Lucy Danziger, editor in chief of the wildly popular women’s health and fitness magazine, Self, has traded in her chauffeured car service for a bike, in lieu of major financial strain the magazine’s mother company, Condé Nast has been experiencing. That strain, due mostly to the failing economy as well as online news replacing print (which is why you are here), has led the major publisher to close doors on four of its magazines, and ask the rest to slash their budgets.

But to be honest, I can’t help but feel a little vindicated at Miss Danziger’s helmet hair, as my repeated attempts at pitching Self articles have, so far, gone unanswered. OK, that’s a lie. (You can still call me!) Back to the story.

The car service is a perk of her position, but Danziger recently felt it was unnecessary. It is unclear through the New York Times article though, if Miss Danziger was pressured to make the decision because of budget cuts or not, but there is no question she chose a healthier mode of transportation to replace her car service, rather than opting for a cab or to drive herself.

Getting back to basics — the surest way to cut costs and to boost your fitness. We pay for convenience, and we pay a lot. Convenience to us usually means doing as little as possible, so we pay a lot of money to have things done for us. Cutting back on those luxuries, like having someone make our coffee (which we add delicious syrups to just because), eating out to avoid cooking (which adds, on average, 700 calories to your meal), and driving everywhere (when years ago it was perfectly acceptable to walk a few miles to go to the grocery store). To name a few.

Whether your 401(k) is sitting at $0, or you are just looking to cut back here and there, think of the conveniences that are adversely effecting your health first. Cut those bad boys out, save some money, save your health, and you’ll finally hit both your financial and fitness goals. Then, every once in a while, you can go buy yourself a nice little gift — because we all know a new pair of shoes can also be good for you.

(Pic courtesy of www.nrgenterprises.com)