The Snowbird Lifestyle: Healthy Anti-Aging Solution or Horrifying Misadventure?

photo: wikimedia

By Crabby McSlacker

So what's a snowbird? (Besides, apparently, a ski resort in Utah?)

I'll offer one definition of a snowbird: a species of silver-crested North American, usually of advancing years, that migrates annually for the winter from colder northern climates to warmer southern ones. Best known for upsetting local ecosystems and annoying year-round inhabitants.

Regular readers may be aware that my wife (aka "The Lobster") and I are a couple of those dreaded snowbirds. Yet: we are not all that old. Nor, we hope, are we all that annoying.

And it's not just us: Snowbirds seem to be getting younger. Maybe it's because more jobs are going virtual and it's not just for retirement anymore? Or it might be because new options that didn't exist 10 or 20 years ago can make it way more affordable and practical than it used to be.

(Note: I'm talking about "snowbirding" because that's what people google the most common sort of seasonal migration. But this applies to other extended getaways too, like fleeing a torrid climate during summers, or spending months abroad every year in a country that's cheap and culturally enriching, or whatever.)

So if you're curious about the Snowbird lifestyle, either because it sounds vaguely appealing, or alternatively, because it sounds so hideously disruptive that reveling in the details will make you smugly grateful that you live only in one place like a normal person--some thoughts below.

Can Money Buy Happiness?

A new study says: yes, sometimes money can buy happiness, depending on how you spend it.

The topic seems quite timely, because what with the economy in such dire straits, many of us are worried about what we're spending our money on. We naturally want to get the most bang for our buck.

So let's say someone handed you a few thousand dollars you weren't expecting. (Hooray!) According to this latest study, what do you think the wisest investment of this money would be for your personal happiness?

a. Get your car fixed so that you're not driving around on bald tires with an engine that stalls out at unpredictable moments, thus increasing the chances you'll make it to work alive every morning;

b. Replace the upstairs toilet with one that doesn't spontaneously flush every half an hour, and finally do something about that black mold some annoying plumber told you was probably "toxic";

c. Buy yourself a Rolex;

d. Take some friends on a trip to an exotic island to go snorkeling.

Clearly you'll be much happier if you...

(d) Take everyone snorkeling, of course!

This is why I tend to hate "happiness" studies.

True, the study didn't actually ask this exact question. But it does irritate me that researchers aren't very good at measuring the peaceful, stable, boring kinds of happiness--like the kind you get knowing that the bills are paid and there is food in the refrigerator.

Anyway, in this study, researchers found that "experiential" purchases such as "a meal out or theater tickets," led to "increased well-being because they satisfy higher order needs." They concluded that "buying life experiences rather than material possessions leads to greater happiness."

I actually agree that this is mostly true. (More on that in a moment). And other research has said experiences beat possessions too. But I still have to gripe about the study because griping makes me happy! Take that, happiness researchers.

Anyway, participants were asked "to write reflections and answer questions" about what they'd bought recently. Since "participants indicated that experiential purchases represented money better spent and greater happiness" the researchers concluded this must be true.

I'm sorry nice researchers, but I think the methodology of the study screws with the results. Would you be willing to rhapsodize in a little essay about your new iPod, not to mention that nifty low-flow toilet, the same way you might a trip to the symphony? You're going to sound much cooler (and have more to say) about a recent "experience" than a "thing." Does it really mean you will get more happiness out of the fleeting experience than the "thing" in the long run? (Although personally, I could write a 5,000 word essay on why I still love the garlic press I got for a Christmas present five years ago, but then I'm a little odd).

In Defense of Possessions:
Here's my main objection to the research: I think "possessions" vs "experiences" is a false dichotomy. Because something like a bicycle, or a great book, or a new plant to put in the garden, or a bowling ball may technically be an object, but it also can create or transform an experience and provide a lot of happiness.

I think the real debate should be about things we buy for status, versus things we buy for our own comfort or pleasure or adventure. An "experiential" dinner eaten at a Trendy Restaurant is, in my mind, a lousy bargain if you only went because it seemed like a sophisticated thing to do. But a great book or a new kitchen gadget or a comfy pair of running shoes can be a great happiness bargain, if using them gives you pleasure.

The relationship of money to happiness is a fascinating topic, isn't it? Because we all have opinions about money, and about happiness. And we're all pretty sure we're spending our money the right way, on the best things.

Of course the research pretty consistently says that we're clueless. Money doesn't buy us nearly the happiness we think it will; and we tend to spend it on dumb things.

It does help to get your basic needs met. But according to an interesting article on money and happiness from a couple of years ago, "going from earning less than $20,000 a year to making more than $50,000 makes you twice as likely to be happy, yet the payoff for then surpassing $90,000 is slight."

Do you ever marvel at people who spend a fortune on luxury automobiles and vastly oversized homes, then find themselves working insane hours at jobs they hate in order to pay for them? (Sometimes there's even a perverse kind of happiness in noting how silly other people are about their choices).

All kinds of things make me happy; some of them (like massages, good restaurants, or travel to foreign countries) are expensive. But while it may be a bit of a cliche that "the best things in life are free," sometimes it's true. Or at least they're pretty cheap. Other favorites: a cup of good coffee in the morning; a peaceful stroll along a beach or through the woods; music so beautiful it makes you sigh; a laughter-filled evening with best friends; or a blissful weekday evening hunkered down with a beloved spouse, a pizza, a purring cat and a favorite tv show.

So do you folks think money can buy happiness? What do you think are good happiness "bargains?" Any examples you've seen of really lame ways to try to buy happiness?

Healthy Living on a Budget

At least they're better for you than Twinkies!
Photo: Flikr

Last week I wrote a post speculating on how a tough economy might affect health and fitness choices. And then I asked readers for help with suggestions on how to eat healthy and exercise on a budget.

Thankfully, many of you sent me handy tips and links!

But before we get to the specifics, perhaps I'll make just a few general observations and caveats:

1. Many of these tips may be things you may already know--but don't do. I know I found it helpful to be reminded of ways to save money that I was familiar with but had gotten too freakin' lazy to bother with out of the habit of doing.

2. People who make suggestions are coming from various levels of income and frugality. Some of you have already cut back expenses to the bare bones and have been doing all these things for years. So I imagine reading suggestions aimed at those more carefree about money could be annoying. ("Tell your butler to take your golf sweaters to the discount dry cleaners. And don't forget to ask your chauffeur to use your old recycled gym clothes when waxing the limo!") Well, we don't have any quite like that. But for those of you who are already really thrifty, sorry if we may not exactly be breaking new ground here.

3. There is often a trade-off between time and money. Some money-saving tips that are practical for one person who has time may be completely asinine for another person who doesn't have a spare second. No one should feel "lazy" if realistically they just don't have the same flexibility to make some of those trade-offs.

And so, in the spirit of "Take it for whatever it's worth," here are some Tips and Links for you to check out.

Saving Money on Your Workout

Over at Diet Blog, our friend Ali (from the Office Diet) assembled Seven Ways to Exercise on a Budget.

Three of those suggestions:

1. Go running--outside, where it's free.

2. Buy used exercise equipment instead of expensive new stuff; and

3. Find an exercise buddy to work out with instead of paying a personal trainer. (And Bunnygirl suggests using Craigslist to find one in your area.)

Buffgeek advises:

4. If you have a personal trainer but really don't want to quit, see if he or she will offer a discount for semi-private sessions.

5. Look for a local boot camp.

6. Try body weight training instead of expensive gym equipment: Lunge, squat, push-up, climb hills, etc.

7. Many of you, like readers Jane and Charise The Great and Leslie at The Weighting Game, have noticed that you can save money AND get a good workout by biking or walking instead of driving on your errands.

8. And to save on childcare expenses, SeaBreeze suggested doing group runs and rotating babysitting duty.

9. Crabby says: don't forget your local library as a source of exercise dvds and books on fitness, weight training, etc.

10. And the Crab also reminds you to check out public playgrounds, parks, tennis courts, city rec departments etc. Often there are cheap adult leagues and classes, or even free weekend or evening pickup games if you like soccer or basketball etc.

Home Exercise on the Cheap

Some bloggers have observed that home gyms don't necessarily have to be expensive, and can save mega bucks over the long run in gym fees.

11. Shauna, the Amazing Diet Girl, has some really good suggestions on setting up a home gym, including tips on equipment and exercise dvds.

12 Reader Little Keebler tipped us off to another great nearly free home workout plan, including tips on equipment and lots of free web resources to guide you through your workout.

13. Bunnygirl suggested that for those who have a bike, purchasing a bike trainer is cheaper than buying a whole separate exercise bike.

14. And of course we're big fans of hiking here at Cranky Fitness. It's a great way to combine entertainment and exercise, and unless you choose to do it in the Swiss Alps, it's usually either cheap or free.

Shopping, Cooking, and Eating on a Budget

1. Many of you suggested buying food in bulk. For example, Brenda buys "frozen chicken breasts in 5 lb. bags, lean ground chuck in 5 lb. cartons to divide into 1-2 lb. sections, frozen fish in large bags or prebreaded in large boxes, generic cans of tuna and salmon, and variations of brats to freeze."

(Note: we're going to assume she means the meaty kind of "brats" and not the human kind. Freezing your children, even for brief periods of time, is illegal and not advised no matter how obnoxious they're being.)

2. Several of you, like Gabrielle and Bunnygirl, suggested gardening as a way to save money on food, as well as get some exercise.

3. Geosomin reminds us you can can your own food. Wait. We don't mean form chorus lines and start kicking--although that would be a good one for our previous list on exercise. Er, you could can your own food.

4. Another popular suggestion is to make soups, stews, casseroles and other large pot meals, and freeze the rest for later. Like the Bag Lady says in her post on cutting expenses, you can use cheap cuts of meat or go meatless.

Like the number Seven? Ali has some more great suggestions over at these Diet Blog Posts: Seven tips for healthy food shopping, and Seven Ways to Eat Out Healthily on a Budget, and Seven Tips for Free Diet Support and Advice. Among the suggestions:

5. Buy produce in season;

6. Skip the expensive "diet" foods;

7. Go out for lunch rather than dinner; and

8. Rather than paying for books or memberships, read free blogs for nutritional advice and support (We're fans of this one!)

9. Mystery Girl Terrie is careful to watch the expiration dates on her food and uses it even if she doesn't want to before it expires. She also keeps an eye on contents of her produce drawers and tries to use everything before it turns green and soggy. She relies more on eggs and less on meat for protein.

10. TK recommends we cut out sodas, lattes and sports drinks, and she even roasts her own coffee!

11. The folks at Ecosalon have a post on Ten Ways to Eat Well on a Budget, including this one: "Assemble snacks at home in small baggies using foods like nuts and seeds, dried whole grain cereal, cheese, dried fruit, and fresh vegetables and fruits rather than buying less healthy, more expensive, pre-packaged and processed snacks."

12. Ecosalon and the Bag Lady also suggest drinking filtered tap water instead of bottled water--a practice endorsed by the Crab as well.

13. Leslie has a post over at Pink Spandex on Eating While Impoverished which includes great tips, including filling up on the Budget Miracle Food that is Lentils.

14. Kim from the awesome Elastic Waist has a great series on eating cheaply; here's the first Destitution Diet post. One suggestion is to used dried legumes which are much cheaper than canned, and it includes a recipe for Lentil Soup! More miracle Lentils! The second Destitution diet post is all about Homemade Convenience Foods, and there are couple more in the series after that too.

Amy Hendel at healthgal.com had some great suggestions too, some of which we already covered. But she reminds us:

15. Make a shopping list and stick to it.

16. Supermarket bargains are usually located on the highest and lowest shelves rather than found in the middle or on the ends of aisles.

17. Avoid pre-cut, pre-packaged fruits and vegetables and meat.

18. Take advantage of buy one, get one free deals and freeze the rest.

19. Crabby adds that she never knew you could freeze milk but she found out you can! This info comes in handy if you've overbought or are leaving on a trip and don't want to toss it all out.

20. And there's a blog called Simple Dollar, that's all about saving money. They've got a food category with lots of posts about eating cheaply. (Thanks, Melissa!)

21. Mark's Daily Apple also has recommendations for eating healthy on a budget. For example, even the anti-processing Primal folks don't hate modern conveniences like packaged salad greens--if the alternative is buying leaf lettuce and letting it all rot before you get to it.

22. Of course no budget list would be complete without mention of sales, discounts, coupons, and warehouse stores. Bargains are everywhere! You can apparently even get grocery coupons online now.

Thoughts or Further Suggestions? We'd Love to Hear 'em!

Staying Healthy When The Economy Sucks

I Waited all Day in This Bread Line and
They Don't Even Have Whole Wheat?

(Note: This is Part One of a two part post. In Part II we're going to get much more nuts-and-bolts practical, and I'm hoping some of you Smart Readers can help me out!)

Getting a Little Worried about the Economy?

Who knows, maybe the market is going to zoom up a few thousand points this week and Gloom and Doom scenarios will not come to pass. Companies will meet payrolls and there will be no layoffs or recessions or government cutbacks or bankruptcies. Perhaps some day in the future we'll all be laughing about those few funny weeks back in October of 2008 when everything seemed to be going to hell in a handbasket. But guess what, nothing bad actually happened! Ha ha ha ha!

Let's hope so, anyway.

But as a proud member of the "defensive pessimism" club, I'm guessing... we may be in for some tough times. It may be wise to think ahead about how we're going to handle them.

Many household budgets may no longer have room for things like gym memberships or cute workout clothes or personal trainers or kettlebells or heirloom organic vegetables or pre-cooked free range chickens -- or for extra hours of child care in order to get some time to work out.

How will this potentially sucky economy affect your health and fitness?

Perhaps that depends on how you approach it.

How Does The Economy Effect Health and Fitness?

There's a recent article in the New York Times (registration may be required) about how a good or bad economy can affect health. The whole thing is a bit of a mishmash, and there's no clear bottom line. The worst aspect seems to be the inability of lower income folks to pay for necessary health care. But depending on who you are and how you handle things, the article seems to suggest that bad economic times don't necessarily mean that the health of the population suffers.

They have examples like people who get fired from their jobs may get to spend more time with their kids; and folks who can't afford restaurants may do more cooking at home, from scratch. And they mention that "good times," can affect health in negative ways: people may work long hours, not exercise, skip doctor's appointments and eat lots of fatty food at restaurants.

Some Health Challenges When Money's Tight

I'm not an expert on either economics or health, so I'm only guessing. But here are some things that seem might get more difficult for a lot of families if the economy really does go down the toilet:

1. Affording proper health care

2. Eating nutritious food on a smaller budget

3. Having fewer exercise options, like gym memberships, exercise equipment, personal trainers, and even proper shoes and clothing

4. Coping with longer work hours from taking on second jobs

5. Or, alternatively, dealing with depression and loss of structure in the day from losing a job

6. Finding time to work out without money for day care or other household help, and

7. Stress, stress, stress, and more stress.

And I'm sure there are lots more I haven't thought of yet. But lets shift gears entirely now, shall we, for...

A Little Personal Story About Change!

Once upon a time, I worked for a stodgy old legal publishing company. The environment was not glamorous and we were all underpaid, but it was a friendly, flexible workplace. Most of my coworkers were scary smart and hella fun to hang with. And there were genuine wild-haired eccentrics roaming the hallways! People got hired and stayed there for decades, pretty much until they retired or toppled over at their desks of old age.

It short: it was a comfortable place to work and I mostly liked the job a lot.

Then one day another, bigger company bought us. Consultants were dispatched and soon thereafter there were beaming corporate trainers everywhere, and a blizzard of buzz-words and binders and workshops and mission statements and team-building exercises all designed to turn us in to model employees.

Employees of the Month!
(Photo by defwheezer)

And of course very soon thereafter, two-thirds of the workforce was fired. Welcome to Change, and don't let the door smack you in the ass on your way out.

Those of us who remained were left stunned and gasping; we flopped around like fish on a boat deck, wondering where the hell the our comfortable old salty water was. And we were the lucky ones.

And while I no longer own the personalized company t-shirt with my name misspelled on it, I did retain one thing from all those smiley-faced trainings on the brave new corporate world: the concept they called ... the "Opporthreat."

Seriously, An Opporthreat?

It was hard not to laugh. In fact, many employees heard it as an "opera threat," and understandably became very confused. Were well-endowed sopranos wearing horned helmets on the way to roust us from our cubicles?

But the term basically seemed to mean this: sometimes a big looming change that looks like it's going to be a "Threat" can really be an "Opportunity." So it's an "opporthreat!"

Kinda makes you want to puke, right? And mostly, it's bullsh*t.

Bad things aren't usually good things--they're bad things. Often when they happen, the best you can do is cope with them and hope one day to be back to normal.

But sometimes... crummy things actually do shake things up and change your life for the better. When your entire lifestyle needs to be re-evaluated for stupid reasons beyond your control, sometimes you can actually use that "all bets are off" feeling to rediscover your true priorities again.

As it happened, the decimation of our comfortable old workplace really did lead to some great new work and lifestyle changes for many people at the company, including myself. Eventually. But the transitions were sometimes long and painful.

So I guess I'm hoping that for some people, in some situations, the coming crappy economic times could actually be a chance to reevaluate lifestyle decisions. Not just how often to eat dinner out, but even major things like what kind of neighborhood to live in or how many cars to own or how many hours to work and how much "stuff" in our lives we decide is really necessary.

'Cause I'm thinking mostly it's gonna suck. But perhaps some of us might find a few "Opporthreats" out there?

Help Me Write the Next Post on Practical Ways to Stay Healthy When Money's Tight!

I know there are probably practical lists all over the web on ways to be healthy on a budget, but we want one here too! I'd like to collect a bunch of tips and links in one place, especially ones that have actually worked for Cranky Fitness readers. And I'd like to have a whole post about it, rather than bury great ideas in the comments section of this post.

So if any of you could email us here at Crabby McSlacker @ gmail dot com (no spaces) that would be awesome. If you're a blogger and you've already written a post on cheap ways to stay healthy, please send us a link! Or if you've seen a really helpful bunch of tips elsewhere and can send a link, that would be great too.

And we'd love to hear from any of you who have specific suggestions about staying healthy on the cheap! We may edit down longer suggestions to get small bite sized tip just to keep the list manageable.

We'd love to create a book-markable resource to come back to if, a few months down the road, you should God Forbid find yourself in need of some ideas for cutting expenses.

If you could get any tips or links to us by later in the week that would be great--I can run the post Friday or next Monday.

So, are any of you worried about the economy? Ever actually had an "opporthreat" in your own life, where you actually turned a crappy situation into something good?