How do you get money together for the gym ?
Crystaleyed
Posts: 229 Member
Okay,
To cut a long story short, I was involved in a kids gym when I was younger and I loved it. It was cheap and I used and enjoyed it a lot. But obviously I'm now a bit too old and I have to pay the adult prices, which on a student budget I can't afford. I know that a lot of you will say that I don't need to join a gym and I can just do non equipment exercises like everyone else, but I know that the gym is something I would use and something I would enjoy and stick to and it's something I want to do and have wanted to do for a while now.
So what I'm asking is ...
How do you guys manage to pay the gym fees when on a really tight budget?
Or is it REALLY not worth the hassle?
To cut a long story short, I was involved in a kids gym when I was younger and I loved it. It was cheap and I used and enjoyed it a lot. But obviously I'm now a bit too old and I have to pay the adult prices, which on a student budget I can't afford. I know that a lot of you will say that I don't need to join a gym and I can just do non equipment exercises like everyone else, but I know that the gym is something I would use and something I would enjoy and stick to and it's something I want to do and have wanted to do for a while now.
So what I'm asking is ...
How do you guys manage to pay the gym fees when on a really tight budget?
Or is it REALLY not worth the hassle?
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Replies
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you cut back on anything non essential and do what you have to
ie if you have the latest iPhone in your pocket and you're paying $40 per month for the priveledge. Why not get a cheap phone, pay $10 a month and put the other $30 towards getting trim. When you reach your goal you can have the iPhone 9 as a reward as it'll probably be out in a couple of months.
Do you get a student discount for gym memberships? some places do this.0 -
Pay tuition, rent and gym fees FIRST. Anything else is gravy.0
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you cut back on anything non essential and do what you have to
ie if you have the latest iPhone in your pocket and you're paying $40 per month for the priveledge. Why not get a cheap phone, pay $10 a month and put the other $30 towards getting trim. When you reach your goal you can have the iPhone 9 as a reward as it'll probably be out in a couple of months.
Do you get a student discount for gym memberships? some places do this.
That thing about I Phone's made me chuckle :L It's such a rip off.
I do have an I Phone 3G but it's pay as you go and I get a little extra money off my dad to pay for the top up {because he doesn't like me being out and about with no credit on my phone} There's not much I can see, at the moment, that I spend money on, a lot of it is just food that I get when I'm on a binge and I am sorting this out but it's not something that will happen overnight.
I am not sure about the student membership but I will have a look now you've mentioned it, since I just got my student ID a few days ago.
I might start looking at my finances and seeing where I can scale back to pay for the gym membership tho' it's a good suggestion and to be honest I hadn't really thought of the ID thing at all.
Thanks
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We all have our splurges. Some people get a coffee everyday, or like expensive shoes...take that "splurge" money and put it toward the gym if you want to go to the gym. Some people balk that I pay 60 dollars/month for the gym, but I say that it is important to me.0
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You just have to shop around. Find out which gyms offer student discounts, or are income based. I know the YMCA in my town has a student membership is $20 a month I think. I only pay $20 for the full membership to my gym that is open 24 hours (planet fitness - love it!).
Can you use the gym at your school? I don't know if you are in high school, maybe you can form an after school group and meet 1-2 times a week with a faculty advisor (like a gym teacher) to workout. Maybe even talk to the gym teacher to see if there are times you can use the weight room, like before/after school or during your study hall. If you talk with a teacher and let them know that you're trying to make changes, I would hope they would help you better yourself.
Sometimes you gotta think outside the box....all else fails, find a friend who has a membership with guest passes!0 -
We all have our splurges. Some people get a coffee everyday, or like expensive shoes...take that "splurge" money and put it toward the gym if you want to go to the gym. Some people balk that I pay 60 dollars/month for the gym, but I say that it is important to me.
Yeah, I know the feeling, because I am still at school I don't get as much money as I would like because finding a job around here is hard enough when you don't have the time to take one on. I am not sure if I can identify my 'splurge' at the moment but I will have a long hard look at my finances when my statement comes in and see.
I find a lot of my friends spend around £60 to go to this really nice health centre, which I would love to go to, but I only get £80 a month and the membership is £60 ... and since my parents aren't willing to help me with the cost it's not an option, sadly
. But I will take your advice and have a long hard look at my finances when the statement comes through Thanks 0 -
You just have to shop around. Find out which gyms offer student discounts, or are income based. I know the YMCA in my town has a student membership is $20 a month I think. I only pay $20 for the full membership to my gym that is open 24 hours (planet fitness - love it!).
Can you use the gym at your school? I don't know if you are in high school, maybe you can form an after school group and meet 1-2 times a week with a faculty advisor (like a gym teacher) to workout. Maybe even talk to the gym teacher to see if there are times you can use the weight room, like before/after school or during your study hall. If you talk with a teacher and let them know that you're trying to make changes, I would hope they would help you better yourself.
Sometimes you gotta think outside the box....all else fails, find a friend who has a membership with guest passes!
I had never thought about the guest passes thing, that is quite a good idea
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I am in high school at the moment and there is a gym club at my school, however the equipment we have doesn't always work because the lower years have messed up the settings or broken something. That and they only have the club once a week on a Wednesday after school, when I have a timetabled lesson.
I have found a gym that's high 20's in terms of fees, so I'm going to see if they will take a bit off since I am a student.
Thanks again 0 -
A lot of gyms in my area have a special for $9.99 a month, and you only go to that one location. I pay $19.99 but I get all the locations and childcare. You just have to look around.0
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My suggestion is to find a cheaper gym. My membership at Planet Fitness is $20/month with unlimited tanning, but without the tanning it's only $10. There are a few other local gyms that I looked into for around the same price, but I liked the 24/7 hours best. Google gyms in your area and just start checking prices. Also, some of them offer student discounts and some employers get extra discounts too. You'll have to check and ask though. A membership is totally necessary for me and worth it, but you don't need one to lose weight and get in shape. Good luck!0
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We all have our splurges. Some people get a coffee everyday, or like expensive shoes...take that "splurge" money and put it toward the gym if you want to go to the gym. Some people balk that I pay 60 dollars/month for the gym, but I say that it is important to me.
Yeah, I know the feeling, because I am still at school I don't get as much money as I would like because finding a job around here is hard enough when you don't have the time to take one on. I am not sure if I can identify my 'splurge' at the moment but I will have a long hard look at my finances when my statement comes in and see.
I find a lot of my friends spend around £60 to go to this really nice health centre, which I would love to go to, but I only get £80 a month and the membership is £60 ... and since my parents aren't willing to help me with the cost it's not an option, sadly. But I will take your advice and have a long hard look at my finances when the statement comes through Thanks
Ahhhh, i see by your currency you are in the UK. Check if the city you're in has a Pure GYM. £18 per month with a £25 joining fee. You can get around the joining free by joining online during promotional periods but do it before the new year as you will find fee's go up when new years resolutions are made!
The only thing they dont have is a swimming pool but if you swam one night a week at the local swimming baths thats £5 per week, £20 per month + £18 per month for PureGYM and you're still £22 better off than your friends.
Dont worry about going to the gym with friends. You'll often find some of them arent commited and just want to chat and mess about because its cool to be in a gym. You're there for a reason and you can do that alone - it also gives you a great opportunity to just think!0 -
I have a spreadsheet where I track my budget monthly. I have my incoming money and my ABSOLUTE expenses (rent, groceries, electric bill, etc)....and my gym membership is in the absolutes. Generally, most people guess their finances and grossly underestimate the little things here and there they spend. I absolutely budget EVERY SINGLE DIME. I am a single mom on a VERY tight budget, so my budget tracks down to to how much I spend per day. I check it nearly daily and constantly adjust if I happen to go to Starbucks or out to dinner.
That said.........my gym membership is in my ABSOLUTE bills. I will (and did!) cut other non-essentials to pay for the gym. I don't go out much. I often will have to say to my friends "Sorry, but I can't afford to go out now". I cut my cable and got the cheapest internet I could find. I follow my electric provider rules and I don't use any non-essential electricity during peak hours. But my gym membership ALWAYS is in in the budget. I pay $40 a month, which is, what...about 25 or 30 British pounds? This is how I think of it........Is my HEALTH worth $40 a month? Yep. So I spend it.0 -
I cut my alcohol fund to pay for my gym... and I take a packed home lunch 4/5 days out of a 5 day working week.0
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I saved small amounts of money here and there (depending on that pay period's budgets) for a few months and pre-paid for a year's membership at the local city gym (as opposed to a big-name "chain" gym). It was cheaper and now I have no excuse not to go, at least not until next March or May 0
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I sell my blood products to pay for my kickboxing membership.0
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Depending on what type of school you go to, there may be a student recreational area. Sometimes it cost but when I was in college it was free to current students and it has multiple pools, weight rooms, rock climbing wall, etc.0
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We all have our splurges. Some people get a coffee everyday, or like expensive shoes...take that "splurge" money and put it toward the gym if you want to go to the gym. Some people balk that I pay 60 dollars/month for the gym, but I say that it is important to me.
Yeah, I know the feeling, because I am still at school I don't get as much money as I would like because finding a job around here is hard enough when you don't have the time to take one on. I am not sure if I can identify my 'splurge' at the moment but I will have a long hard look at my finances when my statement comes in and see.
I find a lot of my friends spend around £60 to go to this really nice health centre, which I would love to go to, but I only get £80 a month and the membership is £60 ... and since my parents aren't willing to help me with the cost it's not an option, sadly. But I will take your advice and have a long hard look at my finances when the statement comes through Thanks
Ahhhh, i see by your currency you are in the UK. Check if the city you're in has a Pure GYM. £18 per month with a £25 joining fee. You can get around the joining free by joining online during promotional periods but do it before the new year as you will find fee's go up when new years resolutions are made!
The only thing they dont have is a swimming pool but if you swam one night a week at the local swimming baths thats £5 per week, £20 per month + £18 per month for PureGYM and you're still £22 better off than your friends.
Dont worry about going to the gym with friends. You'll often find some of them arent commited and just want to chat and mess about because its cool to be in a gym. You're there for a reason and you can do that alone - it also gives you a great opportunity to just think!
I have had a look at Pure GYM and the good news is that there is a gym there the problem is it takes me half an hour to get there half an hour to get back, and in the end it would cost more money to get there than it would the actual gym fee so it's not ideal really . I am not really bothered about the fact that my friends go to this expensive gym and health place. I have actually been interested in it for a while, but the price has always put me off and it has always been at a time when other things, such as passing exams, have seemed more important.
The fact that my friends go there only has one benefit in the fact that they've told me what it's like as opposed to what is said on the website and if anything it's better and that's the reason I want to go. 0 -
Does your college have a health & fitness center?
I work at a (NY) State University college, and like most SUNY campuses, we have a really great fitness center, and it's dirt cheap for students (pretty decent for faculty/staff, also) to enroll.
It costs students $70./semester - that's almost 4 months! Our center has Cybex Eagle weight training, Cybex & Precor elliptical & treadmills, and personal trainers at your service - a very nice set-up for cheap.
Check-into it!0 -
I cut my alcohol fund to pay for my gym... and I take a packed home lunch 4/5 days out of a 5 day working week.
good on ya' I'm not too bad on the alcohol ... I tend to hang out with people who are younger or older than me, the people who are younger than me can't come out and drink and those older than me are at university and college most of the time so ... and I do have packed lunch almost always five times a week but thank you for the suggestion, I will keep it in mind next time I go for a lunch - on - the - go option 
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I saved small amounts of money here and there (depending on that pay period's budgets) for a few months and pre-paid for a year's membership at the local city gym (as opposed to a big-name "chain" gym). It was cheaper and now I have no excuse not to go, at least not until next March or May
This is a really good idea.
It's too late for me to start that now because I am going away to university in September and hopefully I get into the university I want to go to {which offers free gym membership for first year students} but I will keep this in mind for when I will have to start worrying about the prices at Uni. in second year 0 -
Depending on what type of school you go to, there may be a student recreational area. Sometimes it cost but when I was in college it was free to current students and it has multiple pools, weight rooms, rock climbing wall, etc.
I am still in high school so the school's gym facilities are far from brilliant, namely because the kids in the lower years muck about and break most of it within a month. I have looked at times for gym classes and stuff and it clashes with one of my timetabled after school sessions so this is not an option, sadly.
The stuff you have is more similar to university sports facilities than high school facilities, over here ... if that makes sense?0 -
Does your college have a health & fitness center?
I work at a (NY) State University college, and like most SUNY campuses, we have a really great fitness center, and it's dirt cheap for students (pretty decent for faculty/staff, also) to enroll.
It costs students $70./semester - that's almost 4 months! Our center has Cybex Eagle weight training, Cybex & Precor elliptical & treadmills, and personal trainers at your service - a very nice set-up for cheap.
Check-into it!
Our school has a very very basic gym where a lot of the equipment has been reprogrammed by kids in the lower years who decide to muck around and things like the manual rowing machines are broken within a month. That and they tend not to let anyone in unless it's a lesson, apart from an hour here and there at certain times. All of which I am not available for.
The facilities you have are very similar to the gym that the university I am hopefully going to next year has ... I just hope I get in because the membership for first years is freeeeee 0 -
Pay tuition, rent and gym fees FIRST. Anything else is gravy.
This is exactly what I was thinking. Pay the things that are a MUST for you and then the rest of the money can go towards eating out or seeing movies. I bet if you list out all of your money and all of your debt you'll see you have enough for the gym...but something will have to give0 -
Your campus may have a gym you can access, if there are any types of athletics at your school there is one somewhere. Usually it is free for students.
Gyms like Planet Fitness and Retro Fitness have cheap monthly rates ($20/month)...there may be a local gym/not a chain that you can find for cheap, too.
Over the course of a month there is likely $5-$10 a week you can cut out of your spending to fund the gym, just prioritize it first on your list! Good Luck!
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