4 Money Saving Workout Tips
Do you like a good workout? Love going to the gym? Do you tend to spend too much money when it comes to working out? You know, on stuff like workout clothing, supplements, gym memberships, and special “diet” foods that go along with your workout? Well, anyone that has worked out has probably spent too much money on it. After all, it really shouldn’t cost a dime to work out but the gym is a good environment so people will pay for it.
Where most people over spend though is when they buy their gym membership, go once or twice, and then never go back. We’re assuming that isn’t you and that you make the most of your gym membership (or workouts at home). Below you will find 3 tips that will help you save money in the gym or for your workout efforts in general. We hope you enjoy!
Low Cost Protein
It’s pretty much a scientific fact that the world is now obsessed with protein intake especially when it comes to working out. Getting in a quality source of protein (we love whey protein but despise soy protein) is very important. Most people do this in the form of a protein shake. How can you save money on these? Shop around! Check venues online such as eBay, Amazon, etc. We were actually able to find Muscle Milk 4 Packs at Big Lots on sale for $2 each. They usually run around $8 each so those are some mega savings if you ask us!
Affordable Gym Attire
Unless you work out on a regular basis, you probably don’t have good workout clothes stuffed in your closet. So, you’ll have to go out and buy some shorts, yoga pants, whatever it is that you want to work out in, right? Of course you will! Now, how can you save money on them? Well, we’ll tell you the best and most efficient way to do this. Don’t pay attention to the brand. Who cares if it’s Under Armour? Who cares if it’s Nike? Get yourself a $30 pair of Champion shoes, a few pairs of off brand basketball shorts at $10 a pair, and get in the gym. We promise that it will be nothing close to a fashion contest in there.
Family Plans
Finally, it’s all about what type of gym membership you get. You may have to sign a contract (probably for a year) but you can get family plans at much better rates than individual plans. For example, a local gym we know of charges $30 a month for one person. However, if you sign a year contract with auto draft for their “couples” plan, you can get in for a grand total of $35 a month. That’s just $5 more for an extra gym membership!
So, hopefully these money saving tips will help you do what they’re supposed to. Save money! Working out doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby but so many people turn it into just that. An expensive hobby. Follow the guidelines above, look for the deals, and be smart about how you set up your membership. If you do this, you’ll definitely save money!
Balancing Your Balance
When it comes to saving money and balancing your balance (your checking account), there are a few things that we wanted to point out. Before we begin though, we have two quick questions. The first question is this. Did you know that in the United States, the average checking account balance is just shy of $6,000? Okay, great! Now, the second question is this. Are you average? Are you above average? Would you be thrilled just to be average?
Well, if you’re one of those people that would be thrilled just to be average and have around $6,000 in your checking account, we have some tips for you that will get you on your way to balancing your balance and financial freedom. Continue reading to get started.
Make A Plan
Having a solid game plan is one of those important things that you can do in your effort to save your checking account. Think about the areas that you can afford to spend less money and do it. Write down what your long term goal is, how much you plan to save a month, and so on. A good starting point would be to try to save around 20% of every paycheck.
Share Your Plan
There’s nothing like having the support of your friends and family so why not share your business? Yes, you read that right. We want you to share your business! Of course, we aren’t asking you to share your routing number with your cousin or telling your sister in law how broke you are. Just simply let everyone know that you’re trying to save money and tell them why. Chances are, they’ll follow suit and do the same. How cool would that be?
Implement Your Plan
Okay, we get it. This one sounds a little “obvious” but you’d be surprised how many people make a plan and never follow through with it. It’s easy to sit down and come up with a plan and a few numbers but doing it is a whole other monster. However, once you start making some progress, you’re bound to stick with it for the long haul. Don’t believe us?
Try it!
Now, these are just general starting points for when it comes to balancing your balance. It will take some determination and hard work to get into the groove of things but once you are there, you’ll be just fine! Don’t try to cut corners and take shortcuts because those NEVER work. Instead, focus on lowering your spending on things that you don’t need and keeping it the same where you need to. Even if you only manage to save $200 a month, in 10 years time you would have over $20,000 which is an extremely nice balance to have.
Okay, what are you waiting for? Start getting your plan together, crunch a few numbers, and see where you are in a few months. We can almost guarantee that you’ll be in a much more desirable position in 3 months than you are now. One more thing before you go though. Good luck to you and we hope that you can start to balance your balance!
Stock The Pantry Shelves – Save $$$
I hate when you walk into your kitchen wondering what to make for dinner only to find that your shelves are full but stocked with a whole lot of nothing. On occasion I have found myself with cookies, chips, fruit snacks, tomatoes and beans. I’m not sure that I am a talented enough cook to recreate my own version of the Food Networks Chopped in my very own kitchen. Although that could make for an interesting meal but it would probably lack in nutrition and I doubt anyone would care much to eat it, even if I were extremely creative.
While it might look like the pantry shelves are full with boxes and cans, spending a few minutes to figure out what you really have in the pantry on what one needs on hand will help make your pantry a well rounded resource of ingredients.
A simple way to save money is to stock your pantry with a few staple items in advance. This will make cooking from scratch easier and help you stretch your budget when it comes to meal time. Having a variety of essential ingredients on hand will prove to be a valuable way to plan healthy and well balanced snacks and meals. Having the basics for each food group on hand is a must. But where do you start? The following is a list of a few suggested ingredients that you might find useful to have in your pantry.
Grains
pasta
rice
rolled oats
all purpose flour
cornstarch
Canned Goods
Chicken Stock
Beans
Diced Tomatoes
Some sort of fruit in natural juices, (example: pineapple, pears or peaches)
Your choice of canned vegetables.
Spices
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Basil
Garlic Powder
Cumin Powder
Ginger
Cinnamon
Vanilla Extract
Nutmeg
Cloves
Cayenne Pepper
Paprika
Old Bay Seasoning
Grill Seasoning
Condiments
Ketchup
Dijon Mustard
Olive Oil
Vegetable Oil
Soy Sauce
Worcester Sauce
Apple cider Vinegar
White Vinegar
Baking Supplies
White Sugar
Brown Sugar
Nuts
Raisins
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Chocolate Chips
Other
Jams
Peanut Butter
Honey
A Clean Lint Filter Saves $$
Laundry is always on my mind. It’s always there, even the days when I think I’m caught up the “laundry makers” leave presents for me and I find I have more laundry that night. It’s the never ending job and if your in charge of the laundry at your house I’m sure you feel my pain.
My dryer is older and is on it’s way out. I’m just waiting for it to die off so I have an excuse to buy a new set of front loaders. But until then I’m trying to make the most of the ones I’ve got. We’ve taken it apart several times in the last year trying to extend the life of it and lucky for us it is hanging in there.
Every dryer has a lint filter. This is the metal mesh like net that catches all the lint and fluff that comes out of your clothing when it is in the dryer. With each load of laundry the filter collects lint and fluff. I change the filter every time I do a load of laundry. As lint builds up in the filter it prevents the air from circulating out of the dryer.
As the filter builds up with lint the dryer has to work harder to dry the clothes. This can result in turning the dryer on multiple times to dry a load of laundry and will cause the dryer to use more electricity and work less efficiently. Each time that happens its costing you more money. So in order to save some money make sure to clean the lint filter each time you change a load of laundry. I’m sure many of you do this but did you know in order to help extend the life of your dryer you can scrub your lint filter? To help make sure your filter is clean take the time to scrub it with hot soapy water occasionally. This will help to remove residue left from fabric dryer sheets and help it work even more efficiently. Who knew a little elbow grease and hot soapy water could be a money saver?