Frugal living tip #1

[jamethiel]

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: to save money, your income must be more than your expenditure.

Most people's isn't. Most people have an income and expenditure that are around about equal.

One of the things that I'll be doing is recommending areas that you save money in. One of those areas is exercise.

Exercise done properly has health benefits that actually saves you money in the long-run (that's provided you don't have a pre-existing condition. Get medical advice before starting to exercise if you think you might have /duty done).

The trouble is, you can actually pay a WHOLE HEAP of money for exercise. And sometimes it's wasted, too. For the record, I will say that I enjoy my gym very much and for me it's a worthwhile expense because I do use it and I do go. The pilates classes I go to alone would cost me my entire monthly membership in a fortnight if I attended private lessons. Going to a gym has other benefits, too. A professional to guide you in the correct way to do exercises. People to give you motivation.

But if you don't use it, what's the point in paying for membership? There is none. Also, I motivate myself. Someone coming along and saying "You can do it!" seriously irritates me.

However, it's perfectly possible to exercise by yourself. The cheapest and probably easiest of all exercises is walking. Shop around for gyms, if you want to use one--it's a trade of between price and convenience. Your local council would possibly have a subsidised fitness/exercise centre. Your local Y would possibly have a pool that you can use at a reasonably low fee.

Buy a skipping rope. Get some exercise DVDs and a yoga mat. Go and have a look at this post here, whcich has some EXCELLENT suggestions on how to exercise cheaply.

Personally, I'm doing the "Couch to 5k" program aimed at getting someone who's completely unfit up to running 5km. Eventually I'm going to have to move away from my gym and I'm hoping to have alternative forms of exercise in place so that I can be fit and not spend a bundle.

What are your cheap exercise tips?

Comments

[juliet]

The thing I've found most useful in terms of cheap exercise is cycling -- I cycle everywhere rather than getting public transport, which gets me free exercise & also saves a lot of money on transport.

There's an initial cost on acquiring the bike, but you may be able to get one second-hand / on Freecycle / etc.

Getting a dog also works to get you out & about twice a day, but the dog will probably cost you more in food & vet bills than the gym :) (Dogs are great, though! I've started getting up on time since getting a dog, as well, b/c *she* thinks I should be up...)

[jamethiel]

That's a really good idea. The state cycling team practices out my way, we should have some decent paths....

I reckon my cats save me in medical bills what I spend on food/the vets. Also, I'm a lot happier!

[juliet]

If there aren't cycle paths where you want to be going, and/or the cycle paths aren't in good condition, remember that you're just as entitled to use the road as the cars are! I spent some time over in Australia last year & cycled a bit in Melbourne (and a lot more in Sydney, where I lived for a few months) & didn't find the traffic too bad. (Was less enthusiastic about the hills in Sydney, mind! :) ) It's been my experience that if I'm using a bike as a mode of transport, sticking to bike paths is just a bit too limiting in terms of where they go, although they can sometimes be useful.

Here in the UK at least some local councils offer subsidised on-road cycle training to get you riding more safely (and increase your confidence, which is a lot of the battle!) -- you might be able to get similar information where you are.

ok, will stop cycle-evangelising now :)

[indywind]

+1 to cycling. Spouse and I bicycle to work 2-4 days a week (whenever it is not storming badly or below freezing). It's only 3mi/5k ish, but it guarantees that we get some exercise on those days even if that's all we do. We cut our gas expense by half or more -- if I were concerned with the startup expense for bikes, helmets, etc., I expect the savings in gas would have covered it in a year (rate varies, naturally, according to how much one can substitute the bike for the car).

We also walk and do no-equipment sorts of exercise like push-ups, sit-ups, squats (I forget the name of this class of exercises--help, anybody?); she does Tai Chi, I run and occasionally work with free weights. Once in a while we borrow a neighbor's dog when we need motivation for a brisk walk.

We both also do Renaissance dance in the SCA, which can range from a very gentle workout hardly worthy of being called exercise, to something quite athletically demanding. It's free to practice by oneself, of course; and since the teachers are volunteer (that'd be us), it's free for group class/practice also, as long as our meeting-space doesn't charge.

I used to work with horses a lot, and I paid for my saddle time by either doing barn chores (mucking stalls, sweeping, cleaning tack) or by schooling the horses that were in for training or on consignment--getting sub-par mounts in shape is hard work (aka good exercise), and there was usually someone glad to delegate it. These opportunities are still available in some places for horse-loving people who have time and energy but not the money to pay for lessons. I wish I had the time, now!

[jamethiel]

Yay renaissance dance! The Flying Duchess is REALLY good exercise, based on how out of breath I end up.

It's great that you and your wife can exercise together! Sometimes the best motivation is another person