Investing in yourself and fitness should be recession proof

Lucy Danziger, True to my SELF, SELF Magazine

I watched the NYC Marathon yesterday and was struck by how happy people looked running, even at mile 23 and during what is supposed to be the agony of the last half hour. And when I went swimming, for the third straight day, the gym was packed. In the pool, the lanes were so crowded that you had to circle and didn't even have half a lane to yourself. "Is the gym always this crowded?" a woman asked me as I left. I had to think about this, because she was right, there were people all over the place, on every machine, on every bike, in yoga class and each locker in the locker room seemed to have a lock on it. What, I wondered, was going on?
The short answer is: People are investing in themselves. Investing time, mostly, but they're also establishing healthier habits. We can't control the markets, the war, the economy in general or the outcome of the election tomorrow, but we can do one thing: We can spend time taking care of ourselves. The stores may be empty, but the jogging paths, gyms and swimming pools are packed. Everyone wants to built a better future, and today, that means spending time on yourself. (Try these 31 time-saving tips so you'll have more time for yourself!)

Lipstick, the saying goes, is recession-proof. When I first heard this, from none other than the esteemed Evelyn Lauder herself, it was shortly after 9/11 and the economy was also stumbling, albeit for a very different reason. The cycles go as follows: When the general economy is soft, people still want to go to stores, but instead of buying the big-ticket items, they'll spring for little things (someone in the sock biz also told me socks were recession-proof for the same reason; men will skip a new suit or tie but still want a little something new). No one likes leaving a store empty-handed, except that now it's the kind of economy where you feel virtuous not spending, kind of like you feel virtuous for not having dessert.

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You put yourself on a financial diet and try to toe that line between resolve and desire. There's always going to be something worth stepping over it for: chocolate cake for the dieter, that perfect handbag or pair of heels for the financial dieter. For me, during the hours when I would ordinarily go shopping, I now find myself walking the dog or enjoying a leisurely bike ride. I do work out almost daily, but that's true whether the market is up or down. The difference is now, at times when people would ordinarily not be at the gym, they're there to get the most out of a membership already paid for. Many joined back in January, so they may as well take advantage of their investment, and get fitter, healthier and slimmer, too.

I read in the paper that organic food sales are hurting because organic is more expensive than the norm, but I also learned that some people will invest in themselves by choosing chemical-free food, and most of the time I'm in that camp. I figure, spend it on berries and skip junk food, instead of getting so hungry that I eat all the wrong things at the food court. A Cinnabon costs about as much as container of blackberries, after all. So it's not about reining in all spending, it's deciding how you define a "treat." Of course the real treat is investing in yourself. Join the investment club and watch the returns roll in. (Where do your dollars go? If you haven't got a clue, try this radical experiment.)

Let me know what you are spending and saving on. I'd love to hear your comments.

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