We are now at the end of January. It’s time to check in on our New Year’s Resolutions. Was your New Year’s Resolution to work out, to lose weight, or to live a healthier life? If so, how is that going? Are you working out for 30 minutes 4 times a week? Are you watching what you eat? Don’t worry, if you haven’t yet fully embraced your New Year’s Resolution of working out DINKS Finance is here to help.
I enjoy swimming and doing Yoga, so I know how expensive working out can be. Between the latest equipment, workout clothes, the perfect pair of shoes, and a gym membership working out can become a very expensive hobby. Our hobby can become very expensive if we take our hobby to the extreme. Some Yoga students plan a trip to India to practice Yoga with its founders. Some cyclists may travel to South America to cycle through the Andes.
As young professionals, we are expected to look, to act, and to be a certain way. If we don’t fit into the perfect corporate mould we may be booted out the door. Sometimes it’s not about our work ethic as much as it is about our appearance and overall professionalism. Unfortunately, we live in a materialistic world; in general gorgeous people are used to getting what they want.
If your New Year’s Resolution to work out is currently on hold due to your lack of disposable monthly income, we understand. Budgets are always tight after the holidays; we focus on paying off debt and saving a little more to make up for the spending that we did during the holidays. Weekly sessions with my personal trainer was one of the first things that I had to cut out of my DINK budget when the financial crisis hit and my income dropped. However, I have learned to Work Out on a Budget.
Here are some great tips to Working Out on a Budget:
You don’t have to work out at a gym. We can burn just as many calories working out at home as we can burn in the gym. I enjoy working out at home because I am very lazy, and I will find any excuse not to make the commute to my neighbourhood gym.
Work Out Outside. Since some of us live in the cold North East we don’t always have the opportunity to get outside during the winter. I (despite being Ukrainian Canadian) hate the cold, so there is no way I am going outside to run in the winter. However from March to November I enjoy walking or running around my neighbourhood. I get to go to places that I normally wouldn’t visit, and I have discovered some great restaurants and shops during my outdoor adventures. I enjoy the fresh air opposed to the sweaty smell of a gym.
Buy a Video. We can find some great workout DVDs on EBay. The cost of a workout DVD is between $7 and $10. We can buy 4 videos a month for less than a monthly gym membership.
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
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