Good news about the economy

I was reading the NY Times online this morning and came across an article that may perk up your mood (or depress the hell out of you).

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/health/07well.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin

The article Are Bad Times Healthy? discusses a few ways that economic hard times can be good for our health. For dieters there are some obvious advantages.

1. Less eating out
2. More cooking at home from scratch
3. Walking and biking more to save on fuel expenses
4. More time at home with the kids
5. Less cable TV watching (I added this one on my own)

Look at your own life. Has the economy changed how you eat or exercise? Can you make changes to save money and improve your health?

I took two steps this year to save money that are helping improve my health

1. I planted two tomato plants in the spring that have yielded one or two ripe tomatoes per week on average. I save money and eat fresh produce with the added bonus that the tomatoes grown on my patio have tons more taste than the ones I buy in the grocery store.
2. I gave up the cable TV. I did this a few months ago for 2 central reasons – my cable bill was costing $150 per month which I could no longer afford and I realized I was getting home from work and planting myself in front of the TV to watch reruns of The OC and General Hospital and losing an average of 4 hours per day. I’d like to say that I use this time to exercise but it would be a lie. I haven’t gotten that far yet. I do use the time to work my second job and I’m more productive without the TV on so that I finish before 10p each night and therefore am able to get my 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night.

What small step will the economy force you to do that also benefits your health?