For the Daily Express, I interviewed wellbeing experts on their favourite go-to things to do that bring them happiness – but that, importantly, don’t cost them any money.
As the cost of food and fuel soars, latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 54% of us have cut back on non-essential spending.
That means those little luxuries that bring everyday pleasure – think eating out at lunchtime or treating ourselves to a big bunch of flowers – might be off the menu for a while.
But the good news is that not all enjoyable things involve splashing out cash, says Clare Gogerty, author of a new book Simple Pleasures (Pavilion Books)
“It can be easy to forget that the most precious and rewarding pleasures in life are the simplest, and certainly not measured by money,” she says.
“The joy of these simple pleasures is that they can be found amid the humdrum business of daily life. It can be the unexpected joy that arises when hanging a line of washing on a breezy spring morning, the deliciousness of biting into a warm slice of buttery toast, or the sybaritic pleasure of a long hot bath. Nature is a constant and reliable source of mood-boosting pleasure, too, from the simple task of planting a seed or watching leaves caught in the wind to the thrill of seeing a bird of prey wheel in the sky.”
The experts came up with some lovely, inspirational pleasures. My favourites include keeping fairy lights up all year long (why restrict them to the festive season?); enjoying other people’s front gardens (who doesn’t love a nosey as you walk down the street?); browsing in a library (I’m passionate about keeping these places alive and thriving) and taking an early morning sound walk – no looking at phones is allowed – and definitely no headphones – so you can immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of nature all around – you may be lucky enough to see all sorts of wildlife come out of hiding