Joined A Health Club

In one of My Wealth Builder's earliest posts, Buy Only What You Need, I noted how I had never joined a health club and saved at least $30/month. I felt that I would do just as well using my own weights and exercising at home.

Over the last few months, we've reconsidered that choice and joined my company's health club in the past week. The cost is $36/month and there was no initiation fee. Also, as an early retiree, we can suspend our membership and reinstate it at no cost whenever we are away for over a month. Here's the complete set of reasons we did it:

1. Access to instructor led classes. My spouse was already taking yoga classes at a cost of $5 per session. Yoga classes are offered twice a week at the health club. In my case, I have mostly been involved in team sports as my exercise routine. I am more motivated when exercising in a group, which is gets more difficult to do as I get older. The health club offers 27 group classes each week, which is included in our membership.



2. Low cost. This September, the club suspended new member initiation fees for the month. This saved us $52. Also, the $36/month fee for two of us was relative low as compared to other clubs. However, this club is a smaller facility, only open on weekdays and doesn't offer babysitting as other more expensive clubs do.



3. Proximity. The club is about 3 miles from our house and our daughter's pre-school, which makes it easy to make the trip. It's almost on the way to about anyplace I would drive.

For us, the break even point for the health club is doing 7-8 classes a month, assuming a $5 cost per class. After that, everything else, e.g. weight machines, is a bonus. As a start, I will try working out one to two times a week before I attend my morning classes.

For more on New Beginnings, check back every Sunday for a new segment.

This is not financial or health advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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