Getting Fit Without Spending a Fortune

I admit that when I think about getting into shape, losing weight and staying fit, my mind immediately pictures me swimming in a big olympic-sized pool, using fancy gym equipment with a personal trainer and running on an indoor track. At this point in my life and debt repayment process, this vision can’t come to fruition though. I can’t spend money on a fancy rec center membership, so I need to get back into shape without these resources. Though it may be slightly more difficult, depending on who you ask, it’s not impossible to get into shape with very little resources.

Via Flickr – cumi&ciki

Run/Walk/Hike. This is my exercise of choice. Along with my sister-in-law, I am training for a 5k run right now. Walking is a part of my life everyday so I’m opting to take it up a notch and start running (more like jogging). For more calorie burning, I often opt to wear my little one in a carrier (while walking or hiking).
Bike. I see my husband and I getting bikes when the little one is old enough to use one herself. We’re pretty into camping during the summer so having bikes would be a great way to travel through the campgrounds too.
Play with kids/get outside. Don’t underestimate how many calories you burn running around with kids, playing at the playground, sports, or even raking huge piles of leaves to jump in! Gardening and home maintenance also count as exercise, as does walking the dog!
Buy inexpensive home equipment. Now that I consider myself pretty committed to my walking and jogging routine, in the next few weeks I plan on looking at both the local thrift shops and big box stores for some cheap gym equipment such as a yoga ball and free weights to add to the mix.
Search online classifieds. Searching your online classifieds can be a great resource for many things. You may be able to find a great piece of equipment you can buy used, some videos or even a ‘club’ or class to join. Our local running club advertises online as does a mommy walking club. Never hurts to check!
YouTube/library DVD’s. YouTube as well as videos you can rent or download are great ways to get in shape. It has been recommended I try Jillian Michaels’ videos so I plan on going to the library (by walking there!) and borrowing a few.
Free outdoor gym. I realize this depends on where you live, but in our city there are a few outdoor gyms. They are usually within parks and contain a few pieces of equipment that you can use to get fit (and are weather resistant). The local park here has about five pieces of equipment that are mostly for strength training but there is one cardio machine.
Use your smartphone. I know you’re probably thinking this is the last thing an active person should be doing, but there are numerous apps that can help you stay in shape. Downloading a food app will help you count calories and also give you a feeling of progress for eating healthy. There are also a plethora of workout apps that can effectively suggest goals that fit your current state of health and schedule. If anything, having these apps will help remind you that you’re making an effort to stay in shape each time you check your smartphone.

Being active is so important for everyone. If you’re working towards a financial goal then it’s even more important that you get creative with how you stay active. While I like the idea of belonging to a rec center, I’m also working towards becoming a ”runner” so I have something wherever I go. As long as I have my shoes I should be good to go wherever I may be in the world. Investing a little time and money in your fitness can pay off in the long-run with better overall health, less medical conditions to worry about and overall better well-being.

How do you stay active and what does it cost you?

How to STOP Spending Money

So many people don’t know how to stop spending money, but at the end of the day, it’s pretty simple. It was cool out for a September morning, and we were walking through the park on a fairly sad attempt to fit some exercise in. My friend, in a light sweater and shorts. Me, in a tank and capris. We were chilly. My friend turns to me and suggests warming up over coffee after our walk. I nod in agreement, but then hesitate. “I thought you were cutting back on coffee and meals out?”. That was the goal, anyway, of my friends. She wanted to start saving. She shrugged. “Yeah, I’d love to quit spending so much, but I don’t know how”.

how to stop spending money

I don’t get into it with her, but I suggest she google some tips and tricks, or at least find some motivation, to curb her spending and keep her hard earned cash in her pocket. She agrees. I tend to do that. I have conversations with my friends, offer no advice (I don’t think she wanted it), and then return to a blog to write about what I would have, should have, or could have told her. Here’s what I would have said, had I been more willing to discuss finances with her:

Stop Spending by Getting Addicted to Watching Money Grow

Something about watching your money grow in investments is very addicting. Once you see your money grow, you will want to keep putting money into your investment account. I stopped spending so much money when I started making $900/month in passive income. I started investing in Scottrade with $7 Online Tradesand stopped going out for coffee so often, because I could spend that $20/week on online trades and see that money grow so fast with compound interest. It’s addicting and if you make that initial change just once, and start investing your money, you’ll most certainly get addicted.

Just Stop Spending!

Yup, it’s that easy. Like smoking, gambling, and junk food addictions, cold turkey is the way to go. Just stop! Okay, so it’s easy in theory. That’s all that it takes.

Just like all weight loss requires is fewer calories and increased activity levels. Simple when spoken out loud, not so simple in practice. Why isn’t it simple in practice? Well, because we’re human. We’re humans with emotions and habits, with anxiety and stress. We turn to things like shopping, eating, and drinking to relieve our stress and regulate our emotions. More often than not, somebody who is truly shopping too much and needs to cut back is somebody that is coping with something. Whether that’s boredom or self doubt, here are some potentially easier ways to help yourself to begin the process of keeping your money in your pocket.

Avoid Spending Temptation to Stop Spending

You aren’t going to be very successful in not spending money if you surround yourself with things that you want to spend money on. I’m surprised that many people don’t recognize this. If you go to the mall to “window shop”, you may be successful when you are at the mall, but it showed you all of these things that you want. You could just go home and end up buying those things online. So yes, your window shopping session was a success, but you were just delaying the inevitable.

Coffee shop spenders: stop going by coffee shops! Stop driving that way to work. Find another commute. No more putting your change aside for that
Retail addicts: don’t even step foot in a mall. Avoid boutiques, shopping districts, or anything that will put you in front of retail goods
Impulse buyers: don’t browse the candy sections. Don’t read the magazines. Tunnel vision, people. Look straight ahead!

Avoid temptation, otherwise you won’t be successful.

Motivate Yourself to Save and You Won’t Blow Your Cash

Rewards are great. People love rewards. Humans work better, more efficiently, and meet their goals more often when there is a reward at the end of the tunnel. Rewards don’t have to come in the form of an item. It could be a trip. Maybe you want to save money so you can get married. Maybe you want the peace of mind of having an emergency fund. Maybe you want to pay off debt so you don’t have to live check to check. Whatever the reason, find your motivation. Reward yourself at the end of the journey.

Trick Yourself into Stopping the Money Leak

I’m all for playing mind games with yourself. If I’m loving on a bag of chips a little too much, I ask my partner to hide them from me. If I’m spending too much money or if I have no choice but to enter a place of temptation, I leave all my methods of payment at home. Lower your limit on your credit cards. Freeze your cards in a block of ice. Transfer all of your discretionary spending budget into another account that you can’t access with your interac card. Do what you can to trick yourself into saving money.

Saving money isn’t that hard. You can save money by spending less on things that you need to spend on, or you can save money by spending nothing on things that you don’t need to spend money on. You can take a hybrid approach where you save money where you can. But either way, you have to stop spending on useless “stuff” to be successful in personal finance.

Have you curbed your spending at all? How have you been successful in not spending money?

Negotiating Lower Rent

The cost of living can be astronomically high and depending on where you live, it can take up a major portion of your paycheck. Renting a house or apartment is no different. The good news is that as the renter, you do hold a lot of negotiating power, especially if you come with good references or you are renewing your lease. Especially when it comes to renting a home, you can hold a lot of negotiating power if the owners know that you can be trusted to keep their property nice as well as pay your rent on time each month. Here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes time to negotiate rent.

via Flickr – sjon

Research comparable rentals in the neighborhood

There is no better way to plead your case for lower rent than to compare your rental to almost identical rentals in the area. There are numerous tools at your disposable this day in age, most of which come via the Internet. Having a few comparable properties in the same vicinity should be all you need to prove to your landlord that you deserve a decrease in rent.

Negotiate Rent by Bartering your Services

All properties require maintenance and upkeep in order to keep them looking nice and functioning as a place of dwelling. Many landlords will be open to accepting your services for a slightly reduced rent. For example, perhaps you can mow the lawn yourself instead of the landlord having a landscaping company come out. If you are particularly handy or are knowledgeable in other trades, it never hurts to ask.

Negotiate Rent by Keeping in Touch with Prior Landlords

The last thing a landlord wants to do is take on risk in a tenant. If you can prove a clean history of being a tidy and responsible tenant that pays their bills on time, that can go a long way. For this reason, you may want to start gathering references from prior landlords or just keep in touch with them for future references. A good track record goes a long way when it comes to asking for a lower rent.

Negotiate Rent by Offering More of a Deposit

Nothing speaks like money does when it comes to a rental agreement. Many landlords will require a deposit which is usually one month’s rent. Offering more months rent is a good way to ensure the landlord that you are indeed good for your word and limits the financial risk that they take on. A lump sum is always more valuable when it comes to the time value of money so it would be ignorant of your landlord not to take you up on the offer.

Walk Away if it Doesn’t Feel Right

It’s not necessarily bluffing so much as knowing that there are many other options available, and unless you are completely sold on the place there is no harm in looking elsewhere if the landlord is not flexible at all. If you are being fair in your requests, chances are the landlord will end up realizing that and decide to work with you after all.

Timing is Everything when Negotiating

Nobody wants to go hunting for a new house in the winter or much less move all of their belongings. It is for this reason that it is the perfect time to look for a new place to live. As are most things in life, it is all about supply and demand. When there is less demand you consequently have far more bargaining power. Use this to your advantage when it comes to looking for a new place to live. Most landlords know that people looking for housing during the colder months are far and few between and are therefore much more likely to negotiate.

Have you negotiated rent before?

Suburban Finance