Pay Yourself to Work Out!

msmileyface
msmileyface Posts: 76 Member
edited October 3 in Fitness and Exercise
Here is something I came up with that has been super motivating.

I have been paying myself $5 every time I workout. When I want to buy something that is not a necessity (including clothes, shoes, etc. unless it is something I absolutely need for work), I have to use the money I accumulate through exercise. This has helped me be motivated to exercise almost daily, sometimes twice a day, in order to fund my hobbies and purchases that I want to make. Now after a month I am motivated by the exercise itself, but this still helps. Also, I have curbed my unnecessary spending. I am also paying myself a bonus when I hit a mini goal (like 5 lbs. lost). This allows me to make a little extra money to get a new shirt, shoes, etc.

I have never, ever stuck to a regular exercise routine in my life, and this is the only thing that has helped me do that. Just thought I would share!

Replies

  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
    That's a great idea!


    Can I borrow 5$?
  • mikioi
    mikioi Posts: 86 Member
    hmmmm, this is a great idea. maybe i can get my boyfriend to pay me $5 everytime i work out. lol
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    I should pay myself not to eat cupcakes and candy! LOL I've always loved exercise, so I'd end up making a fortune off myself if I did $5 for every workout. Fun idea!
  • Like ^^ lol


    but congrats good idea I did that when I quit smoking earlier this year and already made enough back that I booked my family a cruise to Alaska
  • That's a great idea!


    Can I borrow 5$?

    hahaha
  • JamieSK
    JamieSK Posts: 266 Member
    Kudos to your excellent & creative idea!!!
  • LilacLizabeth
    LilacLizabeth Posts: 36 Member
    Anyway we can get people to pay me to workout (kidding) great idea!
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
    Good for you!! Everyone needs to find what works for them and looks like you have. Keep up the good work.

    I had a competition with my mom and we gave ourselves a star for everyday we exercised for 20 minutes. Who ever had the most stars after a month and a half got to get a new pair of shoes from the other one.

    I won. :bigsmile:

    :flowerforyou:
  • Kara52217
    Kara52217 Posts: 353 Member
    So I would make $10-30 a week if I didn't count my walks on my breaks at work Or I would go broke paying myself LOL
    I walk 2x a day 5 days a week for my breaks so that is $50 without my gym workouts LOL

    Awesome Idea..
  • This sounds like a really good idea. Too bad I don't have excess spending money to do it with. Maybe I can spare $1 per workout. I need smaller clothes something fierce but never have any extra money to get some. Great idea, though.
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
    That's great.
    But what if you work out a ton and can't afford to pay yourself?
  • JamesonsMommy
    JamesonsMommy Posts: 771 Member
    I'm doing a penny for every calorie burned :)
  • msmileyface
    msmileyface Posts: 76 Member
    Well, I wouldn't say I have a ton of excess money to pay myself. But I actually save money paying myself $30-$40 bucks a week. I just write it down in a notebook, how much money I have to "play" with. So I might not spend it every week, but it only takes one shopping trip to spend it all when you figure how much clothes cost these days. In the past, if I went to Target for soap but happened to see a really cute shirt.. and cute shoes... and a movie I wanted... I might just buy them because they weren't expensive. But when you add it all up, well, it adds up. So this just puts my impulse buys under control. It makes me think about if something is really worth spending my workout money on. Obviously it doesn't work for everyone but you could always have a variation of the plan.

    :)
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