Cost of fitness?

[Foolishnostalgia]

I was wondering... how much do you spend on your fitness goals? (Ex: Groceries, equipment, etc) I'm sure some of us are on a budget so how do you balance your finances with fitness and other needs?

[bigm141414]

Work provides me a gym and they take it right out of my paycheck so I don't even see it. My grocery bill has actually gone down since I started eating better. No more pizza delivery, cut back on the eating out during lunch and dinner has saved be quite a bit. Plus fresh fruit and veggies are cheaper than the processed foods I used to buy. Once I started to take this seriously I spent a lot less time playing video games or watching movies or tv, so the money that was spent for those has been offset by cheaper activites (going for a run is about the cheapest thing to do, but biking can add up quickly).

Even if I did spend more money, I just look at it as being way way way way way way cheaper than having a bypass at 40.

[onlykickingpigeons]

This has always been something of a stumbling block for me as I'm a student. Equipment wise I've kept things cheap (about £50 on free weights) and I always keep an eye out for the cheapest offers on meat as that seems to be the most expensive bit.

Of course, my results haven't been fantastic in the past because I've never really kept to a plan before, but some more low budget advice would definitely be welcome with me.

[Foolishnostalgia]

One thing that worked for me (as a part time grad student) was to eat a week of consistent meals. If every week was relatively the same food wise I could budget better overall. The only downside now is that I need to eat more to see gains and I have to readjust my budget.

[onlykickingpigeons]

One thing that worked for me (as a part time grad student) was to eat a week of consistent meals. If every week was relatively the same food wise I could budget better overall. The only downside now is that I need to eat more to see gains and I have to readjust my budget.

That's probably a better plan than just buying all the deals every week as I'll be able to stick to it more consistently. I'll just have to make sure I don't have a relapse to junk food come exam time like I did this year! Thanks

[halftruths]

Activity wise, my karate group is quite inexpensive (about 180$ for twice weekly classes for a four month semester, with occasional membership dues - $50 - and occasional facility dues when we go to different gymnasiums when the university centres are closed). I used to fork over a great deal of cash when I was dancing four nights a week - classes really added up, and there was the additional cost of the occasional costume or accessory, and I attended workshops which always hurt the pocketbook. I still go to dance class even after backing out of the troupe, but it is the occasional $15 drop-in fee instead of pre-paying for multiple types of classes each semester and I usually only go to a couple classes a month. Very occasionally I go to a semi-private kickboxing class which is $25 for three hours, but that's usually only once a month at the most.

I do not have a gym membership. I'd love to get one as there is a gym right across the road from my office and I miss having access to a gym during lunch hour, but the dues are exorbitant (nearly $40 every two weeks, not including membership fees). When I'm in night classes, I do get an access pass to the YMCA gym that is attached to the Faculty of Extension building. It gives me some variety and I really find that the post-work pre-class workout helps me refocus for the evening. On the days when I'm not working out in the evening, I go for a run at lunch.

In terms of equipment, I've scrounged most of mine from friends and Freecycle, or at garage sales (just picked up a good, solid set of freeweights for $5!). I don't have a lot of equipment outside of my various freeweights, but Mr. Halftruths and I are going to set up a fitness studio in OUR NEW HOUSE OMG. There will definitely be a bit of cash outlay for that as we are putting down a decent floor and investing in a good heavy bag to hang from the joists. I'm anticipating spending about $100 on the heavy bag, $200 on the flooring, and probably another $200 on miscellaneous furnishings. The nice thing about this is that once the sting from dropping a big wad of cash all in one go is over, it basically becomes next-to-no-cost to have private access to our own custom high quality workout centre.

As far as food and supplements go, we do buy high quality farmer's market food. I purchase my meat from local small hold farmers - my sister and I split a pig in the winter, and I'm looking at getting a quarter beef or bison, plus some game meat when my buddies go hunting this fall. I probably spend about $40 per week on produce, another $20 on dairy and eggs, maybe $10 or so on grains, and if I averaged out our meat costs throughout the year, probably another $15 per week on that. Other sundry things will likely average out to an additional $15 to $20 per week and a bit extra for the occasional meal out. We do use protein powder but not a massive amount of it, so that likely works out to another $5 per week. Last time I did an exhaustive analysis of our spending on food, our food bill was about $400 to $425 per month. Keep in mind all of these figures are for two people.

[Kristen]

Join the military. Then you're not only encouraged to get fit, your job depends on it.

No, I'm kidding.

Just like anything, if you want something badly enough you'll find a way to do it.

I don't consider groceries part of fitness, as I've been a food geek for a long time. I cook at home, shop for good prices, and above all take care to not overbuy and throw out food. That's especially a risk with having lots of fresh veggies and meat on hand--only buy what you will eat in a couple days. You can't shop for a week at a time when you're eating fresh. It's easier to plan meals, too, if you're shopping for a shorter time.

I don't own any fitness equipment, but I have quite a bike habit. The bikes came well before the concept of fitness ever crossed my mind, so I also don't consider them a fitness expense. My current 3 bikes I bought used, and I do all my own repairs and maintenance. The biggest money saver there is patching punctured tubes instead of replacing them. The most I spent on a used bike was $180 and they cost virtually nothing to upkeep.

As for a gym membership, I'm still trying to work that one out. $30 a month is a really good deal, but it's a LOT of money for me. I'm trying to fit that into the budget.

[JBarduhn]

I have to agree- as someone who gets paid $2.13 an hour (yeah, you read that right) I have to budget massively, as all my funds come from tips; and people can not be very generous at times.

That being the case, I find that everything kinda balances out. My $30 a month gym fee and now larger grocery bill (grass fed steak is more expensive) - are balanced out by my much lower amounts in eating out, bar tabs, and the like. It's just about readjusting your priorities, usually it balances out. Also, anyone budgeting should check out YNAB. program changed my financial life!

JB

[Fogo]

The cost of my gym membership is a great incentive to go workout. My job pays for it, as long as I go. They've got the program setup so that the gym reports to my company who is going to the gym, and every time I go, my job will cover $1 of the monthly cost. As long as I go on a regular basis, that membership is free.

Like Kristen, I don't really factor the food cost into my fitness, I just figure it means if I buy fewer Twinkies I can pay a little more for the healthy stuff. The most expensive part of my fitness routine is the ice-hockey league I play in. It costs something like $250 for one 3 month season, so as a result, I only play that one season each year. (There's guys that play year round - I have no idea how they can afford to do that.)

[JBarduhn]

The most expensive part of my fitness routine is the ice-hockey league I play in. It costs something like $250 for one 3 month season, so as a result, I only play that one season each year. (There's guys that play year round - I have no idea how they can afford to do that.)

Oh man- I WISH I was somewhere I could play in a ice hockey league. Well, after I got better at skating that is.

[Fogo]

Yeah - hockey is something I'd always wanted to play, so one year I just decided to go for it, and signed up for some skating lessons. The class was advertised as an intro to skating, covering just the basics, but the teacher taught it as an intro to figure skating, and spent a lot of time trying to my wife and I to continue on to the "Beginning Ice Dancing" class.

Hockey has been a blast though, and it's definitely something you've got to stay in shape for.

[Drakenator]

Gym Membership is $26 a month.

Since I no longer eat breakfast and lunch out daily I have more money in pocket ($30-$60/week). So eating more eggs, chicken and beef hasn't been a problem. Also I am not buying ice cream, cereal, bread or milk or anything junk food wise at the store so our grocery bill has dropped quite a bit. My wife is a savvy shopper she uses the grocery game to time the sales with coupons etc. Once she started doing that our bill was cut by almost half over the course of the month.

[JBarduhn]

Yeah - hockey is something I'd always wanted to play, so one year I just decided to go for it, and signed up for some skating lessons. The class was advertised as an intro to skating, covering just the basics, but the teacher taught it as an intro to figure skating, and spent a lot of time trying to my wife and I to continue on to the "Beginning Ice Dancing" class.

Hockey has been a blast though, and it's definitely something you've got to stay in shape for.

As soon as my immigration paperwork goes through, I'm moving to Toronto, and hockey lessons are my first gift to myself when I can afford it. I grew up in upstate NY, so I know how to skate, just need to get back up to speed and work on skating backwards, just never had the chance as kid to play organized hockey!

[Fogo]

As soon as my immigration paperwork goes through, I'm moving to Toronto, and hockey lessons are my first gift to myself when I can afford it. I grew up in upstate NY, so I know how to skate, just need to get back up to speed and work on skating backwards, just never had the chance as kid to play organized hockey!

DO IT. It's one of the best gifts I ever gave myself. Way too much fun.

[Loren Wade]

Groceries aren't too bad, especially since now I mostly buy stuff that's not in boxes or bags unless it's meat, vegetables, and fruit. Paleo eating is easy and surprisingly cheap.

Workouts are free! Bodyweight routines and running costs me nothing. Except maybe for a decent pair of running shoes.

Cost of fitness? My time. Period.

[tomkai]

Running shoes are about my only expense. As others have said, I've saved a ton of money by not eating out as much.