Apr 6th, 2009
Gym Membership or Home Gym Equipment? The Cost Factor
This is a no brainer as far as cost goes: the gym membership is typically a monthly expense; home equipment is a one time expense. In fact, so much home exercise equipment ends up being unused that you can often buy some for a song at garage sales or thrift stores.
That last sentence, however, bears some examination. Why does so much home exercise equipment end up unused? Is it because the buyer bought the wrong thing? Or that they’re lazy? Or that they lack the expertise to use it properly? Hard to say.
There are some people who say that because they know they’re paying for a membership they’re motivated to go; others say that having personal trainers available makes the membership worthwhile. Still others point to the social aspects of the club. All of these have merit to some extent, and of course, what price health? But it is possible to make decisions frugally when it comes to working out; just consider your costs and whether you’ll actually use what you spend money on, because that is the ultimate test of frugality–making use of what you buy and not wasting.
[...] — This is an Ask The M-Network question that tackles a common retirement investing question.Gym Membership or Home Gym Equipment? The Cost Factor at Uncommon Cents — An examination of a common problem. This is why I only do push ups and [...]