WOULD LOVE SOME IDEAS....

I know you said you can't afford a gym membership, but if you have any sort of video game system you might want to take a look for some of the 'sports activity' games. They're not all equal but you can check out reviews to see which is best for you.

Right now my primary workout is Active 2 from EA. I use it on PS3 but you can also get it for XBox Kinect or Wii. You might be able to find it second hand but a better bet is to check for sales... it can cost as low as ~$40 or thereabouts and comes with sensors, a heart rate monitor (that only works with the game) and a resistance band.

I've also seen Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred DVD for ~$10 on Amazon. I don't know if you need any accessories for that.

A daily walk, starting shorter and working up to longer intervals, is free and a good place to start, as well.

I enjoy walking, and I don't mind some strength training. Other than that, fun is kid stuff. Play kickball (borrow a kid if you need to), hula hoop, basketball at a park, jump rope, tag (or freeze tag so you get to catch your breath frequently) draw a hopscotch game on the sidewalk/driveway and start hopping - something interactive is much more fun to me than exercising just for the sake of exercising.

In addition to the other suggestions, if you have Netflix, you can workout videos there too.

DVDs!!! There's a good selection at most Walmarts that are $10 and less. Also, there's tons of free exercise shows on demand on cable, or you can youtube some. Amazon has DVDs for dirt cheap. You can walk, run, or ride a bike (if you have one) for free. Not working should mean you have extra time to do workouts..I've been without a job for quite some time and it leaves my days free to workout when I want to.

Hello...hope you & your family had a wonderful 4th of July.
I do not own any exercise machines nor can afford a gym membership at this time neither. I get up every morning, and walk for 60-90 minutes. Sometimes I even walk in the evenings. I also do crunches, (girlie) push-ups, squats, lunges at home.
I hope that this helps a little bit. Take Care.

Good old fashion walking to start with. After a month on walking 5 to 6 days a week, try adding sit ups, push ups, jumping jacks etc. Start slow with walking and other stuff. Work up a sweat and work up to 45 to 60 min of walking almost everyday. You are young so you can still do a lot. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GOOD WALKING SHOES OR GYM SHOES.

If it is hot in your area get up early morning and get it in or late evenings after the sun has went down.

Also go to library and try some exercise DVD's to keep from getting bored. I personally love Leslie Sansone Walk Away the pounds. These are cheaper at Wal-Mart and you can find some good deals on Ebay also. I just ordered a LS dvd from Walmart on line. Had it delivered to the store by me for free shipping. I have about 10 of her DVD's that I mix in my routine 1 to 3 times a week. Especially in summer and winter months when I don't like walking outside.

Hope this helps!

What kind of area do you live in?

Walking is a great way to start, a friend of mine who was scared of exerise started walking with me at lunch times, we do up to 2.5 miles now,

This helped her loose a few lbs and increased her fitness,

We then moved onto cycling and she cycles the 5 mile journey to and from work so thats 10 miles a day,

Perhaps you could cycle a couple of miles to a local pretty place like the beach or the woods, and then go for a walk about 1 mile or so not far, then cycle back, vary it from day to day and see if you can increase it with time

They are both gently exercises that will help you start building up fitness, as for strength training I cant advise as I dont do any!