Longevity has long been a goal for many. The thought of living a long, full life is attractive to many people. The good news is that you don’t need to spend a lot of money on special foods or on specific youth serums. You can engage in frugal activities that will lengthen your life.

Not only that, but the following 4 actions will improve the quality of your life as well as its length:

1. Alter the Way You Commute

Change the way you commute to work. Talking public transit usually means that you walk more as you get to and from the necessary stops. If you bike, you’ll get good exercise each morning and evening. Plus, taking public transit can provide you with a way to avoid car accidents. Injuries sustained during accidents can cause permanent disability or even death, and individual car accidents are more common than public transportation accidents.

Commuting this way costs less than driving your car, so you save money and you improve your health — increasing the chances that you will live longer.

2. Plan Your Meals and Use Fresh Ingredients

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, those who focus more on plant-based eating habits, are 19 per cent less likely to have life threatening diseases than those who have diets low in fiber and high in saturated fat.

Plan your meals to include plenty of fresh vegetables, and include fruits and whole grains. While eating meat occasionally isn’t going to kill you (probably) it makes sense to reduce your meat intake, and stick to lean proteins. Plan ahead and use fresh ingredients, and you’ll avoid some of the ills that come with fatty, sugary processed foods. Plus, you can save money when you plan your menu and choose simple meals with fresh ingredients. We’ve saved a lot since we eat out less due to our meal planning.

3. Get Active Outside

You don’t have to go to the gym to exercise. It’s true that I have gym membership so that I can swim in an indoor pool year round, but I’m also a big fan of exercise through outdoor activities. Biking, hiking, sports, and just taking a walk can be good fun.

Playing outside with your kids provides exercise for everyone, and it can boost your mood. Forging strong emotional connections with family and friends can be helpful to your mental health as well as your physical health. This can prolong your life, and it doesn’t cost very much to just get out and about. You can even put together a basic home gym on the cheap.

4. Find Ways to Reduce Your Stress

Stress and anxiety can lead to costly chronic problems like heart disease and hypertension. These issues can also shorten your life. Your quality of life goes down, and your expenses go up when you have stress-related health problems. You can reduce your stress frugally by engaging in meditation, and by taking time each day to relax and unwind doing something you enjoy (for me, it’s reading).

You don’t have to spend a fortune to improve your life. With a little planning, you can save money and improve your quality of life.

What do you think? How do you frugally lengthen your life?