Thanks for being honest about what happened with the gym. I made a similiarly foolish decision when I bought a car and ended up getting talked into buying non-essential “accessories” without really thinking it through.

I joined Curves a little over a year ago. I have to say, that I *intended* to use my membership much more than I did, but there were some months that I didn’t go at all. I got out of it as soon as I could. I think Curves is a little different from most gym memberships though, they have a month to month plan as well as a one-year contract. To get out of the contract, you just pay $10 extra for each month that you’ve joined, with a cap of $50.

And how do I get exercise in?

By Carrying an infant around on my hip and walking the pooch!

Our high school opens its hallways early in the morning and in the evening for walkers. There are even plaques on the wall that mark off the mileage. (free!)

Also, one of the local churches has an aerobics workout 3x a week and childcare is included. It’s $25 a month and you pay by the month.

I know the gym and the pool in time have a “pay as you go” plan, too.

*I’m still really enjoying your series!*

Tracy

We are lucky that our YMCA’s here operate on a month-to-month basis with NO contract. However, I could have saved the $100 joining fee IF I had known that both our insurance and my husband’s employer had special deals with the Y.

(Specials the membership coordinator “forgot” to tell us about when we joined.)

If you make under $60,000 a year, you can also apply for rates based on a sliding scale according to income.

In our new neighborhood, a local megachurch even offers its own gym to the public at a very reasonable rate…something I never would have thought about when looking for a gym.