We all have a love/hate relationship with the gym, am I right? I don't think there is a single person out there that doesn't want to be healthy. But, the gym can be a scary place and not to mention expensive!
Tonight I decided to go for a late night run and workout in the gym in my building. I like to consider myself semi-fit, and I try to get to the gym as often as I can. Lately, that has been less that I would like, but that is besides the point. I started to think how lucky I am to have a gym in my place of residence. If I didn't, the cost of a gym membership elsewhere would definitely hinder my drive to workout, in an official gym at least.
Now, I realize I am paying for the gym in my rent, so it really is a cost to me. What that cost is, I guess I will never be able to figure that out. Depends on how often I use it I suppose. That intrigued me to take a quick look and what gym memberships cost these days. Lets take an annual membership for example:
City of Edmonton - $524.00 (Average of 3 levels of facility you go to)
YMCA: $718.25 (This one blew my mind!)
Okay to be honest, I looked up a bunch of other gyms as well (Gold's Gym, Spa Lady, World Health, Goodlife Fitness) and none of those places had their prices anywhere online. So, that doesn't help me at all! Shesh!
Regardless, no matter what gym you go to, it can be very expensive. Unfortunately, from experience, I have seen a lot of people commit to a gym membership, give their all for 3 weeks, then quit or get busy and let their money go unused. So one tip, just make sure you are dedicated and planning ahead so you don't have this expense become a waste. Even better, just go for a run outside, create a workout group with your friends in someones basement, or even do yoga by DVD at home.
It's expenses like a gym membership going unused that can help hinder people from becoming financially stable and one step closer to being debt free. I know it seems small, but expenses like this make a difference in the big picture.
Can anyone else think of an expense that is often overlooked like this one?
Success
February 22, 2013
Well, as promised, I went grocery shopping trying to take all my new rules into account. I must say, I am very proud of myself, finally feeling like I had a successful adult shopping trip! Woot!
My average grocery bill was $110, and it went down to $70. I got all very healthy and gluten free things, and I followed the advice of my commenters and stayed on the perimeter aisles of the store for the most part.
Although, I did go hungry. It was right after work, but that's my own fault. Yet, I resisted the chocolate monster as much as I could and came out the victor.
Now, if I keep this trend of cutting down my shopping and being more organized with my grocery money, lets see how much I'll be saving in one year.
$40 x 32 shopping trips in a year = $1280
Easy as that, I just saved myself $1280 a year. Every penn... nickel counts right?!
My average grocery bill was $110, and it went down to $70. I got all very healthy and gluten free things, and I followed the advice of my commenters and stayed on the perimeter aisles of the store for the most part.
Although, I did go hungry. It was right after work, but that's my own fault. Yet, I resisted the chocolate monster as much as I could and came out the victor.
Now, if I keep this trend of cutting down my shopping and being more organized with my grocery money, lets see how much I'll be saving in one year.
$40 x 32 shopping trips in a year = $1280
Easy as that, I just saved myself $1280 a year. Every penn... nickel counts right?!
The evil grocery store
February 18, 2013
Since living on my own, I have had a brutal war with grocery shopping. Without a doubt, I always seem to be on the losing end of that war. Grocery stores across Edmonton are laughing at me the minute I walk through the door. Am I the only one that feels grocery shopping takes way more effort and work than it actually should? I'm assuming so, because I am 23 and still haven't mastered it.
It's funny; every week I walk into Save-On Foods with a smile on my face and a feeling of hope that I will finally get enough food to last me, plus throw nothing away. So finally, in my journey to become a millionaire, I said enough is enough. Time to buckle down and finally see exactly how much money I am wasting every shopping trip.
On average, I spend about $110.00 every week and a half on groceries. So, let's break that down:
$110 x 32 shopping trips per year approx = $3520.00
You don't even have to say it; that number is WAY higher than it should be for a 20 something female living on her own with no roommates. I was astonished when I saw that. But, that being said, it is completely my fault it's that high. I tend to buy gluten free/healthy/organic foods for the most part, which are without a doubt more expensive then most other foods. At the same time, I am hugely unorganized when it comes to grocery shopping and I have nobody else to blame. I am not changing my eating habits though, I just need to re-adjust my spending and be way more organized when it comes to giving my local grocery store money.
With that number in hand, I then calculated a rough estimate of what I throw away in that same time period, which I already know is hard for me to write. I throw away about $30.00 of food before my next shopping trip, just due to the fact that it goes bad in that week and a half.
$30 x 32 shopping trips per year approx = $960.00
I can't even believe that number! I might as well throw that money from my balcony, which essentially is what I'm doing. That's horrible and I need to kick that habit ASAP. No wonder I'm not a millionaire yet...
While wallowing in my sadness, I came up with a few ways to help curb this trend, for me at least, hopefully they help others as well.
1) Never go to the grocery store hungry - I know everyone always says this, I just need to follow the advice. I normally always go after work, before I've had a chance to eat dinner. When you're hungry, the whole store looks like a giant chocolate bar, which I can't resist.
2) Plan out your meals for the week - I have never done this, which tops my list of reasons why I'm throwing away so much money. Buying random food items isn't going to help you during the week when you are making meals. You are without a doubt going to miss something or not use something.
3) Make a list and stick to it - This is in the same family as number 2. Again, I never go with a list, which means I end up either buying way to much food, or I miss many things that I thought I've made a mental note of. It also made me discover my memory isn't the greatest. Gotta love teaching yourself a lesson.
4) Designate one day a week to cook and prep your weeks meals - Now because of my 60+ hour work weeks (I wish I was exaggerating that number) I always get caught not having meals made. Thus, I eat out and don't use the food I have in my fridge. From now on, Sunday is my cooking day. Doesn't matter what other plans I have that day, I need to dedicate the time to prep my meals, so I not only eat healthier but am able to use up all my food. With this, I will be in my kitchen, drinking wine, blasting music and cooking up a storm every sunday. No questions!
5) Coupons, coupons, coupons - I was hesitant to put this recommendation in. Because coupons can hurt you in they aren't dealt with properly. I used to be the person that picked up a flyer of coupons and said "OH I could use this, this, this and this." But that is wrong on so many levels. That prompts you to buy things you might not actually need and you can end up spending more money without creating any savings. My advice is, make your grocery list, plan all your meals, then once that is done, consult your coupon flyer and see if any of the items you are getting have a coupon. If they do, bonus! If not, don't buy something you really don't need just for a deal. My boyfriend was the one that brought this to my attention. How right he is!
I plan on going grocery shopping tomorrow since my fridge is bare right now, I'll blog about my first organized and planned shopping trip. Fingers crossed I don't have to throw anything away for once. Although, my fingers don't need to be crossed if I'm prepared. Time to finally win the grocery shopping war.
It's funny; every week I walk into Save-On Foods with a smile on my face and a feeling of hope that I will finally get enough food to last me, plus throw nothing away. So finally, in my journey to become a millionaire, I said enough is enough. Time to buckle down and finally see exactly how much money I am wasting every shopping trip.
On average, I spend about $110.00 every week and a half on groceries. So, let's break that down:
$110 x 32 shopping trips per year approx = $3520.00
You don't even have to say it; that number is WAY higher than it should be for a 20 something female living on her own with no roommates. I was astonished when I saw that. But, that being said, it is completely my fault it's that high. I tend to buy gluten free/healthy/organic foods for the most part, which are without a doubt more expensive then most other foods. At the same time, I am hugely unorganized when it comes to grocery shopping and I have nobody else to blame. I am not changing my eating habits though, I just need to re-adjust my spending and be way more organized when it comes to giving my local grocery store money.
With that number in hand, I then calculated a rough estimate of what I throw away in that same time period, which I already know is hard for me to write. I throw away about $30.00 of food before my next shopping trip, just due to the fact that it goes bad in that week and a half.
$30 x 32 shopping trips per year approx = $960.00
I can't even believe that number! I might as well throw that money from my balcony, which essentially is what I'm doing. That's horrible and I need to kick that habit ASAP. No wonder I'm not a millionaire yet...
While wallowing in my sadness, I came up with a few ways to help curb this trend, for me at least, hopefully they help others as well.
1) Never go to the grocery store hungry - I know everyone always says this, I just need to follow the advice. I normally always go after work, before I've had a chance to eat dinner. When you're hungry, the whole store looks like a giant chocolate bar, which I can't resist.
2) Plan out your meals for the week - I have never done this, which tops my list of reasons why I'm throwing away so much money. Buying random food items isn't going to help you during the week when you are making meals. You are without a doubt going to miss something or not use something.
3) Make a list and stick to it - This is in the same family as number 2. Again, I never go with a list, which means I end up either buying way to much food, or I miss many things that I thought I've made a mental note of. It also made me discover my memory isn't the greatest. Gotta love teaching yourself a lesson.
4) Designate one day a week to cook and prep your weeks meals - Now because of my 60+ hour work weeks (I wish I was exaggerating that number) I always get caught not having meals made. Thus, I eat out and don't use the food I have in my fridge. From now on, Sunday is my cooking day. Doesn't matter what other plans I have that day, I need to dedicate the time to prep my meals, so I not only eat healthier but am able to use up all my food. With this, I will be in my kitchen, drinking wine, blasting music and cooking up a storm every sunday. No questions!
5) Coupons, coupons, coupons - I was hesitant to put this recommendation in. Because coupons can hurt you in they aren't dealt with properly. I used to be the person that picked up a flyer of coupons and said "OH I could use this, this, this and this." But that is wrong on so many levels. That prompts you to buy things you might not actually need and you can end up spending more money without creating any savings. My advice is, make your grocery list, plan all your meals, then once that is done, consult your coupon flyer and see if any of the items you are getting have a coupon. If they do, bonus! If not, don't buy something you really don't need just for a deal. My boyfriend was the one that brought this to my attention. How right he is!
I plan on going grocery shopping tomorrow since my fridge is bare right now, I'll blog about my first organized and planned shopping trip. Fingers crossed I don't have to throw anything away for once. Although, my fingers don't need to be crossed if I'm prepared. Time to finally win the grocery shopping war.
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