrual Calendar helps you predict your periods and fertile days. Fitness Keeper uses GPS tracking for runners who want to keep tabs on their distance, speed, and calories burned. And one of our personal favorites: Vibrating Massager literally turns your iPhone into a feel-good massager. (Yep, there’s an app for that!)

14 of 21

15 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Boost your immunity

To help keep winter colds at bay, get free samples of Emergen-C powdered multivitamin packs at EmergenC.com. Each packet contains 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C—more than 10 times your daily requirement—plus other antioxidants and energy-boosting B vitamins.

15 of 21

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Moisturize for free

Credit: Getty Images

Stop by Sephora stores across the country and ask for a free sample (you can try out hundreds of moisturizers), and you’ll get three more freebies—like Dylan’s Candy Bar Birthday Cake Batter Body Smoothie Lotion or Bliss All-Around Eye Cream—if you buy something at Sephora.com. And at Aveda.com, you’ll get a free Tourmaline Charged Exfoliating Cleanser sample when you buy any two Tourmaline Charged skin-care products.

16 of 21

17 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Eat healthier, no cookbook required

People with gluten sensitivities miss out on a lot of good desserts, but you don't have to say no to this pudding! Use single-ingredient brands, like Libby's pumpkin filling and Argo cornstarch, because they won't have added gluten. And look on the list of ingredients for gluten in the form of wheat starch or flour in the pumpkin pie spice.

Ingredients: Canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, large eggs, 2% milk, dark brown sugar, cornstarch

Calories: 210

Try this recipe:Pumpkin-Pie Pudding

17 of 21

18 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Tweet for discounts

Follow your favorite stores on Twitter and get hot sales alerts and great advice. Twitter.com/targetdeals offers new discounts every day on items like vacuums, healthy cookware, and bedding. Twitter.com/walgreens brings you deals like 25% off eco-friendly makeup applicators, $10 off purchases of $40 or more on vitamins and supplements, and other discounts on products like diabetes tests. And Twitter.com/Clinique_US features all kinds of useful free tips like this one: To give parched skin a dewy look, mix foundation with a drop of moisturizer in your palm and smooth over your face.

18 of 21

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

19 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Try a new sport

Credit: Getty Images

You've always wanted to try cross-country skiing, right? As part of its annual January sale, WinterTrails.org will help you try cross-country skiing or snowshoeing for free at a location near you.

19 of 21

20 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Give and get for free

Loads of useful items from BabyGap, Science Diet, Tempur-Pedic, Love My Belly, and more great brands are available for free on the grassroots network Freecycle.org, a smart online location for secondhand giveaways. The site's goal is to keep good stuff in use instead of letting it get thrown away and end up harming the environment. Keep in mind: Available items change daily.

20 of 21

21 of 21

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Talk it out

Credit: Getty Images

There's a free self-help group out there for what­ever is bothering you, whether it’s physical or mental. Check Mentalhelp.net/selfhelp, a searchable database of about 1,000 support groups for people dealing with acne, addictions, allergies, breast cancer, headaches, infertility, eating disorders, OCD, parenting, and many more issues.

21 of 21

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Jacquelyne Froeber

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 21 Good for you, and your wallet
2 of 21 Borrow (don’t buy) your next fitness DVD
3 of 21 Free stop-smoking help
4 of 21 Get a free skin checkup
5 of 21 Download a free health calendar
6 of 21 Surf for deals
7 of 21 Get a free radon test
8 of 21 Click off the weight
9 of 21 Strike a pose
10 of 21 Bargain hard
11 of 21 Do a smoke checkup
12 of 21 Create a medical family tree
13 of 21 Save $170 in the shower
14 of 21 Snag free health apps
15 of 21 Boost your immunity
16 of 21 Moisturize for free
17 of 21 Eat healthier, no cookbook required
18 of 21 Tweet for discounts
19 of 21 Try a new sport
20 of 21 Give and get for free
21 of 21 Talk it out

Share options

Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Login

Health.com

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Contact us
  • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Health.com is part of the Meredith Health Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved. The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, probable diagnosis, or recommended treatments. All products and services featured are selected by our editors. Health.com may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.health.com

View image

20 Ways to Get Healthier for Free
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.