How much money do you spend on being Fit??
Replies
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Preface: I'm a Dave Ramsey fan. I have no credit cards, I own a "beater", live on a cash only system (and have for well over 2 years), and my only debt is either beyond my control (divorce) or school loans. Conclusion: I am not a careless spender, nor do I advocate irresponsible habits.
Now. My point.
If you actually take a calculated, objective look at the financial impact of obesity, you would be shocked. Yes, you might be spending $20-50 a month or more on a gym membership. Perhaps you've hired a trainer at $50-100/hour. Not to mention you're paying hundreds of dollars at the checkout line for natural, healthy foods. Oh and if you take supplements or have any special dietary additions - shakes, powders, etc... damn they can be pricey. Last but not least, many if not all of us are paying ungodly amounts for proper workout gear, clothing, and shees. This is stressful. I know it is and has been for me.
However - on the flipside - Guess what's more expensive than all of that?
"fat" clothes. extra seats on the bus and airline, or first class tickets and taxis because your rear end is more than 18" wide. extra gas for your automobile because a) you clearly aren't walking anywhere, and b) the additional weight requires more energy. alcohol.
and then...
Lipitor. Plavix. Celebrex. Never heard of them? These are drugs required to manage your comorbidities. (Comorbidities: Big word meaning other reasons you are dying faster that exist because of your weight) Some of these drugs cost up to $400 per month! What are you taking these EXPENSIVE drugs for?
Diabetes
Cancer
High cholesterol
Arthritis
PCOS - Polycistic Ovarian Syndrome
CHF - Congestive Heart Failure
A host of other cardiac diseases
COPD - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Hypertension
Acid reflux
Hernias
Liver disease
ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION (yes. size matters.)
Lymph edema
Gout
Stroke
Some of these happen anyway. Why increase your chances up to 100% by being overweight?0 -
I spend very little. I clean machines at the gym three hours a week in exchange for membership for my family (me and four children). I use the gym pact app when I work out, I average $27 of pay for 40 workouts. I bike to and from the gym. My gym pact money is enough to cover my protein powder.
I only buy workout clothing at knock off places like TJ Maxx, would never spend more than $5 for anything (other than sports bras and shoes). I also placed a bet on dietbet.com that I could lose 4 percent of my body weight in 28 days -- took me 4 days because I only weigh 116 pounds (only had to lose 4 lbs to meet the bet -- our pot was at $70). I question every dollar I spend so it's pretty easy.0 -
Preface: I'm a Dave Ramsey fan. I have no credit cards, I own a "beater", live on a cash only system (and have for well over 2 years), and my only debt is either beyond my control (divorce) or school loans. Conclusion: I am not a careless spender, nor do I advocate irresponsible habits.
Now. My point.
If you actually take a calculated, objective look at the financial impact of obesity, you would be shocked. Yes, you might be spending $20-50 a month or more on a gym membership. Perhaps you've hired a trainer at $50-100/hour. Not to mention you're paying hundreds of dollars at the checkout line for natural, healthy foods. Oh and if you take supplements or have any special dietary additions - shakes, powders, etc... damn they can be pricey. Last but not least, many if not all of us are paying ungodly amounts for proper workout gear, clothing, and shees. This is stressful. I know it is and has been for me.
However - on the flipside - Guess what's more expensive than all of that?
"fat" clothes. extra seats on the bus and airline, or first class tickets and taxis because your rear end is more than 18" wide. extra gas for your automobile because a) you clearly aren't walking anywhere, and b) the additional weight requires more energy. alcohol.
and then...
Lipitor. Inderol. Humira. Never heard of them? These are drugs required to manage your comorbidities. (Comorbidities: Big word meaning other reasons you are dying faster that exist because of your weight) What are you taking these EXPENSIVE drugs for?
Diabetes
Cancer
High cholesterol
Arthritis
PCOS - Polycistic Ovarian Syndrome
CHF - Congestive Heart Failure
A host of other cardiac diseases
COPD - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Hypertension
Acid reflux
Hernias
Liver disease
ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION (yes. size matters.)
Lymph edema
Gout
Stroke
Some of these happen anyway. Why increase your chances up to 100% by being overweight?
Wait, I think I love you.
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I don't think it needs to be expensive... I spend between 40 and 90 pounds on running shoes every 2-3 years (I run half marathons), for the rest I have spent 5 pounds on a fitness DVD, and 15 pounds on weights (bought them used). As for the food, as other have already commented, I think that healthy food is a lot cheaper than junk food/eating out.
I'm a bit shocked by the amount you spend on vitamins... Why is that? Do you just not like fruit/vegetables or is there another reason? Don't know if that makes me sound stupid, but I'm genuinely curious...0 -
I don't spend any money to be "fit." I may consider that I spend money to be healthy, but it's not any more than I do from being unhealthy. Now I watch what I eat, so I eat less. I am currently doing an elimination diet to find food allergies (it runs in the family). That requires a strict diet of all organic foods and such.
To compare to your list...
Vitamins: $0. I already buy those, not to be fit, but to be healthy.
Protein bars: Those things aren't as good for you as you might think. Try a glass of milk, some nuts, or a ham sandwich.
Gym membership: $0. I find gyms boring and uninspiring. I prefer the outdoors or my own home.
Fitness DVDs: $0. On the internet, they're free!
Home Gym Equipment: $0. I prefer to use my own body weight and go for HIIT instead of max weight to build bulk.
As for things like shoes and whatnot, the money I would spend on those I save by not using a car as much. It's a change of habit and lifestyle. In general, the healthier you live,t he less expensive it'll cost you.
I guess you could call me frugal.0 -
I am just curious, did you forget a "0" for the running shoes? I believe the cheapest running shoes Iv bought were like $35 (but that was prior to making sure they were good enough for running) My last pair of running shoes were $90Running shoes - $10
Rebounder - $35
Hand weights -Free! (used to belong to my brother)
Resistance tubes - $15
Cycling machine - Free again!! (It was a gift)
Total = $60
I also have a Netflix account that I use for workout videos, but we use it for so many other things I don't really count it. I don't make a lot of money (so I can't afford a gym membership or a lot of home workout equipment), but it's not hard to lose weight on a budget.0 -
My breakdown is as follows:
Yearly Vitamins - $20/30 mo (I do not always take them every single day like I should)
Yearly Protein Bars - very rarely buy. This year I have spent maybe $120ish on protein powder.
Yearly Gym Membership - starting July 1st will be $0!!! for the year, my boss is paying it, last year I only paid half $240.00
Shoes-approx $200/yr
Fitness DVDs - 0
Home Gym Equipment - 0
Healthly food- ALOT of money (but we all have to remember this will help us save a lot more if we were eating bad now & tons of dr bills later in life for medical problems)0 -
£16.99 per month gym
£0 for yoga, pilates, Zumba (free at work :-) )0 -
i will say calculated everything average, and i at LEAST spend 2,778 per year on healthfied stuff...so i will say in between, $2,500 to 3,500 a year just on my fitness health. this is NOT including dvd's becuase i dont buy those any more due toalready having enough accumilated from my younger years, dont buy shoes that often due to how my birthday and christmas are 6 months apart so family usually does that for me, i have no home gym, but I DO have a gym member ship of 40 a month,i dont buy that many new clothes becase again, have accumulated alot from highschool and college. i buy QUEST bars and use promasil protein powder by rivalus. both of those are good quality. it will vary on health supps on where you buy them and how good of quality they are. right now, all my purchases i know are good quality supps, from the fish oils i take, etc. i would not waste your time on fish oils in super markets,walgreens,..most, not ALL, but most are made with "fillers"...a friend of mine have actually tested most of these and its mostly fillers.
summing up mine -2,500-at most 3,500..some things i dont HAVE to have, but i just choose to put it in my purchases. am i crazy? not if it helps me live a longer better life.0 -
Hmmmm I never thought of it in terms of money. I guess I do spend money to get fit, but it's for my health so it's worth it.
Gym: $45 a month or so, I'd have to ask my husband since he pays the family membership fee. $540 a year
Shoes: Asics every 6 months or so, $84-100 depending if I catch a sale
Vitamins: $8 for a 3 month supply, so $32 a year
Food: No extra here, as I was a vegetarian for 24 years and thus we were already a mostly healthy eating family. Now we eat out less, so we're actually saving money by me losing weight.
Videos: I bought a Leslie Sansone walking DVD at the beginning of the year that was like $8. I plan to buy more of her DVDs, maybe 2 more this year. so $24 for that.
Clothing: This is going to be the costly factor. By the end of the year I'll need to seriously buy new clothes...I can sew so thus can tailor many of my current clothes like skirts, but others I really don't know how to alter.0 -
I spend nothing. My exercise bike was free. Yoga and pilates bits were a gift as was the thigh trainer. I do it in the comfort of my own home.
Vitamins you get from food...so no supplements for me.
As for clothing i'm at home so I wear nothing special. Jeans and t-shirts work fine.
On occasion I go to a zumba class with a friend. But that's more fun than anything burning calories is an added bonus. That costs £4 per hour class.0 -
I definitely spend less being fit. More dinners at home, less fast food has meant that we stick closer to our $100/wk grocery budget as a family. (A typical breakdown is 40% farmer's market/ 60% grocery.)
The gym membership for our family is pricey ($90/month for both of us) but it's at a wellness center that is both convenient and offers everything we want (an indoor pool, staff on site, a variety of classes and equipment) so I figure if we use it, it's better than spending $20/month on a Planet Fitness membership that we find excuses not to go to (no pool, inconvenient to work/home).
ETA: as far as clothing, I worked in retail management for years and am a total packrat, so I have a variety of clothing in every size from 12 to 20, so until I lose a significant amount of weight, I won't buy any more clothing than I do now (which is the occasional update of work pants or a 'feel good' shirt or dress a few times a year). I do hope that my feet shrink, though. I grew after having a child and gaining weight to a size 10-11.0 -
I don't spend much...
Protein powder: $25-50
Other supplements: none
Gym: free (part of my college tuition) or I workout using equipment at home
Clothes: less than $1000 -
I spend nothing. My exercise bike was free. Yoga and pilates bits were a gift as was the thigh trainer. I do it in the comfort of my own home.
Vitamins you get from food...so no supplements for me.
As for clothing i'm at home so I wear nothing special. Jeans and t-shirts work fine.
On occasion I go to a zumba class with a friend. But that's more fun than anything burning calories is an added bonus. That costs £4 per hour class.
There's no "like" button. So, "LIKE".0 -
A gym membership and that's it. Even that was optional.0
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I've spent less than $60 on hand weights and dvd's
Other than that the most expensive things have been having to by the right kind of low calorie bread and switching to almond milk and all that.
The healthier alternative is not always cheap...0 -
Compared to most people, I don't think I spend that much. I spent $80 for 10 pole classes right now, and then I have to buy workout gear and running gear, but those are pretty small expenses. I buy cheaper clothing or clothing on sale. I think my only big purchases were my Nike running shoes ($50 at the outlet store) and I'm planning on buying a hydration pack in July since I'm training for a half and I really can't run any further without food and water with me.
I'm on a very tight budget. Honestly, even the pole classes and hydration pack are tough, and I'm dipping into savings and birthday money to get them. But they're some of the few luxuries I afford myself and they're things I genuinely enjoy.0 -
I spend nothing. My exercise bike was free. Yoga and pilates bits were a gift as was the thigh trainer. I do it in the comfort of my own home.
Vitamins you get from food...so no supplements for me.
As for clothing i'm at home so I wear nothing special. Jeans and t-shirts work fine.
On occasion I go to a zumba class with a friend. But that's more fun than anything burning calories is an added bonus. That costs £4 per hour class.
There's no "like" button. So, "LIKE".
jeans and t shirt, or regular yoga pants, pj's, old shirts, etc DO work just fine for the beginning stages of training. However, when you start running 5-10k's and swimming laps, and benching 458lbs then at some point you find out that wearing the proper shoes and clothes really does make a difference.
for me, it happened when i suddenly realized i'd reached "that point" after my workouts started lapsing into 2 hours long every time. so i splurged on a couple of things. now i'm just fat and spoiled.0 -
I find that my health and fitness are priceless - cant seem to put a dollar amount on it
BUT if I were, I've only made money by not spending so much on food or health costs (rates lowered), walking instead of driving (saving gas) etc.
With all my savings, I have put towards my retirement fund as I expect to live a long healthy life!!!!0 -
Not that much
I am on a budget, so I have to think twice before I buy anything, other then food, I only pay 15 bucks a month for vitamins. I use netflix for workout tapes and I have zumba and biggest loser on WII.
much less then eating crap and paying 10 bucks a meal0 -
Let's see:
$110 on shoes
$400 on gym membership
$100 on gym clothes (I'm guessing. I had absolutely none when I started)
$20 on free weights
$15 on yoga mat (that I gave to my mom)
I still say it's worth the initial investment. I can already see an improvement in my health.0 -
Workout DVD's-$300
Shoes-$75
HRM-$50
Hand Weights-$750 -
I spend nothing on my gym membership or Crossfit. I spend like $30 a year on vitamins and maybe $75 on protein?
I buy new running shoes every 3 or 4 months at 70-110 a pop, so around $300 there, and another $150-200 on clothes and socks.
I live with my parents still, so they do buy most of my food, but I put in around $50 a month since they don't buy much vegetarian or healthy food.
So, in total, around $1200.0 -
About $120 on vitamins per year (multi, calcium, and iron)
$6000 on food (groceries for 2 people, plus protein bars and eating out)
$180 on protein powder
$120 on running shoes
last year I spent about $100 on workout clothes but I plan to use them for a while
plus $140 on dance shoes/tights if that counts as fitness stuff
I also spent $50 on a hydration belt for my long runs - also a great investment.
The workout DVDs I use are either on netflix or were gifts, outdoor running is free.
So almost $7000, including food; $300 of which won't need to be re-purchased fo a while.
Honestly that doesn't seem like too much considering I got my second job (as a professional dancer) because I'm fit and I don't spend any money on doctor visits, lost time from work, medications, etc.
ETA: completely forgot about race entries! Probably $200/year 0 -
My biggest expense is my gym membership - £30 a month. I use it more in winter than in summer. It covers use of the weights, cardio equipment, swimming pool and various fitness classes.
I buy a protein powder (£11 a month).
Running shoes (£30 every three months)
Bits and pieces for my bike (maybe £20 a month?)
Leggings / capris and t-shirts - maybe £20 -£30 every few months.
Race entries - maybe £100 a year.
So, all in all about £60 a month I guess. £720 a year.
I could get by with just running shoes and clothes, but I like doing the other stuff.
I spend less on food than I used to, and my food wastage is lower. I no longer drink, so save more than my fitness expenses in not buying alcohol... I reckon I spend less on food, fitness and other elements of healthy living than I used to spend on food, booze and chocolates... :-)
And of course my fitness activities double as leisure / entertainment. so I save there.0 -
$35 for a good bike helmet and $10 to replace a bike tire. That's it. Plus I've saved money on groceries overall because I started doing all my own bread making, making my own stock from whole chickens, and buying a lot more produce (which is much, much cheaper than the stuff in the center aisles). I have eaten out maybe five times in about eight months. I have an iPod that I use for workouts at home and in the beginning I did use my sister's and boyfriend's Wiis (Wii fitness), but I use those mainly for entertainment now and other practical purposes. I guess the net fitness cost would be negative at this point.
A lot of the best fitness is simply about moving your own body weight at a certain level of exertion to get both strength and cardio training, and maybe finding an exercise buddy for motivation. Special equipment or special clothing or measurement devices are nice but not essential. I think that for most people you could incur less than $300 in "start-up" costs if not nearly zero costs. Any costs you incur would pay themselves off fairly quickly in money saved from not eating out, not visiting the doctor or needing prescription medications as much, etc. For anyone thinking of getting started, fitness does not need to be pricey.0 -
Per month :
Gym membership - £15.99
Vitamins - £4.99
Probiotics - £11.99
Specialist foods(as in health store bought) - £600 -
Running shoes - $10
Rebounder - $35
Hand weights -Free! (used to belong to my brother)
Resistance tubes - $15
Cycling machine - Free again!! (It was a gift)
Total = $60
I also have a Netflix account that I use for workout videos, but we use it for so many other things I don't really count it. I don't make a lot of money (so I can't afford a gym membership or a lot of home workout equipment), but it's not hard to lose weight on a budget.
Where do you get a decent pair of running shoes for $10? I need to shop there!!0 -
Didn't realize Netflix had workout DVDs. Will have to check that out!0
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YMCA Membership - $120 per month
Running shoes - 2 pairs a year/$150-$200 depending on sales
5k Races and other events registration fees - $200/year
Whey Protein and other supplements - $800/Year
DVDs - $300/varies yearly
Workout Clothes - About $300 - $400/year
Fat Percentage Analyzer - $65/Once
HRM - $55/Once
Pedometer - $25/Once
I think that is everything. : ) It's so much better paying for things for your health than to spend all that on junkfood, beer and cigarettes!!0
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