If you’re cutting expenses, or living on a consistently low, budget, a gym membership is probably out of the question.
We were in the “no gym membership camp for quite some time. We were young, broke, and fighting off credit card debt like you wouldn’t believe. After all, the experts say that a gym membership is a waste of money, are a bad investment, so on and so forth.
The additional monthly payment, when money is tight, coupled with the fact that most people don’t set food in the gym once their New Year’s resolution fades, does indeed make them a bad financial choice.
Still, I’m a die-hard gym membership fanatic.
Why?
Several reasons, really, the first and foremost of which is that I feel better when I workout, and I just won’t do it at home. I need the childcare the gym offers, and I need the motivation & variety of group classes.
With consistent exercise, you will feel better, sleep better, have more energy, and be more productive at work and home, which to me is completely worth the expense of the gym.
Cutting expenses is great, but there has to be balance. Doing what it takes to stay healthy now, and avoid scary illnesses + big medical bills in the future can sometimes be well worth the cost of a gym membership.
Tweet ThisThese reasons may apply to you as well, and if you’re considering a gym membership this year, here are some good rules of thumb to keep in mind:
When You Need Group Classes To Motivate You
I fall into this group.
Actually, I’m pretty anti-social. I could go all day without talking to a soul and be perfectly ok, but I’m also VERY competitive. Some of my friends are super social and just love being around people, and won’t work out unless it’s fun for them.
In either scenario (mine or my social butterfly friends’) group exercise classes are incredibly motivating. I like “competing” in class, pushing myself to lift more, go faster, run harder, and my friends that actually like people need group exercise classes to make exercise fun.
Some people are able to motivate themselves to work out at home, if and if you’re in that camp that’s wonderful!
But if you, like me, need a group to motivate yourself, then a gym membership is one of the most effective and frugal ways to get moving in a way that works for you.
You’re Dangerously Overweight
For some, who are morbidly obese, a gym membership is the way to go because of the oversight and help provided to you while you’re there.
Think about it: the gym doesn’t want anything to happen to you because they don’t want to get sued, but they also want you to succeed, which is why you’ll always have knowledgeable and helpful trainers all around and ready to help.
You Have No Idea What You’re Doing
First time exerciser? Long time no exercise?
Then you may just need a gym membership. Most gyms in our area offer not only an introductory – and complimentary – personal training session, that is an hour and half long to allow time to assessment, nutrition, and even a fitness plan for going forward.
Then, if you work it right {or pay a year + in full, like I’ll talk about in just a moment} they will also work monthly re-evaluations into your contract. We did this with our gym membership when we first started, and have kept the allowance for monthly personal training sessions in our contract for years. Apparently, after talking to the trainers at our gym, a lot of people have that added perk, so it’s not that uncommon!
When You Pay For It In Full
When frugal living experts rant against the evils of gym memberships, what they’re mostly against is the monthly payment. After all, you can walk around the block for free, but a gym membership will run you about $30 a month.
But, there is a way around the monthly payment.
It’s called paid in full. No gym is going to turn you down if you want to pay for a year, or two in full. In fact, if we had paid for our gym membership monthly, it would have cost us $40/month. When we paid for 2 years in full, our cost dropped to $25, plus free monthly personal training sessions.
To sweeten the deal even more, once our two years are up, we will have the right to renew, endlessly, for $99 a year each…or $198 a year for the two of us. This works out to $8.25/month per person.
And that, to me, is 100% worth it.
{Cut Your Budget: Save Thousands Without Even Noticing It}
When You Need Childcare To Work Out
You can be the most driven fitness fanatic out there, but I guarantee if you try to work out at home with a toddler, your workout will either be ruined or severely hindered.
This, honestly, is the biggest and baddest reason of why I NEED a gym membership – they watch my kiddo for me. She goes and has a blast, I put in my headphones and have a blast, and our gym even gives 7-minute massages after your workout {Yup, it’s posh like that!}
It’s like a little 45-minute vacation every single day.
Variety is the spice of life, and that goes for variety in your workout routine.
I freely admit that I get bored easily. With work, home, hobbies, and yes, my workouts, if I’m not constantly learning and growing, I get bored.
And I don’t think I’m the only one.
We think that we’re taught to achieve and we’re taught that laziness is bad, but I believe that we were made to desire to learn. Sometimes, that desire gets snuffed out, either as children or adults, , but for most of us, the desire to constantly grow is there, which is why I actually firmly believe in gym memberships – as long as you’re actually going to use them, and you can afford them.
When you’re struggling, a gym membership IS a great thing to cut out of your budget to pay off debt, put a little more in savings, or save up for a big financial goal. Instead of paying the monthly fee there are tons of free ways to exercise, such as taking up walking or running around the block, finding free body-weight exercise routines on YouTube, or even checking out free exercise classes offered in your community.
{Read About How We Paid Off $24,000 of Debt on A $30,000 Salary}
But if you can afford it, paying for a gym membership in full – and actually using it to its full potential – can have an amazing effect on your mood, productivity, sanity, and of course your waistline.
Don’t let the gurus get you down if you’d be lost without your gym membership, just be smart about it!
Do you have a gym membership? Do you feel it is a waste of money?
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So I get a discount on my gym membership through my health insurance. And $31 per month is hardly too much to pay for all of the reasons you’ve listed above. A lot of times I prefer walking or jogging outside. But it’s great to have access to the YMCA when I need it.
$31 a month really isn’t bad at all! I’m with you, I love taking the kiddo for a walk around the block, but sometimes I just need something different!