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Why this is hard (and what to watch out for)
health budgeting rule of thumb Health, wellness, and preventive care have a few tricky traits:
- Variable need: What you need in a given year can change (injury, illness, mental health flare-ups, aging).
- Invisible benefits: Many preventive or wellness expenses (gym, supplements, therapy) may “pay off” later via fewer medical bills, better productivity, etc.
- Uncertainty of coverage: Insurance or public health systems may cover some—but not all—costs.
- Diminishing returns & waste: It’s easy to overbuy (supplements, trendy gadgets) that don’t help much.
- Non-monetary costs: Time, travel, mental energy should also be “budgeted” (though not in dollars).
Because of that, any “rule of thumb” is just a starting point.
Rough rules of thumb & benchmarks
Here are a few heuristic guidelines you can test and adjust:
| Guideline | What it says | Pros & Cons / When it works |
|---|---|---|
| ~5 % of take-home pay | Some “ideal budget” frameworks allocate ~5 % of net income for medical/health expenses (including wellness) petetheplanner.com | This gives breathing room for doctor visits, supplements, therapy, etc. But for people with chronic conditions or heavy therapy needs, 5 % may be too low. |
| Include in “needs” under 50/30/20 | Under the 50/30/20 rule, health & insurance are part of your “needs” bucket (i.e. part of ≤ 50 % of income) Investopedia+1 | This ensures health isn’t treated as a “luxury” but fits into essentials. But your “needs” bucket might be heavily loaded (housing, debt) leaving little margin. |
| “Wellness” as a separate line inside discretionary/“wants” | Many budgeters carve out a “wellness / self-care” line (gym, therapy, vitamins) inside discretionary or “personal care” categories HerMoney | Gives visibility and priority to health without crowding out more essential health costs (like medical bills). |
| Look at past spending + cushion | A pragmatic approach is: look at your health-related outlays over past 12 months (doctor, therapy, supplements, etc.), add a buffer (say +20–30 %), and use that as your baseline budget. | Tailors the budget to your regime. But past years may underrepresent future needs (e.g. you might want more therapy next year). |
How to break it down (categories + sample amounts)
To make the “health budget” more concrete, break it into sub-categories:
- Medical / core health costs
- Insurance premiums, co-pays, prescriptions, lab tests, dental/vision not covered, etc.
- This tends to be somewhat fixed or semi-predictable (though can spike).
- Preventive & wellness
- Gym or fitness, personal training, classes, nutritionist, healthy food (the “better food” premium).
- Supplements / vitamins
- Vitamin D, omega-3s, multivitamins, etc. (only what you need, ideally guided by tests).
- Mental health / therapy / stress management
- Therapy sessions, counseling, apps, coaching, etc.
- One-off / contingency “health extras”
- Massage, physiotherapy, travel to specialist, emergency visits, etc.
You could allocate your “health budget” across those buckets. For example:
- 40 % to medical / core
- 25 % to preventive / fitness
- 15 % to mental health
- 10 % to supplements
- 10 % to contingency / extras
(Of course, you’d tailor based on your circumstances.)
Sample numbers (for illustration)
Suppose your net (after-tax) income is CAD $6,000/month:
- 5 % of that is $300 → a health + wellness “allowance”
- With that $300, you might do:
• $120 → medical / co-pays / baseline health services
• $75 → gym / fitness
• $45 → therapy or mental health
• $30 → vitamins / supplements
• $30 → buffer / extras
If you’re in a location with more generous health coverage, your “medical / core” might be smaller. If therapy or mental health is a high priority for you, you might bump that slice.
Some people I saw in forums budget CAD $150/month broadly for health and fitness (therapy, supplements, etc.). Reddit That may work for lower-cost geographies or lighter use.
Vitamin D supplementation: what to consider & how to budget
For your point about Vitamin D: you’re right that many Canadians are deficient, especially in the darker months or northern latitudes. But supplementation should ideally be guided by blood testing (25-hydroxyvitamin D) and medical advice. The cost of Vitamin D supplements is usually modest:
- A typical over-the-counter vitamin D3 (1000–2000 IU or higher) might cost, say, CAD $10–25 for several months’ supply (depending on brand, form, dosage).
- If you require a high therapeutic dose (e.g. under medical supervision), cost may be higher.
- Add in cost of testing (blood work) every 6–12 months.
So, in a health budget, you might allocate $20–40/year or maybe $2–5/month for vitamin D (or more if you also take other supplements).
But don’t let the “supplement mania” inflate your budget — test first, and ensure each supplement has evidence and benefit for you.
How to operationalize this in your budget
Here are steps you might try:
- Track current spend
For 3–6 months, tag every health, wellness, therapy, supplement, etc. - Define “health baseline” + “wellness target”
Decide what minimum you must spend (insurance, co-pays) and what “stretch” wellness you’d like (gym, therapy, etc.). - Decide % of income
Try a starting allocation (e.g. 5 %) and see how realistic it is given your actual needs. - Automate / earmark
Put that health budget into a separate category or sub-account so you don’t overspend. - Review annually / with life changes
As your health needs shift (age, new condition, location changes), revisit the health budget slice.
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