If You Feel Too Broke to Be Healthy, Read This

The Broke-Girl Starter Pack

If there is one thing I have mastered, it is how to survive on vibes, instant noodles, and blind hope. Before university, I was unemployed for three years. No student allowance. No side hustle that worked. Just me, my dreams, and a fridge that made suspicious sounds when you opened it too fast.

Now I am in varsity; yay, progress! But I am still a broke student trying to make fitness and health work on a budget that laughs at debit orders. If you have ever felt like being healthy is only for girls with gym memberships, blender bottles, and quinoa from the mountains of Peru… This one is for you.

Myth 1: You Need Money to Eat Healthy

If I had R1 for every “healthy girl meal” I have seen on TikTok with ingredients I cannot even pronounce, I would finally be able to afford them. The truth? You do not need almond flour or chia seeds to eat well.

Sometimes my clean eating looks like this:

• Buying spinach and tomatoes from the vendor outside campus.

• Eating pap and beans because it’s cheap, filling, and nutritious.

• Swapping slap chips for boiled eggs (not always, but I try).

Health is not fancy. It is intentional. Affordable does not mean unhealthy; it means smart.

Myth 2: Fitness Needs a Gym Membership

Cue dramatic laughter.

Sis or bro, I have been doing squats next to my laundry basket since day one. Push-ups on my tiled floor. Amapiano dance breaks as cardio (don’t judge me, it works).

You don’t need a gym.

You need movement.

No weights? Use water bottles.

No time? Ten minutes > zero.

No space? That corner by your bed is now your home gym.

Myth 3: You Need to Look Fit to Be Healthy

I used to think I had to look like a fitness influencer to be taken seriously. Spoiler: I do not. You don’t either.

When I was broke, tired, and emotionally drained, “health” looked like:

• Getting decent sleep (or at least trying).
• Drinking water instead of five cups of coffee.
• Saying “no” to people who drained me.

Now in varsity, it still looks like that, plus forgiving myself when I eat bread for dinner three nights in a row. Health is not an aesthetic. It is survival, softness, and showing up for yourself.

So, what can you do right now?

If you are still reading this with a growling stomach and a bank account that looks like a horror movie, here’s your broke-but-thriving starter guide:

1. Buy the basics: eggs, oats, veggies, and brown bread; they’re cheap and healthy.
2. Move for free: YouTube workouts, dancing, stretching, walking to class. All valid.
3. Cook simply: Learn 3–5 easy meals you can rotate and remix.
4. Forgive yourself: you’re not failing, you’re adapting. Big difference.
5. Rest counts: You don’t need to “earn” your rest. Burnout isn’t a flex.

From One Broke Babe to Another

I know what it’s like to look at your empty wallet and wonder if your goals are too expensive to reach. You are not failing because you cannot afford supplements or gym wear. You are surviving and adapting, and that is not weakness but strength. Your health does not need to look like a Pinterest board. It just needs to feel like something you can live with, grow with, and be proud of. So if you have ever felt too broke to be healthy, just know: you are not alone. I am right here with you, one boiled egg and stretch at a time.